My son wants to be Merida from the Disney/Pixar movie Brave for Halloween 2015.

He wasn’t pleased with the selection of Merida dresses out there - they looked way too froofy and girly compared to the plain dresses that Merida actually wore in the movie. My son wanted to look like the Merida he knows from the movie, not the over-princessed version of the dress-up costumes Disney sells, so I started crocheting.

Want More Info about the Dress?
This project page is just about the wig of the costume, and the Merida dress has its own separate project page HERE.

To Make the Wig
I did a basic child HDC beanie using a size H hook. Then I crocheted 50+ coils loosely using an M hook, equally dividing it about 25 coils in Fire Red and 25 coils in Cranberry and alternating them around the hat when attaching to give the hair more realistic, varied tones.

Most coils were 50 chains long. Some were 60 chains. The few closer to the side of his head were 40 chains long, and then I decided he needed to have bangs just so he wasn’t constantly pushing the “hair” out of his face. The coils for the bangs are 20 chains long.

I alternated between the two shades of red when attaching and layered the coils as I went, giving them a center part and then finishing up with the shorter pieces in front. The 60 ch coils were used to make the part and were on “top” and the 50 ch coils were layered underneath and further down on the hat. I went in later and further secured the coils down along the brim of the hat, too (instead of just where they attached at the center part of the scalp) so that the hair would lay a certain way and not get too tangled.