How to 'root' hair in vinyl baby doll I always use a fine crochet hook. I put the mohair up inside the dolls head, spreading it out evenly (a ball on the end of a pencil works great to hold it in place) Then run your crocet hook through the scalp and pull out small amounts of mohair through the hole. Here's another tip that works great....try drilling a small hole in a golf ball and putting the end of your crotchet hook into this with some epoxy glue....saves your hands alot of wear and tear. When the head is covered, I would carefully remove any excess mohair and paint a layer of glue (fabritac) up inside to hold into place. Hope this helps. ==== Pamela Pruett www.auntiepsdollhouse.com Auntie P's Doll House Home of the "Reborn" Berenguer Making Ringlets Hi from Canada. For making ringlets from mohair, wool etc. use knitting needles! Just wind the wool around the needles and wet well, put in 225 oven for 30 min. or turn off oven and leave. The size of the knitting needle determines the size of the ringlets. They just slide off the needle. You may cut them into small lengths and glue or sew to head of doll. Moyra mojames@home.com Stuffing 101   Another great tip found through FOCD: take a look at this site -- Susan http://www.craftideas.com/ccci/articleDetail/0,2918,307,00.html Eye Fitting   When an eye doesn't quite fit (due to improper cleaning) if you put a little dab of white glue in the outside or inside edge,( where a space is showing ) and lick with your tongue(I know it sounds gross but it works) to smooth it. That solves the problem of improper fitting eyes.. Thanks,Sandy White Using those nylon tie thingys mong other things, they can be used for stays for medieval (human) clothing. Cheaper than boning and just as good. (Tip from the FOCD list) Sewing Tip   This tip was posted on the FOCD message list. I'd like to thank all the ladies who participated in this discussion on the list.- Susan  -->  Use rubber door stops to put behind and under your sewing machine to give it a slight angle and keep it from slipping. Doll Storage   to protect my porcelain dolls legs during transport, I use a rubberband and an empty toilet paper tube. Pass the rubberband through the tube. Slip one "loop" of the rubberband over the foot and ankle of one leg, the other loop goes over the other leg. Position the toilet paper tube between the legs at the ankles or calves to separate the legs. The tube may be cut to any size. ,April Goroge Cleaning SFGW   After taking off the seam , I use an old panty hose to pass over the seam it leaves no lines at all. You can barely see where the seam was. Robin Wet Cleaning & Firing Tips I have a tip for those who use the wet cleaning of greenware. As we all know firings are cumluative. I was having a problem with over firing when I decided to put a witness cone 6 and 7 in the kiln when I did my slow 018 fire. After I cleaned my ware I put these same cones in for my cone 6 fire ; after making some adjustments to my controller. I fired it and low and behold, they were bent perfectly and Iwas sure they recieved the correct heat work. Ingrid B Attaching Legs   When attaching "toddler" porcelain legs to a cloth body I like the toes to turn in a little, so when I trial fit them into the cloth casing I stand the body and legs up and when I'm happy with the toe position I put a pencil mark where the inside leg seam and the porcelain meet. This way, once I've put the glue on the rim I just line up the pencil line and the inside seam and the legs will be positioned exactly as I wan thtem. This also works great for arms. -- Helen Protecting fragile body parts   Most of us have a stash of shoulder pads that we have removed from garments. I have found that they make excellent devices for protecting fragile doll parts form breakage. By sewing them together, in various configurations, and attaching seam binding for ties, you can make covers for feet, hands and heads on your finished dolls. As an example, I sewed towo should pads together to form a helmet that fits over my doll's wigless head. I folded individual should pads over and sewed the sides together, forming a mitten for the doll's hands and booties for the feet. I attach seam binding t these protectors and tied them securely to the doll. You could also use rubber bands to hold the mittens or booties on the doll. -- Jeanetter Niblett Paint Receipe for Body Wash on Porcelain Dolls   This is really a pretty wash and comes out looking much like a doll with a suntan. China paints: 1 part EB#4 (Dark Brown), 1/2 part Chestnut Matt, 1/4 part Pompadour Red matt, /4 part Rich Henna Brown, a pinch of Cinder Brown, and a pinch of Matter. ---- Elena Tomich Making cloth bodies for porcelain & vinyl dolls   For an extra strong body in your larger dolls, try making the bodies out of a soft, pliable vinyl. This adds extra strength to the finished doll. Be careful in selecting the vinyl. Not too thick -- it must be soft and pliable. Give it a try. Danielle Schardan of D's Dolls   Hi to all at Mini World! I have discovered an inexpensive way to make my cloth bodies for my dolls. I go to a local thrift store and find nice white or cream colored sheets. The material is very durable and I can get quite a few bodies from one full size sheet. Judy Naples   I make my doll bodies from insulated drapery lining. I use the light weight and it will not fray or ravel. It is very sturdy and when you use bear joints all you have to do is cut the hole and it won't tear. I love it. Lee Townsend   When making doll bodies for my lovely porcelain dolls, I use white muslin and "doll skin". The doll skin fabric is the material we used several years ago when we made the soft sculpture dolls. By cutting pattern pieces from both materials and keeping the muslin on the inside of the doll you end up with a lovely body that has a natural color skin and will not stretch out of shape (because of the muslin). You can find this fabric in a few skin colors to match most of your porcelain. (When making dark skin dolls, use natural color muslin. April Gorog Painting Eyes   A template (round, like on a protractor or small geometry ruler) can be used when painting eyes to make a perfectly round iris. See ya! Prissys Doll Shop Sewing Machine Tip From a FOCD member: Instead of buying one of those expensive tilt tables for your machine, go to the hardware store and pick up two rubber door jams. You know, those little wedge shaped things you put under the edge of your door to hold it open? Then put them under the back of your machine to hold it up to a tilt. They work perfect, don't slip, and only cost maybe a dolor each. Smiles, Alice in AZ Sculpting Tip Hello everybody. Ever wanted to make a doll out of Cernit but the material was too hard to work with? Here's the solution! I have never found a material for sculpting than white clay. Except the fact that it is easy to sculpt it, you can always add to it later and it does not leave marks!! So, I work on the head with clay and when it is bone dry, I roll a really thin sheet of Cernit and lay it over the face, thus creating a mask. It gives a perfect flesh look and with a little care and practice, you can even get it over the ears too!! Its less expensive than to have the whole head made out of cernit but gives the impression that the head *is* made of cernit!! Be careful though cause Cernit will not tolerate add-ons once it has hardened and the connection lines will always be visible. Be sure you are happy with the result before you bake. If you send the dolls via post they are also lighter than if they were made from solid cernit!! Best of luck, Tina, Athens - Greece How to Wash Mohair You can take a sample handful of the wool, keeping the locks intact, and lay them out on a piece of nylon netting or tulle. Fold the netting over the locks side to side, end to end and roll the whole thing up lightly. Put a rubber band loosely around the resulting 'cigar' to keep it together. All this carefulness is to prevent disturbing the structure of the locks and getting the fibers all tangled up. Run a sinkful of HOT water (no, it won't shrink the wool) and add a squirt or two of liquid washing machine detergent. (Dishwashing detergent is generally too light to cut through the lanolin, dirt, etc.) Carefully squeeze the'cigar' in the soapy water, then let it sit in the hot water for about 20 minutes. Squeeze it some more (don't rub), and drain out the water, but remove the wool first. Refill the sink with HOT water, put the packet of wool back into the water and repeat the above process, without the soap. If necessary to remove all soap, repeat the rinse. Now open the packet and you should have some nice clean locks all lined up and ready to use, once they've air dried. In case you're not familiar with working with wool, it isn't hot water that shrinks it. It's going from HOT to COLD water, plus agitation that shrinks and felts it. This is exactly what what you do if you _want_ the wool to felt. Hope that helps, irene, happy to see the sun on this Solstice morning Irene Bensinger irene@trilliumwoods.com Fibers on the Internet http://trilliumwoods.com/ P.s. Pour the hot-soapy water and rinse water.... down the toilet and not the sink drains. If you're on a septic system, and you're processing large amounts of wool, don't even put it down the toilet. Let it cool off and pour it on your flower beds. The detergent won't hurt anything and the plants will love the liquified manure, wool fibers and whatever else you've washed out of the wool.   This might help with lots of fleece How to Wash Your Fleece Using a Washing Machine 1. Fill the washer with very hot water. Add liquid detergent about a cup. Turn off the washer. Gently put your fleece in the washer tub. Close the lid and let the fleece soak for about 45 minutes. 2. Next, turn washer to the end of the SPIN cycle. Spin the water out of fleece. Lift the fleece out and set it aside. 3. Fill the washer tub with very hot water again. Put the fleece back in and let soak for about 30 minutes. 4. Turn washer to the end of the SPIN cycle. Spin the water out of the fleece. At this point, sort out the fleece that is clean enough to dry. If fleece is especially fine or dirty, you may need to repeat the wash and spin steps a few more times. Mohair often needs multiple washes as does merino, rambouillet and sometimes other finer wools. Use hot water with about one-half cup of white vinegar and soak fleece 30 minutes for the last rinse, then spin it out. Spread the fleece to air dry on a towel or drying rack. Using a Bath Tub or Other Large Container Using very hot water and the same amount of detergent as above, follow pretty much the same steps as for the washer method. Do not allow running water to run directly on the fleece. A nylon mesh laundry bag can be used to help contain the fleece for lifting but the more open the fleece can be in the water, the cleaner you can get it in fewer wash and rinse sequences. Any liquid detergent, without bleach should work fine. However, avoid using products with conditioners, because they can leave a filmy residue on fiber which will impede the carding process. To prevent the fleece from felting, avoid the urge to knead the fleece or handle it excessively when it is in the water. Also between rinses be sure to fill the next tub of water at the same water temperature you are taking the fleece from. Gently squeeze out the water from the fleece and spread it to air dry on a towel or drying rack. - a Tip from an FOCD member   All the instructions for this subject are really fabulous. One thing that I have found useful is a potato masher. True! I put the unwashed wool into the kitchen sink with a wool wash product -something with eucalyptus in it - and the hottest tap water I can get. Because the water is so hot and the wool should not be agitated, I gently press the wool with the potato masher. Works a dream! I wash the wool about 3 times or more and in the final rinse I add a little fabric softener. Well buy for now - hope everyone has a super Christmas ELizabethg Armstrong Melbourne AUSTRALIA www.elizabethclairedesigns.com Polymer Info Before Panicking--Do a bit of research and check the polymer clay boards. Most of all, follow the package directions. Buy an oven thermometer to make sure that your oven is baking at the correct temperature. Most of the problems come from OVER baking (talk about SMELL). I use polymers just occasionally, but I do follow the polymer discussions. From my readings, toaster ovens generally do not heat evenly enough to bake polymers. A lot of the artists use a small convection oven, or a separate large oven--if they work with a LOT of polymers. Some reheat the oven after each polymer baking---which is supposed to remove any residue. Kelly Kelly Lynn Smith Angels Unawares =>}o) http://www.angelsunawares.com Straining Slip   When straining my slip I use Paint Strainers from the Lumber & Hardware store. They are made from a very super fine nylon mesh that can be used over and over and are very easy to wash out. They are also inexpensive. Kayee Thompson, Dolls by Kayee Making Doll Clothes   Hello all, Love everything I have ever ordered from you. GREAT place to shop for all my doll supplies. When making my doll clothing, I use paper towels to cut my patterns. I use a marker and add the instructions right onto the pattern pieces. This also makes the patterns easy to reduce or enlarge. Kayee Thompson   I use old sheets to cut and fit my doll clothes patterns. This makes the initial fitting for a doll much easier, and creates a permanent pattern for use again. Marcy Beyer (see Marcy's award-winning clothes on our Good Stuff Doll Club News page) Coloring Feathers   To color feathers, mix a drop or two of artists oil paint in mineral spirits, swish back and forth, and then let dry. Perfect Pleats   A tip from Mary Jo Harbour is to add vinegar to your water when spray ironing pleats or trouser creases. The vinegar helps to hold the sharp crease. Easy Body Wash   When using an all over wash on you porcelain if you use a MAKE-UP SPONGE you will find you get a more even color with half the work as a brush. Thanks Kayee Thompson, Dolls by Kayee   Thanks for the make up sponge tip -- I buy the bags of the triangle ones you can find a Wal Mart for about $2 and you end up having enough for a long, long time. They make a nice "gift" for new students or workshop students. I've also found that the little eye shadow sponges work well on small dolls. Fun Children's Party Project .... thought I would share a project I just completed yesterday for my grandaughters 9th birthday party... 9 little girls for a sleep over at my daughter's... Mahea requested a mermaid on her cake... extra cost here $30... so I made a special one, all detailed up for the cake and made 9 more... from a freebie pattern... I painted the button covered faces and cotton tinted sprigged hair and left the bodies for them to decorate, set out bowls of shells, flowers, ribbons, stamps, pens, beads, thin wire... 3 low temp glue guns and they had a ball... kept them busy for a couple of hours... got some wonderfully creative results...girls that age are freely creative... great inspirations... got my creative juices flowing ..think I'll make one for myself. Peggy Hinshaw