Charlie's Regency Hairstyle Tutorial

I had at least one reader request a "how to" post on the Regency hairstyle I did on Charlie for The Doll Wardrobe's photo contest (which I didn't win, by the way...but that's okay.  I had a great time taking the pics and being involved.). :)  Thankfully, I had the foresight to take pics as I worked on her hair, so I didn't have to go back and try to figure out how on earth I'd done it. ;)

I drew inspiration for this hairstyle partially from the way Catherine Morland, as played by Felicity Jones, wore her hair in the 2007 version of "Northanger Abbey". 

I also took some ideas from this YouTube hair tutorial. 

I started by choosing a piece of ribbon that matched Charlie's outfit and was long enough to go around her head.  I put it on her head like a headband, leaving some hair in the front:

I put the extra hair in claws so it would stay put: 

After the claws were in, I turned Charlie upside down and secured the ribbon with 2 mini bobby pins.  I found these doll-sized bobby pins at Dollar Tree several months ago.  They work really well for doll hairstyles...they even have the nice ceramic-type coating so they don't pull the hair as much.  I stocked up on several packages of these, and I'm so glad I did, because I haven't seen them there in a while. 

After the ribbon was secured with the bobby pins, I put all of Charlie's hair (except for the two front portions in the claws) into a ponytail. 

Once her hair was in the ponytail, I twisted it into a bun and secured it with several more mini bobby pins. 

Next, I took one of the front strands of hair and twisted it: 

Once it was completely twisted, I brought it around her head and rested it on top of her bun.  Then I tucked it around her bun and secured it with more bobby pins. 

I then repeated the process on the other side. 

And here's the finished result: 

A bit messy, I know. :}  Next time, I think I'll probably spritz her hair down with my little spray bottle from American Girl.  That should help with the flyaway hairs.

Still, it was just right for a Regency photo shoot. :)