The mane is probably the hardest part of customizing a pony. Some people glue the mane in from the outside. I have found that this leaves messy glue around the plug holes and it's not that sturdy. I like my customs to be brushable, so I reroot the hair entirely. The hair should be twice the length you want the mane plus extra to work with. Find a needle with the widest eye possible that will also fit through a plug hole without tearing the vinyl. Clump together enough hair to comfortable fit through one  of the plug holes, then thread the needle with it. An easy way to thread hair onto a needle is by making your own threading machine. Get some ordinary thread and put it through the needle eye. Then put the end back in through the eye from the same way it just came. This will make a loop of thread on one side and two ends on the other. (See the picture if you're confused.) Poke the end of your hair plug through the loop, then pull both ends of the thread at the same time. It will pull all your hair through the eye at once. Keep pulling until the end of the hair plug comes through too and you've got a successfully threaded plug! Now to root your mane. Start at the forelock (the part furthest away from the neck opening). Using the needle, pull the plug from the outside in on the first hole. Grasp the needle with tweezers as it comes through on the inside. Pull the plug through until it's about halfway, then using the tweezers to guide the needle, poke it back out the next hole and pull it through until there's no more left inside. This should complete one plug and leave two equal clumps of mane. Pull this plug off of the needle, thread a new plug and repeat the process until you're out of holes. When you're all done, smear glue over the entire area on the inside of the neck to hold the plugs in place. For this I use a two-temperature hot glue gun on the low setting. Instead of trying to get the gun into the head, I use a chopstick to catch the glue coming out, then use that to apply it to the inside. I know not everyone has access to a glue gun, and I'm not sure what to suggest if you don't have one. White glue may work, but it will probably be a little too weak unless you use a lot of it. You'll have to figure this out on your own. Remember, the glue has to be strong enough to hold the mane as it is being pulled by brushing. |
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