Dawn and Pippa...
done "Sew" Easily!
Post your re-rooting comments here!
As it turns out, my self-taught way, was faster and easier than even I could have imagined!
So I thought I would share my "short-cuts" and help those who would like to try, but are not sure they can do it.
My first suggestion, is do not be afraid! It is a lot easier than you think! (Well My way is anyway!)
I use what I call the "Sewing Method" Meaning I sew the hair in and out of the plugs, (no knotting of individual plugs is required here!)
I have also provided pictures to go with my step by Step instructions. I hope this helps you!
Good Luck and Happy Rerooting!
First you will need a doll, with a bad hair cut
(I just don't have it in me to use a doll with nice hair!)
I chose this Glori,The needle that I use is pretty big, you can see it on Glori's leg, The needle does not have to have a sharp point if you are using the plugs that are already there.
The needle however should be long enough to pull through the dolls head easily.
You will need a comb or brush,A pair of scissors, A pair of Hemostats (I prefer using them over tweezers, but you can use tweezers if you do not have a hemostat),and the Hair of your choice, I place 2 different types of hair that I normally use, the top is very curly, the bottom is wavy, but can be brushed out to look like one of the model agency hair styles or that of SPCH Glori. The hair on the bottom is the one that I mostly use. It pulls out of the package, and has just enough hair to use for each plug.
So here is the list:
Doll Head
Hair
Scissors
Comb/Brush
Hemostats/Tweezers
Large Needle
First you will need to cut off all of the excess hair from the doll (figure A)
Cut it down as far as you can go! The less hair on her head the easier it is to pull the plugs out from the inside!
Then use your trusty Hemostats (or tweezers) to pull the excess hair out from the neck. (Fig. B)
Try not to pull out the dolls lashes on this step-which is what unfortunately happened on this doll, she lost her left eyelashes- but we will replace them later.
The hair infront of Glori's head is all of the pieces that I pulled out with the Hemostats, usually the hardest part is where the part was.
Ok now your doll is ready to go!
I usually start above the left temple, but you can start where ever you feel more comfortable.
Place the hair through the needle, then place the needle through the hole, and pull needle out the neck.(fig C)
You do not have to follow the holes, but for you beginners it may make things easier for now.
Pull hair all the way through leaving enough hair for your desired length (and then some remember you will be cutting it later, so make it longer than the style you will be doing.
This doll is going to be a HTT Glori.
After you have pulled the hair through the first hole, turn your needle around go back up the neck and pull the needle through the next hole (Fig D)
Remember in this method no knots are required, each time you put in a new row or plug the hair pretty much over laps the hair you have previously sewn in!
Continue the previous steps all the way around the bottom row of holes, until you come to the end of hair on your needle (Fig E)
Don't worry if you doll looks scary (or disheveled) at this point, we have a ways to go before she will start looking better!
I like to cut the hair after I use up all of the hair on my needle, before I "reload" (Fig F)
remember to still leave the hair longer than the final length you are after!
After you have cut off all of the "loops" that were created with this sewing method, you should brush the dolls hair, before you proceed with the next step (Fig G)
Now re-thread your needle and start again on the next hole, going in through the top and out the neck, then turn the needle around and go back through the neck and out the top!(fig H)
Ok now you have the bottom Row complete and trimmed a bit your doll should look similar to this (if you are doing a short hair style, a longer hair style may look different.)
Fig I. shows a bit of the bangs for now, and Fig J shows the side of the dolls head, You can now proceed to the 2nd Row of holes
Fig K shows the bottom of the dolls head before I have cut off the Loops you can see the excess loops all around the dolls head, you may also notice a bit of hair around the hole, I have a habit of not moving all of the hair out of the way (with the short hair style reroots) and some ends up getting almost sewn back in, this is not a problem, all you have to do is take your pair of scissors and trim around the hole to make it clear then cut off the excess loops and comb the hair, your doll should now look like Fig L.
Fig. M shows what the doll looks like after completing the second row of plugs.
Fig N shows the top of the dolls head (with the face facing towards the bottom of your screen)
I thought it maybe easier to show you a "map" of the path I will be taking for the next few rows.
The Greeen dots pretty much represent the third row, which I will start next.
Then I will go on to the purple row (part of the part) followed by the red row the other side of the main part.
The black dots indicate where I feel there will probably be a need for new holes, as there are not any in those locations.
I finish off with the brown row of dots, which is the center of the part, here is where you fill in the voids.
(Please note some of the holes are very close so you may have to place the needle in the front of the head, and your next stitch would be towards the back of the head, so you dont end up ripping a hole and loosing your stitch)
Fig. O shows where I have now added the hair, The Green holes (which were brown in the previous picture is my next step)
though I have place some black holes on the picture to show where I may need to add some more plugs after I finish with the center part.
(The doll's face is still facing the bottom of the screen)
Fig P shows the what the doll looks like at this point, before the center part is started from l-r Front, side, and back.
Fig Q shows the doll almost complete, the picture of the top of the hair (with the facing looking towards the bottom of the screen again) shows a bit of the part and some extra hair added towards the front for the bangs- at this point I go back into the holes that I did the first time around in the front of the dolls face and add a couple of more plugs of hair to the same holes, to give a little bit more in the bangs area.
Now for some of the finishing touches.
The Bangs:
The best way to cut the bangs is to brush them down in the front, then place your thumb on them to hold them down, -remember they have a bit of curl to them- as you are holding the bangs down, trim with scissors just below the eyes (See Fig R)
When you are through release the bangs, and they will end just around where the eyebrows are.
The Sides:
I usually cut at a 40-45 degree angle upwards from the neck, this gives the doll a nice full style type of look. (see Fig S)
Fig T (below) shows the view from the bottom, you can see a bit of hair filling the hole, but you can easily push that up into the dolls head.
Here is an important note to collectors:
Since there are so many reroots going on today, the easiest way to judge if your doll was rerooted, is simply place a pair of hemostats or something similar in the neck hole, if the hemostats seem to go almost to the top of the head it is pretty much a factory root. If you meet resistance, or the hemostats, do not go all the way up, chances are it is a reroot, because no matter how good of a job a person does, hand reroots leave more hair in the head, than their factory counterparts. Now of coarse you will have to have the dolls in your hand physically, but at least you will know.
Before and After...
This doll is now in the Private Collection of:
Elaine Meldrum
On to the 5 minute Eyelash Reroot!
Click on Dinah's Picture to learn how to do the quick eyelash re-roots.
Special thanks goes out to Jodi B. who took the pictures of the eyelash reroot and posted the instructions a few years ago, after we worked on the images and directions together at the First Annual Dawn Doll Convention!
These pictures are from her Web Pages, but I thought it would be easier to directly link you to her site from here!
From the eyelash site you can view Jodi's page on rerooting tips as well, the more pages of information about re-rooting you have, the better!
I forgot that Jodi had a page dedicated to re-rooting until I looked at the eyelash page! (It is listed under #2 of the eyelash instructions, directing you to look at the hair that Jodi uses.
The Great news is that Jodi's page illustrates the "knotting" method rather than the sewing method!
Thanks again Jodi!
Actually if it were not for Jodi B. I would not have the means, and the ambition to even make up pages like this!
So 3 Cheers for Jodi, for being The Worlds Greatest Landlord at Topper Towers!
(please note that you can use a regular needle for the eyelashes, and I no longer use glue, as the lashes hold pretty well if you do not poke at them too much!)
**also one last note, the pictures of the hair that Jodi and I have posted do not seem to be available anymore, but there is hair that is exactly like it in the craft stores, but just in different packaging!
**Please note that the hair is available in the US at the following stores A.C. Moore, Rag Shop, Jo Ann's Fabrics, Michael's and Wal-Mart!
If you found your way here via the Dawn Spot Click here to return to there! Thanks for visiting!
