Needle Files
How to Root a Berenguer Doll using a Needle File
With special thanks to Trina Godwin/Butterfly Babies
for contributing most of the photos on this page!!
PREPARE THE SCALP. Before rooting one of the Berenguer dolls, remove
the hair paint first. You can use paint stripper. I've tried a couple of different
brands, the liquid kind, and they remove the hair paint quickly and easily
without any damage to the vinyl at all. One friend of mine recommends
Goof-Off which is available at Walmart or hardware stores, but be sure to
check labels because there is one kind of Good-Off that is not recommended
for vinyl.
 NEEDLE FILES. Needle files are small slender files.
They are available in many sizes, with heavy or
coarse grain, with variation in quality and price from
50 cents to 50 dollars per file.
For most small craft purposes, the inexpensive files
are very sufficient. The needle files are usually sold in
sets of 5 or 10 and they have assorted shapes. (We do
sell the sets in the Doll Shop.)
There is one round file in the set, and that is the one I
use for rooting the soft vinyl Berenguer dolls.
HAIR FIBER SELECTION. You can use mohair,
synthetic hair or real human hair for rooting with the
needle files.
METHOD... Lay some of the hair fibers on the doll's head, and lay the point of
the needle file across the fibers that you want to root. Then push the needle file
into the vinyl head, in one motion turning the file up and pushing down, while
dragging the hairs with along with the tool. The grain lines in the file will grab
the hair and push/pull them into the soft vinyl.
I push straight through the vinyl, all the way through. Then pull the file back
out. The hair fibers will be rooted. The vinyl will close tightly around the fibers
so they hold very well.
LESS WASTE! ... I was amazed
that I could select even one or two
hair fibers and root them using the
needle file. I had more control
over quantity and results than
with the felting needles. There
was less waste, also. When I use
the felting needles I tend to throw
away a lot of tangled hair, but
with the needle file there is almost
no waste.
STYLE THE HAIR. When the head is fully rooted, then I wet the hair down
with very warm water, comb it and pull a snug knee high stocking over the
head.
Allow the head/hair to dry thoroughly and leave the stocking over the head for
a few days to apply pressure. Sometimes I aim a hair dryer at the head to
further encourage the hair to "flatten" on the head.
Then remove the stocking, trim the hair as necessary and style. I use thinning
shears to get a wispy baby look that appears natural.
Trina Godwin rooted the dolls that are pictured on this page, using real human
hair and a needle file.
 FELTING
NEEDLES
OR NEEDLE
FILES? ...
I like both methods
actually. Sometimes
it's better to use
felting needles and
sometimes it's better
to use the needle
files. And there
might even be some
advantages in doing
both at once. If I am
re-rooting a vintage
doll then I definitely
use the felting
needles for dolls
with empty hair
plugs.
HELPFUL HINTS...
Pushing the needle file through the vinyl can be hard on the fingers after
awhile. The vinyl does need to be soft, so cold winter weather could make this
job harder to do. It might help if you warm the vinyl a bit using a hair dryer.
And it might help to wear cloth gloves to protect your hands.
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