Balancing the weight of a reborn doll is very important in the overall realism of the doll.
Larger baby limbs can be challenging to balance and I have developed a technique that has proven to be very effective.
My subject will the the limbs of the large reborn, Alasia by Lorna Miller Sands.
These limbs are a perfect example due to the complexity of the angles of the limbs as well as the size.
Alasia will be approximately 22 inches long.
(I have struggled taking progress pictures of Ethnic toned Alasia but I am thrilled to see that this light setting shows her tone accurately!)
The supplies needed will the the limbs, a tray or container of some sort to set the filled limbs in while the glue dries after filling, receiving blankets or towels to line the tray, granulated glass beads (not powdered glass as it is dangerous to inhale), a funnel, fiber fill stuffing, two sizes of hemostats (medium and large (large not shown here~sorry), craft sticks, and E6000 glue.
Here is a fun picture showing the type of glass beads I use. These beads are actually small round balls that roll when spilled onto a flat surface:
(Click on the picture to see it full size)
The first leg to fill has quite a bend in it. If the entire leg were to be filled with glass beads, not only would it be too heavy, it pull down from the body keeping the doll from moving correctly.
Place the funnel into the opening of the leg:
Poor glass beads into the foot of the leg, only filling to the lowest part of the ankle:
Using small pieces of fiber fill stuffing, push the stuffing firmly into the ankle and calf area of the leg using the hemostats.
It is VERY important to use small pieces and to firmly pack each section so that there are not any gaps causing weak spots in the leg.
When babies bend their legs, they often fall to the outside of the leg in what is a natural position for babies. We can recreate that action by manipulating where we place the weight in the leg.
For this leg, we will need a little bit of weight in the outer side of the knee and all the way up the thigh, on the outside. I will use the hemostats to firmly push the stuffing to the lower part of the knee leaving a pocket for the glass beads on the top side of the knee:
Add glass beads keeping the leg tilted to the outside:
(I do not clearly show that here as it was difficult to demonstrate adding the beads and tilting while taking a picture :)
Here you can see that the beads are all to the outer side of the leg:
Leaving a channel/gap for the stuffing to be placed:
Then fill in the inner side of the thigh with stuffing, using the hemostats to stuff and pack:
Set this leg aside in the tray, propping it up and even with the receiving blankets or towels:
The next limb creates another weighting challenge. This limb is much straighter than the first:
This limb is going to need to stretch out on the doll so a little more weight in the foot is needed. Fill the foot to just above the ankle:
Then pack firmly with pieces of stuffing, making sure to fill the calf area well so that there are no gaps filling all the way through the knee. If you realize that you have gaps, remove the stuffing and fill again:
Fill the upper thigh with glass beads:
Pack the beads down well using a craft stick (Popsicle stick). This will eliminate any gaps in the glass as it meets with the stuffing:
You will notice that I have the leg tilted so that the beads fall to the back side of the leg. I will fill the top side with stuffing. This will balance this leg well causing the doll to move correctly:
After that leg is firmly stuffed, support it in the tray with the other leg:
On small baby limbs, I can fit all four limbs in a tray like this. Since these limbs are larger, I will put the legs in one tray and the arm in the other. I usually glue them all at once but since I am using two trays, I will glue/seal these legs now using E6000 glue. Poor the glue straight from the tube, moving it around to mostly fill the space. Be very careful not to let any glue drip onto your doll kit as you work:
With both limbs filled it's time to smooth the glue out.
Use a craft stick to smooth out and clean up:
Keep a close watch on the legs as you work on the arms. Sometimes the glue will develop bubbles or if the legs are not standing in a position to allow the glue to stay even, it can drip down the leg.
The first arm poses one of the greatest difficulties in balancing weight.
This arm is long and more straight:
If there is too much weight in the arm overall, it will simply flop downward at all times. If there is too much weight in the hand and not balanced out through the rest of the arm, it will do the same thing as well. There is nothing more disappointing than picking up a beautiful reborn doll just to have the arm(s) fling down to below the side of the doll.
Here is how to prevent that:
First, fill the hand with glass beads to just below the wrist:
Using the same stuffing technique as in the legs, stuff the arm firmly with small pieces of stuffing clear up into the upper arm. Pay close attention to gaps in the fatty part of the lower arm and the elbow:
Add glass beads, packing tightly with the craft stick. Tilt the arm putting the majority of the weight to the underside of the arm:
Fill in the gap at with stuffing:
Prop that arm up in a tray lined with receiving blankets or towels:
Now is a good time to check the glue on the legs. I find a bubble in the glue on one of the legs:
Using a craft stick, I simply pat the bubble down, swirling the glue to fill in any gaps. If it had dried too long, I could simply add a bit more E6000 glue:
Back to the arms!
The other arm is bent. This arm will likely be posed upward towards the dolls face so we want to weight the arm so that it will hold that pose as well as not dangle down when the doll it picked up:
Fill the hand to just below the wrist:
Then, using small pieces of stuffing, firmly pack stuffing up through the elbow.
Since I am sitting on the floor (which is how I always weight the limbs of my dolls), I am using my crossed ankles to hold the arm while I stuff and take the picture:
Be very meticulous with the stuffing in an arm bent this much. Gaps will cause problems in the overall balance and feel of the arm.
Push the stuffing into the crook of the elbow leaving a small area for glass beads. We want just a bit of weight directly in the elbow:
Firmly place stuffing to about 3/4 of the way up the rest of the arm:
Fill the remaining space with glass beads, tamping down firmly with the craft stick:
Place the arm in the tray with the other arm:
Fill both arm openings with E6000 glue in the same manner as we did for the legs.
Be sure to check on them after a few minutes for bubbles etc.
This concludes this tutorial~I'm so glad you could join me!
As always, feel free to ask any questions.
Debbie
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