Sock Tutorial: Cardigan & knee-highs for SD13 ball-jointed dolls

Materials:

2 ladies crew socks or 1 ladies knee sock (I recommend pre-washing socks to set colors and pre-shrink the fabric before sewing)

Pattern (scaled from the image included at the end of this post)


Scissors

Pins

Needle and thread

Restoring a 1950s Mattel couch

Poppy Parker, relaxing on her restored Mattel couch.

My friend, Kathie, recently acquired a wooden couch, made in the 1950s by Mattel (even before they started manufacturing our beloved Barbie). As you'd expect with something a half-century old, the foam inside the couch cushions had disintegrated into dust. The fabric was still intact, though, so we decided that all that needed to be done was replace the foam inserts. Here's how it was done:

Step 1: Find the end of each cushion that was hand-sewn closed and open it up with a seam ripper.

Sock tutorial PART 1: one-shoulder top for 16" doll

The finished project on Peak's Woods "Lottie."

There has been a trend in my local doll groups lately to make doll clothes from socks. So, I thought I'd challenge myself to see how many different garments/accessories I can make from a pair of socks. I'll show you the steps, in case you want to try them, too!

Sock size: women's size 6-9
Sock thickness: medium
Sock height: crew

Turning a silk scarf into some new wardrobe pieces

I recently found some silk scarf panels of fabric at my local swap meet (my favorite place to find cheap fabric!) and decided to see what I could make with them.

From the circular design in the center of the scarf, I was able to make 2 half-circle skirts. I added a waistband and 2 rectangular strips to one to create a halter dress. (My vintage brunette bubble cut models this one.)

The second half of the circle I folded over at the top to make an elastic casing, then made a seam at the center back. (I supplemented this outfit with a navy t-shirt knit bodysuit - also made from cheap swap meet fabric!) The 2 corners cut from the panel I used as the front and back of a tunic, with a pair of knit leggings to round out her outfit. (These are pictured on the 2 Fashion Royalty dolls.)

Quick fix for a loose wig problem

If you have a wig that just won't stay on your doll's head because it's too big, here's a quick tutorial on how to make it hug her cranium.


What you will need:

• One ill-fitting wig
• Threaded needle
• Scissors
• 2" length of 1/4" elastic

BJD techniques made easy: sanding seam lines

Sky's hand, before sanding, originally uploaded by alington.

Some Asian BJDs come without their seam lines sanded. The first time I noticed a seam line on my doll, embarrassingly, I thought it was a crack, and I panicked.

Don't panic. Seam lines, or parting lines, are simply the lines between the top and bottom of the molds used to pour the resin, and are a normal part of making BJDs. Some companies give you the option of sanding seam lines. But if yours doesn't, you can follow these easy steps to sand your doll.

An important note before we start: If your doll is a tan or dyed resin, you will want to leave the seam lines alone. Many times, the colored resin used for BJDs is either tinted unevenly, or your doll might be dipped (so your sanding will leave marks). Either way, I don't recommend sanding dolls that are darker toned resin.

Supplies:

• Wet wash cloth
• Bowl of water
• Dry lap towel
• Face mask
• Jewelry grade sanding paper, 220, 440 and possibly 600 grit
• Mr Superclear UV Cut (optional)

BJD techniques made easy: body blushing

I love the realistic look of BJDs. Adding a body blush enhances a doll’s body sculpt and is an easy way to customize your doll and make her your own. The technique is straightforward: add several shades of pastels to the valleys of the body and blend.

Supplies:

• A resin sealer. I prefer Mr. Superclear for larger dolls. You can also use Testor’s DullCoat, but this attracts dirt pretty easily, and I prefer this for smaller surfaces (face-ups and smaller dolls).
• Chalk pastels. Most will do, but I don’t recommend square scrapbooking chalks. These are flaky and don’t blend well.
• Several brushes. I use a large round brush (size 6) and a small angled brush (size 1/8).
• Magic Eraser

Restringing tutorial, part II: the body

After reading the first part of my restringing tutorial on the torso, you should have recovered enough to restring the rest of your doll. (Please read that tutorial first.) There are lots of ways to restring a doll, and you can do it correctly many different ways. The way I will show you allows you to adjust the elastic cord tension after your doll is strung, if needed.

Supply list:

• Elastic cord
• Hemostats, at least one pair
• Chopsticks or two unsharpened pencils
• Stringing tool (available from Kemper Dolls for about $3) or pipe cleaner
• Glass of wine, or legally prescribed sedative, if needed

You should already have the restrung torso of the doll (with arms and hands attached). Make sure you have the legs in the right order and ready to go--be sure all the pieces fit together perfectly, and are on the proper sides of the doll before you start.

Restringing tutorial, part I: the torso

The perfect hand!, originally uploaded by alington.

This is the first in a series of two parts on how to restring your BJD. Every BJD owner needs to know how and be comfortable with restringing. It can be intimidating at first; but if you have the right tools, and some good instructions, you'll be able to do it on your own--even the first time. My model is a Jollyplus Jise.

Supplies. Click to enlarge.

Supply list:

• Elastic cord (1/4" or a little thinner - I buy mine in 10 yard lengths from Kemper Dolls. Mint on Card also carries elastic and S-hooks, and their shipping is much better than bulk orders from Kemper.)
• Hemostats, at least one pair
• Chopsticks
• Stringing tool or pipe cleaner (if needed)
• Glass of wine, legally prescribed Xanax or Valium (if needed--and I'm only partly kidding)

Start with an unstrung doll. It's wise to label the parts--or make sure you can identify the left and right pieces--so you don't have to restring the doll more than once. You can label each piece with a small L or R to identify them before unstringing the doll.