Rerooting Instructions

These are some rerooting instructions that I received from Darlina Metz.

REROOTING INSTRUCTIONS

 

Tools Needed

 

Needle nose pliers,  Needle (a Susan Bates Steel Yarn #16, 2” or 5cm or #20 tapestry needle)  Yarn –start with 4oz more for an elaborate hairdo.  Scissors, zip ties (found at a hardware store 18”)  small channel locks.

 

1.  Taking off the dolls head.  To do this you have to cut the plastic tie called a zip tie.  Take the chunky end of the tie with your pliers and twist until it breaks or snip it with wire cutters or nail clipper.  The head will come off.  There’s a plug that goes in the hole of the head.  Soak in hot water for a few minutes then pry out with a screwdriver or butter knife

 

2.  Removal of the hair.  Cut the hair to about 2” then take the pliers and grab a few strands and twist the pliers until the yarn pulls out of the head.  Other people go inside the head with an exacto knife and cut and scrape from the inside.  Whatever is easiest for you.    Once the hair is removed, wash and dry the head thoroughly.  You can clean the face with mild detergent and a soft cloth.  Depending on the hairstyle, this is one of the most difficult steps of the whole re-rooting process. Pony hairstyles can go very quickly, sometimes taking only about 15 minutes.  Loopy hairstyles however take much longer to remove.

 

3.   Decide what hair style you will be doing.  Pre-drilling holes will make re-rooting easier and allow you to create your own hair line..  Use a small dremel tool or small drill which is easy to hold and a 1/16^th drill bit.  Once you have all the holes drilled it’s time to start re-rooting. 

 

4.   Thread your needle with a long 2’-3’piece of yarn.   For loops work with strands of yarn no longer than 2 feet long.  Any more and it gets tangled together.  Select where you want to begin –

 

LOOPS: To start the loops –  begin by going…  Up thru hole 2, Loop , down thru hole 1. [Make the first loop the length you like by wrapping the yarn over a finger or two hold it so it doesn’t move]  Now - up thru hole 3, LOOP , back down thru hole 2.  Up thru hole 4, LOOP , down thru 3.  Make sure the loops are the size you want.  They will lock in place and not move.  REMEMBER: each hole should have 2 strands coming out of it.  Use the pliers to push the needle through a hole. To start the loops use the pliers to push the needle through a hole from the inside of the head.  Then use the pliers to pull the needle through from the outside.  Leave about 1 inch hanging on the inside.  Then push the needle down through the next hole and pull through until the right sized loop is formed.  Next go back up through the next completed loop.  Then keep going up through the open holes and down through the loops making sure that all the loops are the desired size… the inside will braid itself together making the loops really secure.  At the end of the strand cut off the yarn on the inside leaving an inch hanging and then start back up with a new strand of yarn.

 

PONIES:  Are much easier than loops.  Just cut a piece of yarn the length of 2 strands of hair.  (Allow plenty of extra length)  Push the needle down through the hole and bring it back up the next hole.  On the next one, go down through the hole of the last strand and back up the next hole.  (Just like the loops except now you are working with individual pieces of yarn).  Keep doing this until all the hair is in place.  Another way would be to determine how long you desire the pony or ponies to be – then add an extra 6”.  Thread your needle, folding the yarn in half, run it down into the head, cut the yarn at the needle and tie a large knot in the two pieces of yarn and pull from the outside taunt.  Do this all the around on the head for both single and double ponies.  For doubles you will need to make a center seam down the back of the head for the part.

 

5.   Reattaching the head.  To put the head back on take a zip tie and thread it back where the original zip tie was.  Put the head back on then tighten the tie.  Cut off the extra end of the zip tie flush with nail clippers, cutting all the way to the closure.  You don’t have to reinsert the neck plug, but you can if you want to.

 

This method of re-rooting takes longer than some of the other methods but the hair is more secure and will not come out easily.

TIPS:  I use a Dritz Chenille size 18 needle. They come in a pack of 6 for a little over $1 at Walmart. I use 100% cotton yarn. If it's acrylic, it frays really easy.

TUTORIALS WITH PHOTOS: http://anotherdusty.blogspot.com/search/label/rerooting
VIDEOS OF PENCIL CURLS: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdxzxDTykxsP67acFUect5SS5kUd0RTPi