Removing parts to get clothes on?

of course a yes, too troublesome for a lazy person like me

 

For my Minifees (and Puki) I always remove heads and hands to do any clothes changing... of course it's super easy to do that with them! For my others I prefer things that button up the front, go over the head, or have hidden closures. I want the stuff to look realistic but I prefer not removing heads or hands unless I really need to. I always, however, remove heads to change eyes!

 

I don't have any problem with it. I almost always have to remove my Volks MSD's hands unless it's a short-sleeved outfit. I don't think I'd be very happy about separating a torso or something, but removing a head or hands isn't too bad. Removing hands is the easiest--the hardest part is making sure I put them back on correctly! Sometimes I switch them up.

 

If I need to remove body parts to get clothes on then they (the clothes, not the body parts) generally sit unused in a box, so I either get around tot altering the clothes so they can be got onto the doll without part removal (open the wrist seam, neaten and add fastenings, open back seam at neck and add fastenings, put some hidden opening where possible etc) or that item of clothing doesn't get to stay.

If it's somethign 'm amkign it's genrally a style that needs fastenings to get it on and off anyway (I don't make T-shirts, for example, I make button shirts or period stykles that fasten in some other way) and only occasionally will a doll garmet will need an opening where a full size garment wouldn't.... but usually that can be put somewhere that won't get seen when the doll is fuly dressed anyway (back of neck is most hidden for bigger neck openings for example.

Teddy

 

I try to avoid taking their heads off as much as possible because it's a hassle (especially for one of my dolls, whose head is an absolute pain to remove) ...and I'm too lazy. So, I don't mind the Velcro/snaps at the back at all because I don't think they're that noticeable, and I only photograph their front side away...

 

I actually enjoy removing my MSD girl's head. XD No matter if the clothes have back fastenings or not, I always take her head off when changing clothes. I have no problem removing her hands or feet either. Volks' head removal tool is one of my favorite possessions.

However, she is also the only one of my dolls that I've strung myself, and her elastic is looser than the other dolls around here. My other three (and I know at least one of my sister's) are strung so tightly it's a wrestling match to remove parts, so for them it's only on an as-needed basis. But someday I'll get to re-stringing them, and then I'll probably love taking parts off of them, too...as weird as that sounds. lol

 

When I read the title, I didn't really even consider removing the head as removing a part. I guess I do it so often that I hardly even think about it. I have also removed my doll's hands to get him in to clothes, but when I make clothes, I try to make them so that that isn't necessary since swapping hands is a bit of a pain.

I've seen that Dollshe makes sort of mitten shaped stub things to swap out for the hands to make putting on sleeves easier, I think that was a neat idea. I have also seen pictures of dolls that the owner admits has actually been strung into the clothes. They look really cool, but I think that's a bit more trouble than I would be willing to go through on a regular basis just to dress my doll.

 

No way! I'd never buy an outfit that required disassembling the doll. Back fasteners are not that big a deal.

 

Hmm .. no, I never had that problem actually. Matty's head is fairly small, so the few shirts I got for him either go on just like that, or they have back openings anyways. He doesn't wear any shirts most of the time though, so .. just his fur vest.

And for Zowie, being my little wannabe rockstar, his most worn shirts have pretty huge v-necks = no need to take any heads off here either.
I'm really lazy when it comes to taking body parts off for that reason, I gotta admit.

 

I am bound and determined never to take Korin's head off again. =P That thing took 3 people to get it back on because the hole is so small!

I'm of the group that isn't bothered by back closures. =P ALL of Korin's and Sage's clothes have them. Though I didn't bother on Yoru's clothes, because he wears wide-necked knit shirts that fit over his head anyway, or Thyme's, because he is a Littlefee and hand/face removal is a snap. ^_^;

 

I absolutely refuse to take off heads or other parts to put on clothes. I don't care if they're less real looking, I won't buy or make clothes without openings.

 

I have a doll that has one of those easily removable heads, so I don't mind having to remove that.
I'd have a problem with having to remove hands though. Anything that requires manipulation of the stringing, I would rather just leave alone.

 

At first I didn't think I'd ever want to take my doll's heads off for clothes, but then I found these super adorable sweaters that just happened to be handmade ornaments that were the exact size for my bisou ai *-* And they were NOT going on over her head so that was my first time taking off a doll's head. xD But luckily their heads are pretty easy to get off, just twist the ring and they're good to go, but pliers are a definite must.

So no, I don't mind taking off parts, although I'd probably be a little more squeamish about taking off hands if I ever had to do that.

 

The only time I don't mind removing parts if it's an outfit etc. that I know will stay on for either a very long time or it's so cool/pretty that I just had to have it. Otherwise I'd try to avoid messing around with removing parts if I can.

 

I think it is a bit of a hassle to remove the head just to put a shirt on. I guess it has its pros and cons though. I've accidently ripped eyelashes off trying to get a tighter shirt over the head. I huess it might be safer for the faceups too to just remove the head. It is a bit of a struggle to get the head off though, especially if the doll is tightly strung, or it is an older doll where the head cap isnt connected by magnets.

 

Gelert's paw feet. Eternally in my way while looking awesome. x.x
The rest of him isn't much help either.

Once I got his underwear on him, he's been mostly fine. His pants are made from a wrap pants pattern, fastened with snaps to avoid having to deal with the on-off feets, but he can only wear pants I make for him. I really want a mechanics type jumpsuit for him, but I'm going to have to make it myself with zippers up the legs. The clawed hands he came with arn't much better, but I can usually deal with those as long as I account for them when sewing (loose sleeves or else stretchable).

My minifee I love. Her head and hands come off easy.

I do remove either of my doll's heads when putting shirts on because I want to protect face-ups/eyelashes/ears.

 

I really prefer not to have to remove anything (hands if they're a quick-release type like Volks or LUTS excepted). I don't particularly photograph from the back, and it's a real selling point for me on an outfit. I've bought a few things, mostly by accident, that require the head to come off, and I rarely use those items for that exact reason. A lot of shirts are partially open at the back, but that still involves some careful over-the-face stuff, so I like shirts that open completely down the back. Or the front, for that matter.

 

Im the master of removing doll heads to put clothes on. Ive damaged one to many faceups and removed too many eyelashes by trying to yank a tight shirt on. Other than heads, I dont really remove anything else.

 

I much prefer a realistic looking piece of clothing to the 30 seconds it would take me to get my doll's head on and off. I hate the teddy bear clothes look that you get from having velcro in the back of a shirt, and even a zipper doesn't exactly look good. Doll's heads are so big that you can't have an accurate looking over-the-head shirt without taking the head off. Otherwise you have to have an unrealistic closure in the back, or a HUGE neck hole.

 

I often take the hands off my SSDF to put on his shirts, but there are three reasons: 1-the hands slide off easily and snap back into place, 2-he's still a bit flailing in his arms and I don't want him to smack himself in the head an break a finger, and 3-his shirts have fitted cuffs that would look funny with snaps and he can't flex his fingers inward to slid into them.

But I don't take their heads off! I'd feel bad.