This is very helpful! I wanted to make some joints for my own dolls and I didn’t want to go the easy route and just buy a joint that probably wouldn’t even work right. Thank you so much for this tutorial. By the way, your dolls are so cool! You have a lot of skill and we’re all very fortunate that you’re sharing some of your insight with all of us. Have a wonderful day!
wow! thank you so much for this tutorial, I make dolls and I think I will try this technique on my beauties. hugs from Brazil, so happy I found this. renee
OMG! Those dolls up on the background are so beautiful ;w; I've just started making bird monster dolls, (rather than people), but all of them look slightly off. I hope it would be okay if I used your's as reference. :)
I am flattered that you appreciate my artwork - it took a long time to develop my skills and I always struggle to make sculptures that capture the essence of the animals I feature. It is fine to use the methods that I've shared online (that's why I've shared), but I'm not comfortable having you use my work as a reference. Here's a lengthy explanation why: I've given talks about creativity and taught many, many classes and I stress to everyone the importance of failure and finding your own style. When I was learning, no-one did what I do. I learned the basic skills from books and I struggled to make heads that looked right. Many failures! Scultping with cloth is different from any other medium and I just had to plow through many techniques. This is why I stress to people that they need to make their own patterns - everyone has different goals and ways of working. There is SO MUCH value in trying different things, analyzing your work, learning what is right/wrong for you, and having the strength to say it didn't work and getting rid of it. The failures are incredibly valuable and are never a waste of time. I find that using someone else's work as a reference almost always holds people back. They are searching for rapid results and there is no such thing. There is value in analyzing what another artist did, and thinking about how s/he accomplished the final work, but trying to replicate it is always frustrating - especially for beginners who are developing their skillset. When you say that your your dolls look "slightly off", you have to really look at them and think about what is "off". Are the proportions wrong? Sizes? Textures? Movement? Expressions? And yes, analysis like this is a difficult skill to master, but good artists do this with every work. My dolls have standard human proportions and, as much as possible, look like the species they are replicating. My main "reference" is nature - that's where I go for the colors, textures, and details that make my work unique. I, like you, find artists and artworks that are inspiring and I have a crazy, big notebook full of images, but I never use them while working on a set of sculptures. What I tell my students to do is find details that are interesting, make a sketch (always a sketch!, important!), then close that notebook (!) and work only from memory. Your memory becomes a filter and the details are remade in a completely different way. This technique is a good way to find your own sense of style. Well, maybe I've rambled on too much and this isn't what your question/comment was about. In any case, if you have questions, let me know. I'm happy to chat. Thanks! Alana
I'm making a teddy bear from an old coat, and the joints will be button joints, but I don't want a button at the back of his head. Do you think it's possible to have one of the button eyes to be an anchor point? Could I a) use a button that's not centered? and B) set the other anchor point in the front, or would I have to put a button above the butt?
Hi! Thanks for the question. Technically, you could use an eye as an anchor, but I wouldn't. For the head joint to work and look good, the line between anchors must be pulled VERY tight. That one eye would sink more into the head than the second eye. If you don't want your stuffed item to have deep divots (like a tufted cushion), you must stuff very firmly - the doll/teddy must be almost hard. Most people just don't do that. Even if you stuffed well, the joint must be centered, so one eye still wouldn't work. The head would have a tilt to one side. If you strung the joint between both eyes and another anchor (where-ever you chose to put it), the two eyes would pull together and you would get another kind of weirdness. For button joints to look good, there must zero space between layers of fabric, so a button joint the way I do it requires that huge pull between anchors. I have to use this method because of the way I make and embellish my head. However, the vast majority of dollmakers (actually, almost ALL of them) sew then stuff the head, so there IS another way! This is the method really clever, old-school teddy makers made movable heads. I don't know if this method was developed by doll or teddy makers, but I have seen it in a few old teddy books, and mentioned only once in a Susan Oroyan art doll book. First, test your pattern with body and head made separately. Stuff each, but leave the opening unstitched so you can play around. Put the head on the body, where you like it , then pin it well, so the two don't come apart - safety pins might be helpful. Take out enough stuffing, so you can stitch the head in place with a few stitches (bright color, so you can see them) at the center of the bottom of the head - go through the bottom of the head and the top/neck of the body. It will be tricky manuvoring around the stuffing, but all you need are a few stitches. Unstuff, then clip the head and body apart, keeping the bits of bright stitch in place to tell you where the INTERNAL button joint will go. Find some wide buttons - 1.5 inches at least - then go to the hardware store and buy three teflon washers larger than your button. Stitch the joint on your final unstuffed teddy - you'll have the following sandwich of layers: button, teflon, bottom of head fabric, teflon, top of neck fabric, teflon, button. If it was me, I would use my favorite waxed linen (which is vintage teddy appropriate!), but you can use whatever you are using for all your joints. Pull everything tight enough to pull the layers together, but not so tight the fabric won't move at all. Tie an overhand knot, leave your cord long, stuff to test head movement, then tie the final knot. This is a tricky method and takes some practice to master, but your button joint will not show. Whew! That was a long answer! I hope it helps. Good luck!
Hello! This head joint can be used with any firmly stuffed head and body. A typical plushy (I'm thinking of a simple stuffed toy) is pretty soft, so the button would sink down and deform the head and chest. Also, if your plushy is designed for children, button joints are not a good option. My heads are made from very dense felted wool and the neck and upper torso is not the least bit squishy. So you could use the joint, but I don't think it would work very well.
This is very helpful! I wanted to make some joints for my own dolls and I didn’t want to go the easy route and just buy a joint that probably wouldn’t even work right. Thank you so much for this tutorial. By the way, your dolls are so cool! You have a lot of skill and we’re all very fortunate that you’re sharing some of your insight with all of us. Have a wonderful day!
Thanks! Glad I could help. I'd love to see your finished doll.
So so simple. But it is a genius idea. Very generous to share....bless you
Thank you for all your kind comments. I'm glad you were able to find something useful and inspirational in my videos.
This is so helpful!! Thank you :) Your bird is beautiful and full of character!
wow! thank you so much for this tutorial, I make dolls and I think I will try this technique on my beauties.
hugs from Brazil, so happy I found this.
renee
I find your art very inspiring, and thanks for your helpful tutorials!
I love your channel
Thanks!
Very very cool technique. Kinda hard...but I think I can do it. I hope... thanks for sharing.
OMG! Those dolls up on the background are so beautiful ;w; I've just started making bird monster dolls, (rather than people), but all of them look slightly off. I hope it would be okay if I used your's as reference. :)
I am flattered that you appreciate my artwork - it took a long time to develop my skills and I always struggle to make sculptures that capture the essence of the animals I feature. It is fine to use the methods that I've shared online (that's why I've shared), but I'm not comfortable having you use my work as a reference. Here's a lengthy explanation why: I've given talks about creativity and taught many, many classes and I stress to everyone the importance of failure and finding your own style. When I was learning, no-one did what I do. I learned the basic skills from books and I struggled to make heads that looked right. Many failures! Scultping with cloth is different from any other medium and I just had to plow through many techniques. This is why I stress to people that they need to make their own patterns - everyone has different goals and ways of working. There is SO MUCH value in trying different things, analyzing your work, learning what is right/wrong for you, and having the strength to say it didn't work and getting rid of it. The failures are incredibly valuable and are never a waste of time. I find that using someone else's work as a reference almost always holds people back. They are searching for rapid results and there is no such thing. There is value in analyzing what another artist did, and thinking about how s/he accomplished the final work, but trying to replicate it is always frustrating - especially for beginners who are developing their skillset. When you say that your your dolls look "slightly off", you have to really look at them and think about what is "off". Are the proportions wrong? Sizes? Textures? Movement? Expressions? And yes, analysis like this is a difficult skill to master, but good artists do this with every work. My dolls have standard human proportions and, as much as possible, look like the species they are replicating. My main "reference" is nature - that's where I go for the colors, textures, and details that make my work unique. I, like you, find artists and artworks that are inspiring and I have a crazy, big notebook full of images, but I never use them while working on a set of sculptures. What I tell my students to do is find details that are interesting, make a sketch (always a sketch!, important!), then close that notebook (!) and work only from memory. Your memory becomes a filter and the details are remade in a completely different way. This technique is a good way to find your own sense of style. Well, maybe I've rambled on too much and this isn't what your question/comment was about. In any case, if you have questions, let me know. I'm happy to chat. Thanks! Alana
Brilliant!!
Good video
I'm making a teddy bear from an old coat, and the joints will be button joints, but I don't want a button at the back of his head. Do you think it's possible to have one of the button eyes to be an anchor point? Could I a) use a button that's not centered? and B) set the other anchor point in the front, or would I have to put a button above the butt?
Hi! Thanks for the question. Technically, you could use an eye as an anchor, but I wouldn't. For the head joint to work and look good, the line between anchors must be pulled VERY tight. That one eye would sink more into the head than the second eye. If you don't want your stuffed item to have deep divots (like a tufted cushion), you must stuff very firmly - the doll/teddy must be almost hard. Most people just don't do that. Even if you stuffed well, the joint must be centered, so one eye still wouldn't work. The head would have a tilt to one side. If you strung the joint between both eyes and another anchor (where-ever you chose to put it), the two eyes would pull together and you would get another kind of weirdness. For button joints to look good, there must zero space between layers of fabric, so a button joint the way I do it requires that huge pull between anchors. I have to use this method because of the way I make and embellish my head. However, the vast majority of dollmakers (actually, almost ALL of them) sew then stuff the head, so there IS another way! This is the method really clever, old-school teddy makers made movable heads. I don't know if this method was developed by doll or teddy makers, but I have seen it in a few old teddy books, and mentioned only once in a Susan Oroyan art doll book. First, test your pattern with body and head made separately. Stuff each, but leave the opening unstitched so you can play around. Put the head on the body, where you like it , then pin it well, so the two don't come apart - safety pins might be helpful. Take out enough stuffing, so you can stitch the head in place with a few stitches (bright color, so you can see them) at the center of the bottom of the head - go through the bottom of the head and the top/neck of the body. It will be tricky manuvoring around the stuffing, but all you need are a few stitches. Unstuff, then clip the head and body apart, keeping the bits of bright stitch in place to tell you where the INTERNAL button joint will go. Find some wide buttons - 1.5 inches at least - then go to the hardware store and buy three teflon washers larger than your button. Stitch the joint on your final unstuffed teddy - you'll have the following sandwich of layers: button, teflon, bottom of head fabric, teflon, top of neck fabric, teflon, button. If it was me, I would use my favorite waxed linen (which is vintage teddy appropriate!), but you can use whatever you are using for all your joints. Pull everything tight enough to pull the layers together, but not so tight the fabric won't move at all. Tie an overhand knot, leave your cord long, stuff to test head movement, then tie the final knot. This is a tricky method and takes some practice to master, but your button joint will not show. Whew! That was a long answer! I hope it helps. Good luck!
Off the subject, but is your ring Silpada?
Can you do this with plushies?
Hello! This head joint can be used with any firmly stuffed head and body. A typical plushy (I'm thinking of a simple stuffed toy) is pretty soft, so the button would sink down and deform the head and chest. Also, if your plushy is designed for children, button joints are not a good option. My heads are made from very dense felted wool and the neck and upper torso is not the least bit squishy. So you could use the joint, but I don't think it would work very well.
Thanks!
TFS