Doll Jointing

Doll Jointing
Button Jointing
There are many different ways to button joint a doll. Personally, I prefer either Barbara
Willis’ method or Judi Ward’s.
Barbara Willis’ Method
I learned this method through taking several courses with Barbara and doing many of her
patterns.
1. Use about a yard of strong thread (carpet, button, or upholstery thread) and 2 doll
jointing needles approximately 5” long. The one needle is used to hold the arms in
place on the body and the second is actually used to sew on the buttons. You’ll also
need 2 buttons with 2 holes (that is, not a shank button).
2. Place the arms at the top of the shoulder, making sure they are even. Then slide 1
of the 5” needles through the arm, the torso and then the other arm. This needle
simply holds the doll parts in place.
3. Feed one end of the thread through one button hole and the other end through the
other hole. You will now have a button on the end of the loop of the thread.
4. Now thread the needle with the two ends of the thread. Pass the needle through the
shoulder of one arm, through the torso and out the shoulder of the other arm. Pull
the thread taut so that the button on the far shoulder rests snugly against the doll’s
shoulder. Slip the needle of the thread.
5. Keeping tension on the two ends of the thread so that both buttons are very snug
against the shoulders; tie the two ends of the thread in a knot. If the arms are not
able to hold their pose when lifted, the thread is not tight enough and it is best to start
over.
6. Dab a bit of tacky glue on the knot, pass the threads back through the holes of the
button and bury the thread tails in the body.
With this method you could use decorative buttons like the picture at left:
Or you could cover buttons with a
fabric ‘yo-yo’ like the picture at right.
This is a favourite method of Barbara
Willis whose pattern I made this doll
from (The Collector).
To add to the excitement and variety,
limbs might be tabbed or gusseted and
then jointed to the doll. The left hand
picture is my Soul Whisperer doll which
has gusseted knee joints sewn with
decorative buttons. You can see how
there are many combinations of
different elements of joint construction and design that can be combined.
Judi Ward’s Method
I learned this method through an article by Judi Ward in the March 2008 issue of Soft
Doll’s and Animals.
1. Judi uses closed, metal shank buttons that are often used in dressmaking for
covering your own buttons. She prefers the type with the teeth in the cap. Before
stuffing the leg or arm, slip the button in place at the top of the limb with the shank of
the button poking out. Be sure to place it so that you have a right and left arm and
leg (Hint: your thumbs and big toes should be to the inside of the body). Use a
safety pin to hold it there. Stuff the leg and sew it shut using a ladder stitch.
2. Use a nylon cord like that used for beading and double it. Feed the doubled thread
through the shank of one button with a needle.
3. Tie the cord in a knot there. So what you have now is a limb with four threads
hanging from it (you won’t be able to see the button as it is inside the limb.
4. Pass a doll jointing needle with all 4 threads through the shoulders of the doll’s body.
Take the needle off and pull the thread taut so that the limb on the other side of the
body is snug to the shoulder.
5. Re-thread the needle with two of the threads and pass it through the shank of the
button buried in the other limb.
6. Take the needle off again, rethread it with the other two threads and pass it through
the shank of the same button BUT IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION to the thread you
just put through the button shank. The threads are in opposing directions so that you
can pull them and tie them tightly.
7. Wrap the threads around your hands and pull very hard. Without letting up the
tension. Wrap one side of thread around the joint once or twice and then tie a knot.
Clip the ends near the body.
There is a fantastic visual of this method on Mimi Kirchner’s blog www.mimikirchner.com
and look in her tutorials to find it.
Bead Joints
There are many different ways that beads can be used as joints. I am going to talk
about a few of the ways. Most do require that the doll be designed for bead jointing. Of
course, you can always alter a pattern to make it more suitable for the type of joint you
prefer.
Visible Bead Jointing
As the name suggests, this type of joint is visible and therefore is usually decorative or
conversely, coloured exactly the same as the fabric so it visually blends with the fabric
body parts. It should be designed so that the beads will represent the joint itself; that is,
the bead is visually and functionally like the knee or elbow. There is no limit to what type
of bead you use, it should just be proportionate.
The Bead Facing Top to Bottom Method
In the picture at left I used a wooden bead which I painted
with acrylics and varnished. I made this doll from Patti
Medaris Culea’s Kierlyn, Ready for NYC pattern.
In this case the ends of the limbs where it meets the bead
are rounded. The bead holes sit top to bottom (as
indicated by the blue arrows). A strong thread should be
used. The thread is anchored at the bottom of the upperlimb and the thread travels through the bead. The top of
the lower limb is caught by the thread and then the thread
travels back up through the bead and catches the bottom
of the fabric of the upper limb again. This stitching
pattern of travelling through the bead and catching a bit of
the limbs as you go (indicated in the picture by the red
lines) should be repeated at least 3 times before the thread
is anchored. Be aware that this type of bead joint will allow the legs to spin round at the
knee joint, so you may end up with your feet facing the wrong way.
Bead Facing Side to Side Method
If you want your doll’s leg to face the right direction at all times and still want a good
level of mobility in the joint, this is a great method, but the doll’s limbs must be designed
to accommodate it.
Patti Medaris Culea’s book Creative Cloth Doll Making has some great examples of this
method and also a great pattern to use for the
legs and arms.
The upper and lower leg or arm is created like
the picture at left so that the bead can sit cradled
between the two limbs. The bead is then stitched
on with strong thread through the pointed
portions of the limb (as indicated in the picture at
right where the blue straight pin is). Please note
that the picture at left only shows the upper limb and not the lower
limb which would also cup the bead.
Buried Bead Jointing
This is one of my favourite methods of jointing as it is less visible, but retains the smooth
movement of bead jointing. This method can be used effectively for knees, elbows and
hips.
I feel that it works best if the upper limb is shaped
like at left, but the upper limb is rounded. If you
are jointing hips, then the body bottom should be
rounded and the top of the leg shaped as
illustrated.
Before the lower limb (or bottom of the torso, in the
case of hips) is stuffed the bead should be inserted
into the end of the limb. Put a straight pin through
the bead to keep the holes lined up. Then stuff the
limb.
The rounded top of the limb is then inserted into the
cupped bit of the upper limb. Use a straight pin to hold it
in place. Using strong thread anchor the thread at the
inside of the pointed portion of the upper limb sew
through the bead, through the opposite pointed bit of the
limb and back again, at least three times.
Other Methods
There are many other methods of jointing, including
stitched joints, but they do not provide for as much
mobility as the techniques given here. See resources for
more reading material.
Resources for More Information
Stitched joints, buried Bead joints and more Designing the Doll by Susanna Oroyan
Bead, button, tabbed and gusseted joints, commercial joints Anatomy of a Doll by
Susanna Oroyan
Bead joints and other novelty joints Creative Cloth Doll Making by Patti Medaris Culea
Judi Ward’s Button Jointing Method Judy Ward patterns available at www.thedollnet.com
or the March 2008 issue of Soft Dolls and Animals. There is a fantastic visual of this
method on Mimi Kirchner’s blog www.mimikirchner.com and look in her tutorials to find it.
Barbara Willis’s Button Jointing method Barbara Willis patterns, found at
www.barbarawillisdesigns.com