I've never made dreads so if this is the look you are going for, others will have to address questions regarding what kind of yarn to use and to how-to's for making the dreads.

As an alernative, I made hair falls instead and they turned out so cool! I think more variety of yarns looks even better. I made the falls with a combination of a fake hair piece, acrylic yarn, wool yarn, fun fur, some rainbow colored chenille, beads, coins, cowrie shells, etc. I braided it all myself (see my pic in my profile). Falls can be a little time consuming with all the braiding. But when they turn out so cool, it's worth it.

Amanda is right - falls or dreads, make sure they are different lengths. Much more realistic.

here's a picture of me using it as hair dreads: sarcasm-hime.net/july29-06...alme-a.jpg