Question about doll joint repair?

[gmommy04]

I bought a Samantha fixer upper on ebay a few weeks ago. She had one leg detached, frizzy hair, a bit dirty and a bunch of tiny holes in her body. When I took her apart, a tag that says "Made in USA for Pleasant Company doll contains all new synthetic fiber 1986" fell out of her head. She has light brown hair/tan body. Anyway, my dilemma is that although I have her leg and the directions from the board (Taffy I think!) on how to restring her, the little cup joint from inside her leg is missing. I just have the one from inside her body. I can't seem to find a replacement part online at doll repair sites. They all have the disk style joints. Another problem is that her other leg has come partially unstitched where the cloth attachs to the leg holder---not sure if I will be able to figure out how to sew the cloth to the vinyl even though there are tiny holes in the vinyl I could follow. Any suggestions?? I am determined to restore her, but may have bitten off more than I can chew. Thanks in advance, as always. [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

Karla

[wicksasc]

My suggestion would be to unstuff her and try sewing the socket back into her body. As far as the cup from inside her leg, could you find a washer that was small enough to squeeze inside her leg, but large enough that it would not easily pull out and use that instead of the plastic cup? I've never tried it, but it might work.
~Stacie

[kitschywoman]

Wicsasc has given you some good advice. With the missing leg cup, a washer should work. Basically, any object that has a hole in it for your elastic and will fit through that leg opening and not come back out is a good choice. If you use a washer, it needs to be big enough to just fit into the leg. Since it's flat, you can squash the leg a bit to make the leg opening flatter and, thus, a better fit for forcing the washer in.

I'd add that upholstery thread is a good choice for sewing through that vinyl socket. It's a bit thicker, but is very strong, which is what you need. You may need to use a timble and pliers to get the needle through the holes in the vinyl.

[TaffyCheerful]

You really need the cup (or something that could provide that function) as it is the length of the elastic cord INSIDE the cup that allows for the flexibility of the joint. Maybe a plastic bottle cap would work... Or, perhaps a PVC end-cap with a hole drilled through it...

Taffy

[kitschywoman]

Oh, I dunno. The opening for the joint is recessed enough that I think she'll have room for the elastic to give enough to make a good joint. Or maybe she could just swap out the cup and put the washer on the joint inside the body instead?

How's that for a confusing paragraph? [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Time and experimentation will tell. I'm kind of wishing for a doll of my own to experiment on now.

Hey, Laura, would it bother you if Ruthie had a little "accident?" [img]graemlins/angel.gif[/img]

Yes, ladies, I'm kidding. [img]wink.gif[/img]

<font color="#051E50" size="1">[ August 17, 2005 02:20 PM: Message edited by: kitschywoman ]</font>

[gmommy04]

Thanks so much, Stacie and Kitschywoman---great ideas from both of you. I think a washer will work if I flatten out the leg a bit to squeeze it in and the upholstery thread sounds like a good plan too. Will post before and after pics when I FINALLY get my project finished. I have become attached to this poor doll and am determined to get her back to at least a "decent" state of repair.

Karla

[robin0850]

If it were me, I'd take the other plastic cup (from inside the body) with me to the hardware store, and see what I could find in the way of "endcaps" or similar items--such as the covers that go over the bolts that secure toilets to the floor. Maybe you could find something approximate that you could punch the right size of hole into. Just my humble suggestion--and good luck! [img]smile.gif[/img]

[TaffyCheerful]

Actually, there is no "other" cup inside the body. The separate cup is only in the limb itself. It needs to fit through the hole at the top of the limb, yet be large enough that it won't slide out easily.

I really need to make a detailed CAD-type drawing of the joint in cross-section to accompany the page on restringing. In this case, a picture is worth waaaay more than a thousand words.

Taffy

[robin0850]

Actually, there are cups on the inside of my dolls, but they are mostly PM, so maybe that makes the difference. There is one inside each limb, and one on the inside of each joint, like a mirror image.
[img]graemlins/thinking.gif[/img]

[gmommy04]

Gosh, I am confused now! Taffy, this doll has a 3 cups on the inside of the unstuffed body that secure the elastic cords to the 2 arms and 1 leg. Of course the three remaining limbs intact are still attached so I can't see what's inside them. I just know that I have one leg and one cup to work with. Now I don't know whether to hunt for a similar washer or cup-like end cap etc., use the one cup I have on the inside of the body, use it inside the leg or possibly not need another cup at all! YIKES!! [img]graemlins/cry_smile.gif[/img]

Karla