Belly Plates, Tush Plates & Doll Necks

The Body Plates and Tushie Plates are made using the vinyl body of the doll. (An uncut doll is shown above.) Simply cut the body in half all the way around so you have a front piece and a back piece.

Trim off the flange joints at shoulders, hips and neck. Leave as much of the vinyl body as you can. Then make holes for string ties to go through the plates. You will tie the plates around the cloth body of the doll when it is finished being "reborned."

Of course, the doll is not comfortable to hold when it's wearing the plates. This is why artists prefer to make them removable. The plates are primarily good for display and photos. They don't make the doll more cuddly.

It's not easy to cut the vinyl. I'm not sure how others do it, but I use a large sharp scissors and gnaw through the vinyl.  Tin snips might be another choice.

DOLL NECKS... The reborn artists have been using more of the vinyl body than ever, for belly AND chest plates etc. However, this means they are not able to use the shoulder portion of the body to create a neck for the doll. Therefore, they need to use something else to attach the head to the body of the doll. The photo below shows some replacement "doll necks" which you can purchase from the doll shop.

These replacement necks are designed for use with vinyl doll heads that do not have a neck flange. The head is pushed onto the replacement doll neck so it pops over the black ring. The ring is enough to hold the head in place.

The groove below the black ring is for attaching the cloth doll body. Use a cable tie through the neck of the cloth body, and pull it tight so the cloth settles into the groove. These necks have been very popular.