Weird crafting project... Any ideas on how to make this work by Christmas?

I'm trying to give a polar bear dreadlocks. Traditionally, my friend and I exchange plushes as gifts, and we now have an inside joke about polar bears with dreadlocks. (Stupid story.) I just don't know how to make the dreadlocks, or how to neatly attatch them to the plush. I was thinking of spool knitting them, (I originally thought of getting a wig and modifying it, but wig hair isn't soft and cuddly like yarn.), but I'm not sure how to stitch them on, or if there's another method I'm overlooking.