Sackgirl's Ada Lovelace Hair

What we're making:

The makers of Little Big Planet have come out with a 6" Sackboy plushie, and it's really cute. Naturally, i decided my Sackboy was a Sackgirl (that way i can make her cute outfits), and that, in the spirit of steampunk, she needed the Ada Lovelace hairstyle from the history pack.

And thus, my first-ever pattern (don't judge too harshly! ^^) was born. I took some liberties by putting the rolls under the yellow ribbon, since both her skin and hair are the same colour, and the ribbon gives it a nice contrast. Exact placement, however, is at the hairdresser's discretion.

My version is pretty simple, but you can always add more to it if you're feeling particularly 1830s. The actual hairdo was too floofy even for Kaylee:

Isn't she a mean calculating machine? If you know anything about the personality of Ada Lovelace, you can imagine what kind of thoughts are roiling underneath that elegant coiffure: I have a small garden on my head, why did i let my maid talk me into this hairstyle, Babbage is laughing at me, must mentally solve equations to stop self from smacking Babbage with fan...

Anyway. Gauge isn't too important for this project, so any kneedle size that gives you a tightly knit fabric is ok. I used my #3 circ because it is my true love and i always keep it handy. :)

My mother's rule of thumb for this is that the kneedle has to be thinner than the yarn. This will produce a tight, professional-looking fabric for that elusive "i totally bought this in a store" look.

Materials Needed:

1 ball chunky brown yarn

1 yellow ribbon

1 thin blue ribbon

1 yellow flower button

1/4 ball blue yarn for pompom

stuffing

other embellishments as needed

U.S. size 3 knitting kneedles

sewing needle

yellow and brown thread

small square of cardboard for pompom

scissors

The Process:

1. To make the basic wig, we're going to construct a yarn helmet for Sackgirl. This consists of a wide rectangle that will curve around the back of her head, and a small rectangle that will get sewn on top.

Using the brown yarn:

1.1 Cast on 28 stitches and knit 30 rows in garter stitch. Bind off.

1.2 Cast on 12 stitches and knit 20 rows in garter stitch. Bind off.

1.3 Sew the large rectangle to the small, starting with a short side of the small rectangle and continuing around.

1.4 For the bangs, i used two braids, one on each side of her forehead. Take three strands of brown yarn and braid them, then sew to the helmet from the middle of the forehead to one side. Repeat for the other side.

2. Now for the two Princess Leia rolls.

Using the brown yarn:

2.1 Cast on 17 stitches and knit 23 rows in garter stitch. Bind off.

2.2 Make another one.

2.3 Take each rectangle and roll it tightly into a cylinder, with the cast on and bind off rows forming the top and bottom. Sew the outer edge to the fabric it rests on.

3. Sew the two rolls to the sides of the helmet, attaching them at the middle.

4. Add the ribbon and flower. The easiest way to do this part is to put the wig on Sackgirl's head. Then wrap the ribbon around at forehead level, cut it to length, and sew it to the wig, adding the yellow button on the front right.

5. The bun. This is really like making a small hat, and i did it in the round:

Cast on 33 stitches

k 5 rows

row 6: (k2tog, k2tog, k7), repeat to end

row 7: k

row 8: (k2tog, k7), repeat to end

row 9: k

row 10: (k2tog, k6), repeat to end

row 11: k

row 12: (k2tog, k5), repeat to end

row 13: k

row 14: (k2tog, k4), repeat to end

row 15: k2tog to end

pull yarn through remaining stitches, tighten and sew up edge

stuff the bun and sew it to the back of the wig, high enough to be seen in front

6. Make a pompom using the cardboard and blue yarn. How to make a pompom. Sew the pompom to the back of the wig, at bun level.

7. Wrap the blue ribbon twice around the bun, and tie it on the bottom, leaving two strands.

And voila, before you can say "why don't i have three heads?", the wig is done! The hairdresser can, of course, add more embellishments for unprecedented levels of fabulousness. I sewed a blue flower button to the top of her head, to complement the yellow one.

At this point you can sew the wig to Sackgirl's head, or just pin it on so she can change hairstyles later. I pinned it with three pins at the back (bottom edge) and one on top by the pompom.

Now Sackgirl has an updo for any occasion, whether dancing the quadrille or solving quadratic polynomials.

Happy knitting! :)