Question about dressing your bjds

I didn't want to have to take off the heads to dress my dolls... but honestly just tried it a couple days ago and OMG it makes it so much easier.

I just wrap a pipecleaner around the s-hook in the head to help me lift and turn to release the hook. There's a lot of strategies for the hook manipulation, but I just found something convenient in my craft space. It's not suuuuper complicated, but there's a first time for all these things

 

Since the majority of my dolls' clothes is made by my mother, we always decide on a case by case basis what to do about that. Some have an opening with a snap so we don't have to take the head off, some we leave without that for the looks. Depends on which doll it's for and what the outfit is.

That said, for most dolls I think taking the head off isn't as scary as it seems at first, so it probably wouldn't keep me from buying an outfit if I liked it enough!

 

Invest in a s-hook puller tool! It's so worth it. Popping my boys' heads off to change their clothing is a piece of cake with it and no more red irritated hands from shoelace string. It's less stress than worrying I'll accidentally scratch a faceup.

 

I don't know why it's so intimidating to take off a doll head. I went through the same fear before I got my first doll. Just thinking about something going wrong and having her in pieces right after I got her really scared me. However, removing her head was really easy. Nothing terrible happened and within a week of receiving her, I had her in pieces to restring her anyways.

I recommend taking the head off when dressing dolls. It's so much easier and you are less likely to damage the face up. If possible, I also remove hands and feet when dressing my dolls.

 

As someone who has an OT doll whose head can't be taken off, I'll add that if the neck is wide enough, some garments can be slowly and carefully slipped on over the body starting at the feet. It doesn't work for everything though, so mostly she's limited to tops/dresses that fasten at the back. These are both options if you aren't confident about taking your doll's head off, but I agree that as in this situation it's something that's perfectly possible to do, you shouldn't be put off getting clothes that require the head to be taken off in order for you to dress the doll, unless it's really going to spoil your enjoyment of them.

 

I've been looking everywhere for one of those! Please will you tell me where you found yours!

 

@rosehollow I saw some restringing tools on the Volks website which may serve this same purpose.

 

I rechecked and it's called a Head Puller. I bought mine from Luts on the owner's tools section but if you're in the USA then Volks USA has it in the tools section as well.

 

I just use a key circle thingy.

 

A length of sturdy ribbon is my preferred weapon when it comes to wrangling s-hooks. Mostly I make my dolls' clothes, so I deliberately design them to avoid this particular problem (years of sewing for play dolls has prepared me well!) but sometimes there's stuff that just doesn't work right for.

 

Honestly, I find that the hassle of removing the wig (and risking messing it up by futzing with it) is much more of a pain than removing the head. But yes, if I redress my dolls I always take off the head... I don't want to risk deforming the neckhole of the shirt by trying to jam my doll's head/body through it or scratching the faceup.

 

I have a loop of ribbon tied to the S-Hook of some of the dolls I dress the most, or removed the heads of a lot and makes things way easier. No searching for something to get the head off with, it's just always right there!

This. I was one of those people who refused to do it back in the day and when I started removing heads to dress, it made life so much easier!
First, it helps to save the faceup! Constant rubbing from clothes and handling could potentially cause damage. Second, clothing without some kind of fascinating device on the back are so much nicer...maybe not dresses or clothes that would have a natural method of closure, but t-shirts, and sweaters...things that don't fasten in the back on human clothes look way better. especially with short-haired dolls (which most of mine are).

Lol it was almost traumatizing the first time for me! I had to have someone else do it for me and I was almost in tears! For nothing. Now heads are rolling everywhere...

 

Don't be intimidated, Cranberry. It's not all that scary once you've done it a time or two.

If you're like most of us? The first time you take the doll apart, you'll be nervous about getting everything back together. And then a year from now you'll be popping off heads and hands and feet like it's nothing. It just takes the confidence of having done it to get past the "OMG. My doll's in pieces!"-feeling.

 

Removing a doll head isn't that bad! I use a piece of twine but there are many homemade ways to pop a head off. It makes dressing so much easier!

 

Definitely recommend the Head puller. I've gone without but it's just so easy and pleasant with the right tools. I absolutely hate snaps and random holes in the back of my shirts and hoodies... I want the outfit to look as legit as I can - even if it is casual wear. The wig thing is a bit sucky but honestly, I don't change my dolls that often so it wasn't a big deal for me.

 

I have always removed doll’s head. With Minifees it was really easy. With Impldoll I wasn’t changing her clothes that much but if I was I was using old metal scissors. They were really small and fit perfectly I was holding them where the blade was and pulled the hook with the ring for fingers. The blade was mostly blunt. I think it would be painful to move the S hook with my fingers.

 

I personally prefer clothes where you have to take the head off, since they usually look better/more realistic once they are worn. And no editing when you take pictures from behind needed to hide any buttons

I tied a band/ribbon to all my dolls' s-hook, so when I need to take off their heads I don't need to find a tool or anything to assist me. Just pop off the headcap, grab the band and pull.