Restring Baby Face Dolls by Galoob:
PrillyCharmin's Popbead Method!
MENU
1. INTRODUCTION
2. SUPPLIES & OVERVIEW
3. TAKING BF APART
4. RESTRING THE HEAD
5. RESTRING THE ARMS
6. RESTRING THE LEGS
7. THE BATHTUB DOLLS
8. TIPS & TRICKS
RESTRING THE HEAD
If you need to restring the doll's HEAD (which is usually the first to go floppy) you will want to string the doll's HEAD FIRST. The popbeads for the arms do crowd up the chest cavity, so you don't want to do arms until after the head is restrung. After the head is done, then work on any limbs that need it. (You don't have to restring ALL the limbs: just do the ones that are loose.)
1. You must take off the doll's arm in order to restring the head. (This is so you can push the plastic neck bead inside.) It doesn't matter which arm.
If you intend to restring both legs,
then cut the cords for both of them now.
2. Cut the head off by cutting the two cords inside the neck, just under the head.
3. Remove the small hip cup from inside the doll's body, but leave the large one inside (there's no need to remove it because we will re-use it.) You can heat the vinyl with a hair dryer if you're having problems getting the pieces out. Heat will soften the vinyl. Also remove the cone and cord remnants from the neck.
4. Remove the plug and cord remnant from INSIDE the head, too. (It's easy to forget this, and then the doll's head will rattle.) You may need to heat up the neck hole in order to get the cone out of the head. Use hemostats or small pliers to grab with. Pliers are stronger. Doesn't matter if you break the plastic cone; in fact it might be easier to remove. I grab the cone with a long hemostat, then get a grip with the needlenose pliers and mangle it out of the neck hole. Hemostats aren't strong enough to mangle it: but pliers are.
5. If you use a blow dryer be sure to protect the doll's eyelashes and hair from the heat.
6. The photo above shows the beads and nylon washer that we use to restring the Baby Face heads. The plastic bead will go inside the doll's neck.
Push BOTH ends of the #4 cord into the doll's LEFT HIP SOCKET, using hemostats to help you push and pull the cords up to the neck area.
If you're going to restring the arms anyway, it might help to have an armhole open, so remove an arm if you need to.
7. Draw both ends of the #4 cord up through the neck hole in the top of the body. Pull the cord until you feel the plastic bead pop into place inside the neck. Make sure there is no "give": pull the cord tight to make sure there's nothing extra inside.
8. Push both ends of the cord through the large hole in the center of the wood bead.
9. Slide the large nylon washer on just ONE of the cords.
10. Pull everything snug, and tie a good double knot. Cut off extra cord, but leave at least an inch on each end. Apply white craft glue to the knot and allow to dry.
11. DOUBLE-CHECK inside the doll's head to make sure there are no loose pieces, and remove them. They WILL rattle around later if you don't take out any cords or cones now.
12. Warm up the neck hole on the doll's HEAD, being careful to avoid hair and lashes. You don't need a lot of heat, just enough to warm the vinyl some. (This is even more important in wintertime, when the vinyl is likely to be cold and hard.) Then, while the vinyl is still warm, immediately push the doll's head over the wood bead.
The washer goes in easy, the wood bead will be more of a challenge. Push HARD. Sometimes it helps to twist a little. Once you get past the half-way point on the wood bead, it's easy from there. Make sure the wood bead is all the way through: sometimes I push with my needlenose pliers just to make sure it's not stuck partway through.
Recently we revised our stringing kit, to include a slightly smaller wood bead for the head. It is easier to push on, and works just as well. We also recommend using our wood cone as a tool for gently stretching the neck opening. Just be sure to warm the vinyl first so it's pliable. The neck opening has thin vinyl and can tear easily.
13. VINYL IS TOO SOFT: Sometimes vinyl is hard, and other times it can be too SOFT! Recently I restrung a Beth doll; her head and body were soft and pliable, so the pop-beads would not pop through their holes. Instead, the body and the head just folded in on themselves. No amount of pushing or prying helped. So, I put the doll in the freezer for 3 minutes, and then I was able to push the popbeads in place without any further trouble. (Just don't leave her in there for more than a few minutes!)
This is the BEST method I've found for restringing the Baby Face head: it's very snug and it doesn't take long to do.
Once you're comfortable with this procedure, it can take less than an hour to completely restring a Baby Face doll. And she will be VERY snug, good for years to come!
We have a special restringing kit for BABY FACE in our doll shop. CLICK HERE.
