Tutorial: How atelierniSHASHA inserts dolly hands into narrow or delicate long sleeves

Hi guys!

Recently, I have listed this chunky sweater,
and made sure that I don't spread trouble
by having a collector purchase it for her dolls with undetachable hands,
if there's such an adjective.
I listed it specifically for the sixth-scale fashion dolls 
with Detachable Hands only.

Sweater life is sweeter for Violet since she has detachable hands.

This is because of one minor, okay, major issue for me.
You see, one of the things I don't like in doll clothing is when the sleeve holes
(particularly of those long sleeved ones) 
are intentionally made too wide just so you can easily redress them.

I mean, sure it's a sweet gesture for the collector.
But wouldn't it be nicer if those sleeve openings look realistic
and fit snugly around their wrists?

So, since I am your rebel gal and I wanted the sweater to be available
to other gals, too........

I made a small tutorial, so that Tamica
(a Barbie Fashionista with undetachable hands) can wear it to university today!

This photo reminds me of college-themed indie films, for some reason LOL!
So, without further ado, let's get it on with the tutorial =)

First, find a thick piece of paper that is about as long as your doll's arm.
Roll the paper with anything that's pretty much the diameter of your doll's arm.
I just grabbed my trusty graphite pencil here. No sweat :)


Now, let's insert that rolled paper into the sleeves from the opening and out to the neckline.


Then, let's try to insert dolly's fingers into the rolled paper.
We don't need her entire hand inside the rolled paper.
We are only trying to protect the fingers from clasping into
the delicate knit fibers.


Push her arm through the sleeve.


Be careful to not let the well-inserted fingers get out from the rolled paper while still inside
the sleeve. Only remove the paper when the hand is now sticking out.


So, there you go. Tamica gets to be cozy and comfy with the knit sweater, too!
Yay!





I hope this tutorial can help you, too.
And if you have methods of your own, please do share with us so we can chat about it,
and make our doll collecting lives much more fun, yes?

Chat with you soon, dollies!

hugs and kisses from the Philippine islands,
s h a s h a

addendum:

I also tried it on Sue, my Dynamite Girl Aria, who has the pointiest
fingernails I've ever had in my undetachable dolly hand department
to make sure she can sport the knit stuff, too..

 

Somewhere between the inserting of fingers,
it's gonna be a little different for the DGs as their fingers
are more "separated" and pointy.

So, I placed all four fingers into the rolled paper,
and pulled the edge of the paper for the thumb to be covered with.

Then, same drill until the entire hand sticks out.

Here goes little Ms. Dynamite "pointy fingers" Gal, Sue. LOL!


Comments

  1. That's a great knit-saving tip!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, jSarie... It was a need that I wanted to address for a long time now.. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention :)

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  2. Oooh, never thought about it! Simple but very smart.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, monstercrafts! If I didn't have a knit sweater, I wouldn't have thought of this, too :)

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  3. Thanks Shasha, I use small "plastic bags", but this could work even better!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Billa... I haven't tried plastic bags because I thought they can easily be punctured by sharp fingernails, like my Dynamite Gals'... thus the "thick paper" :)

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  4. A very good idea Shasha! It's really frustrating when the little doll fingers get stick in knitwear, this is a great solution, thanks for sharing! xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Linda.. Yes, it has frustrated me for a long time, especially with my Dynamite Girls because they're the ones I like dressing up, and then their fingernails are crazy sharp - so I had to make my own solution. Glad you like it :)

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  5. I have wrapped the hands in plastic wrap (Saran Wrap). I wrap it tightly so it pulls in that thumb a bit too. This is also a great solution and saves on plastic wrap!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Phyllis.. I agree with plastic wraps making it easier to just slide in the arm once you have tightly wrapped the fingers but I guess I had so many paper on my desk that it was the first thing I thought of using haha!

      Delete

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