Tiny doll woes

Not sure how small your doll is but I like to use shoe laces to guide the elastic through the holes cuz they have those bits of plastic on the ends that make it easier? But yeah the smaller the doll the trickier everything gets! I have an SQ Lab girl body and the channels are so tight I don't know how they strung her in the first place

 

I love restringing dolls. I've mostly done my friend's MSDs, but I have done a few of their tinies including some little plastic bunnies with stupidly small channels (I can't remember the company for the life of me). Thin ribbon and a blunt hair pin were my life savers. I'm always paranoid about losing a part since they're so small though, I end up triple checking after every step that I haven't misplaced a piece or had it roll away on me.

 

With restringing really tiny dolls, fishing line or butcher's twine is your friend. They're easier to get through tiny stringing channels than ribbon or a crochet hook.

 

I've got a couple of dolls that have ridiculously small channels. I have a fine wire i got from the hobby store in the jewelry section. I just clipped off a long piece and folded in half to pull the elastic through the channels. Least frustration I've ever had stringing a freebie tiny doll.

 

You could try using crochet hooks as well.

 

Yeah I definitely feel you. I was super frustrated when I restrung my 13cm doll. I was not prepared for those narrow channels. Every restringing tutorial I found was for Yosd and up and mentioned using ribbon. But ribbon is too thick. Even embroidery thread can be too think. Definitely try thin wire or twine.

 

And that's why I've never unstrung my An An - I'm too scared of having to restring her!

For that An An, though, the worst part is making her clothes. I managed to make up a functional kimono pattern, but it's not perfected yet and it's been quite the pain!

 

Aglets! Isn't it weird that English has a name for those bits of plastic on the ends of shoelaces?!

 

I wonder if a dental floss threader might be worth a try? They are made of a very thin plastic with a loop on the end, like a needle - you use them to help feed dental floss through tight gaps like dental braces or bridgework. It might be fine enough and flexible enough to help feed the elastic through the channel? I hope it helps!

 

Aglets. (Click the link and you'll never forget that.)

For a tiny doll, I've actually found a needle and loop of thread to be a great way to get the elastic through. Thread a long needle (if the channels are wide enough, you can use a blunt "tapestry" needle instead of a sharp sewing needle), then loop it through the elastic before tying it off. Drop the needle through the channel; its weight will pull it through, and if it gets stuck, it's long enough to wiggle loose (or you can pull it back with the thread), then use the thread to pull the elastic through. Be careful when you start adding tension that you don't hurt yourself (use something else to pull the thread and be careful to not break it), but it's a good way to get those tiny strings through.

 

For my woes - when there's too many cute things and you have no more room for more dollhouses. I want more and more and there's just no room! (Which for now at least means my teeny doll count is at 3 enough for each doll to have her own little house)

For 1/6th scale - shoes. Shoes. SHOES. It feels like a never ending quest to find more shoes that fit! XD

 

I'm another jewelry wire user when it comes to restringing. I use it as a guide to thread the pieces back together.