OMG that 2nd pic was soooo cute!!! I saved it in my official too cute folder on my desktop. yes i actually save my fave cute pics from YT.
When I was first doing Uni's topknot for the first few times I did the same, pulling too far apart, but that was to try and make her topknot thicker since her hair is so thin. Since Kaji has such thick hair, I think you'll be fine using less hair. (so I agree with Debra)