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
TIPS & TRICKS
1. RESTRING THE HEAD FIRST: With the popbead method you can restring one part, or all of them. But if you're going to restring the HEAD, do that FIRST because the other beads tend to crowd the body and you'll have problems getting the parts for the head in place if you do the arms or legs first.
2. You can remove all the cups and cord pieces from the body via the large hip hole (on the doll's left side), which is much easier than trying to squeeze the pieces out of the smaller body holes. Just remember to leave one of the large hip cups inside.
3. DON'T GET MIXED UP: Be sure you have the arms & hands, thighs & feet lined up properly before you get started. I keep the left pieces on the doll's left, and the right pieces on the doll's right. Otherwise you might get pieces mixed up: knees on backwards, hands on the wrong sides, etc.
4. VINYL IS TOO HARD: Use the hair dryer if you need to warm the vinyl first. In cold weather, or cold climates, the hair dryer is very important! Cold vinyl is more likely to resist your efforts and it's even possible to damage it. Baby Face collectors have used various tools to warm the vinyl such as a blow dryer, or a vintage blow dryer with the vinyl cap (if you have one) ... lay the vinyl pieces in the cap and turn the dryer on to warm them. I have also used boiling hot water, which works OK but I try to avoid doing that because it's hard to get the insides dry, especially after she's restrung. And, boiling the pieces can strip oil from the vinyl. So I just use a hairdryer. I've wondered if an electric steamer would work but I've never tried it.
5. 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 3 to 5 minutes!)
6. ASSEMBLE THE CORRECT TOOLS. The tools that I use for restringing are pretty much essential. If you are trying to make do without them, you'll have more difficulty. Hemostats are easy to find on ebay. I like the 6, 7 and 8 inch sizes but I use the 7 inch straight hemostat the most.
7. If the hole in the WOOD BEAD is too small for the cord, then ream it out with a screwdriver or needle file. Seems like there's always some sawdust or splinters inside that make it hard to thread the cord, but once I've reamed out the hole with my favorite screwdriver, then I don't have a problem with it. And it's good for the cord to fit as perfectly as it does, so the knots won't slip.
8. 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!
9. We have a special restringing kit for BABY FACE in our doll shop. CLICK HERE.
