I had trouble with Super Sculpey breakage. A dollmaker I took a class from suggested 50-50 mixing with Cernit and that seemed to be much better.

I've got some of the Bake-and-Bend Sculpey - they quit selling it in open stock where you could just buy flesh tones of beige or brown etc. But I did e-mail the company and also got the suggestion to mix it with regular Sculpey. Haven't tried yet but glad to know it's possible.

Maybe just hand-stitch the difficult parts with stitches that don't show?  For the ears are you making them separately then stitching them to the heads? If not, that might help. If you already are, maybe leave the ears open and hand-sew them after you turn the head right side out?

Hope things go better! 

There's also sew and tear interfacing. Some people sew dolls or their clothes by tracing onto the fabric layered right sides together, sewing on the lines, then cutting out leaving a seam allowance. You would probably have to hem edges by hand with this method.

I prefer just to sew the shoulder seams first, set in sleeves, and then sew the sleeve and all the way down to the bottom of the shirt or skirt. Pants are sewn front or side seams then inseam, then hem (sometimes on 18" doll clothes I do the hems first.

On really tiny clothing, such as for Barbie-sized dolls, the neck openings (or arm or leg for sleeveless/bathing suit bottom etc.) are the most difficult. One trick I learned is to make a lace or other trim neckline by sewing the lace/trim right side against the right side of the garment front, then you turn it back and topstitch close to the edge. You could also do this with tearaway interfacing or the kind that dissolves in water, then you wouldn't need the lace or trim.

Hi - haven't been on Craftster in awhile because I was packing and moving to a new residence. I remember back in the summer I looked up some doll hair links - for people who do re-rooting and so on. There are different materials used for synthetic hair. I'm assuming your American Girl Felicity probably had a high-quality type of hair. Maybe what they use for synthetic wigs aimed at human consumers.

Meanwhile, my poor dolly is making do with her Halloween wig - it's a little big for her but from the front view you can't tell!  I might cut it down one of these days and tack it to her head with some kind of removable tape - that way if it rots too, it can be replaced again.

Just curious if anyone's experienced this. I sew clothing for 18" (American Girl) size dolls. I can't afford the AG dolls but I have some Springfield and other "knock off" types that serve as my "models" for the clothing at a craft show.

I noticed that my older red-haired Springfield doll's hair turned off-color, sort of faded, and started to fall out of her head at the roots. It had taken on an odor like an old crayon. Then the same thing happened to another red-haired 18" doll (I'm not sure who her manufacturer was as she was a garage sale find).

Since these are model dolls I'm improvising with Halloween costume wigs, so the poor dollies don't have to be bald, but I'm just curious about the red hair problem. For instance, if I were to invest in a synthetic doll wig for one of these dolls at a later date, should I be concerned that the same thing might happen again?

Been on SSDI since earlier in the year and I want to sell some crafts to help make ends meet - would like to hear from some others on SSDI who have done so - do you just report it on your IRS taxes or do you have to notify Social Security before you start? I seriously doubt I'd even approach the limit of what you can earn with my crafts but I don't want to commit a "technical foul," so to speak.

My poor 18" dolls with red hair are bald!  One is an early Springfield doll, and the other I got at a garage sale or thrift shop so I don't know what she is but she's not an American Girl, that much I can tell.

A couple years ago the Springfield doll lost all her hair and now the mystery doll is starting to do the same. The hair just falls out at the "roots." 

I want to make or buy them wigs - I was even thinking of buying a synthetic red Halloween costume wig - one wig might provide enough hair for both dolls.

However, my thinking on that is thus:  if it's cheap synthetic red hair, would I just be throwing my money away? On the other hand, if I pay for a pricey pre-made wig from a doll supply company, will I get a better product that won't be likely to self-destruct?

Thanks from me and my poor bald dollies for any light you can shed on this problem!

There's also a company called Home-Sew that might have them - they have tiny buttons and zippers.

I have some things I'd like to do that would probably require a heavy-duty or industrial sewing machine, like work with leather, vinyl, heavy fabrics, attempt to make purses, that sort of thing. If I could find an inexpensive used one that worked, I'd consider it. Here are some questions I have:

1. Would a "heavy-duty" machine be as good as an "industrial" machine for the above types of sewing by a novice, and less expensive?

2. I tried out an industrial machine as part of a job application at a manufacturing place, and the thing scared me, it ran so fast I was afraid it'd chew up my fingers (I didn't get the job, obviously  ). Are there some that have variable speeds to give a scaredy-cat more control?

3. What other advice would you give, in light of what I've already mentioned but may not have thought to ask?

THANKS! 

Those are cool! 

I do regular size acrylic abstract/non-representational painting. I've not gotten into the ATC thing yet, but maybe one of these days...

It'd be cool to do a swap of just this type of card, though...hmmm...