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Step Eight: Assembly
Now it's time to put that baby together! Gather up your supplies: the baby's head and limbs, the new cloth body, 5 cable ties, funnel, sand, caulk, poly pellets, clean pantyhose, polyfil and the bag of pellets that was inside the tush of the original doll.
The first thing I do is weight the vinyl limbs. I use half sand, half pellets to add weight to the doll but not so much weight that it feels disproportionate to the main part of the doll's body. Using your funnel, fill half the limb with poly pellets. Top it off with sand and, covering the top with your palm, shake gently to help the sand settle down among the pellets. Top off with sand or more pellets; then cover the entire opening of the limb with a thin layer of caulk to keep the sand and pellets from spilling out. Set the limbs aside to dry (this may take an hour to a few hours, depending on how thick your caulk is).
I find that it's easiest to assemble the body if you stuff the torso first, then the limbs. Cut three or four 8-inch lengths from the pair of pantyhose. Fill these with polypellets, leaving room at the ends to tie it off. Make the final knot far enough toward the end that you leave room for the pellets to "slosh." You don't want the sack to be tight. If you sew, you could whip up the little bags (maybe even re-using the fabric from the old body) instead of using pantyhose.
A few smaller bags give a more realistic feel than one big one, and they're easier to maneuver inside the body. Put the first bag or two in the bottom of the torso and add polyfill, pushing it down around the joints to cushion them. Add the rest of the bags and polyfill as you go, stuffing it down around the sides and back so that the body is filled out evenly and there are no lumps. I use a small crowbar to push it down to those hard-to-reach areas; any long narrow object will work.
If you want a floppier newborn or sleeping baby feel, use less polyfill; if you want a baby that can sit up, use more. This goes for the neck area, too. If you want a floppier head, pack the polyfill less tightly at the top; if you want a more sturdy head for a baby that can sit up, you might want to add a little bag of pellets right at the top and stuff the neck and chest tight with polyfill.
When the caulk in the limbs is dry, you are ready to stuff the limbs of the cloth body. Put a wad of polyfill in the limb and push it all the way up to the top to fill out the shoulder or hip and cushion the joint. Next, add a scoop of poly pellets, then more polyfill and alternate until you get to the end of the limb. I tend to add more poly pellets than stuffing. Stuff the end of the limb with polyfill to keep the pellets from spilling out. Some dolls come with little cloth sacks of pellets in the limbs; you can reuse these, but I always add more pellets, also. Instead of using loose pellets, you could always make sacks of pellets like the ones you made for the torso - only smaller.
Then thread the limb with a cable tie, making sure the ridges are facing up. Poke the end of the cable tie into the little box on the other end, and pull it through, but not all the way. Leave an opening big enough for the vinyl limb to fit through. Slide the appropriate vinyl limb (make sure to check it's the correct one and facing the right way) into the opening, and pull the cable tie tight around the groove in the limb. The limb won't be able to turn. Snip or cut off the end of the cable tie that's sticking out as close to the little box as you can. Run your finger over it to make sure the edge is smooth, because a jagged edge on one of these can scratch you. Repeat this process on all four limbs.
Now you're ready for the head! Before you put it on the body, make sure you've done everything you want to do to the inside - the magnet for a pacifier, for example. Take the bag of pellets that was in the tushy of the original doll and stuff it inside the head. If you want a heavier head, make another small bag of pellets and put that inside the head, too. Thread a cable tie through the neck of the cloth body (usually this one is a longer and more heavy-duty cable tie than the others) just as you did for the limbs. Slide the head into the opening and tighten the cable tie in the groove. You will want the head to be able to turn, so tighten gradually and test the head as you go until you have it secure but still able to turn with a little effort.
Your baby should be nice and snuggly now! I like to dress the doll and then pose it in different ways to make sure the stuffing is just right. If the doll doesn't look quite the way you want, you can always cut one or more of the cable ties and re-stuff the offending area - but be sure you have another cable tie to replace it with!
© 2004 Kristin Walters
Step Nine: The Finishing Touches
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