Improving Posability

Sometimes even a well strung doll will still be difficult to get to hold a pose. Here are a couple of methods to help your doll strike a pose.

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Sueding

Sueding is putting something in the sockets of your doll's joints to cause friction. Resin can be very slick so when you pose your doll, the resin may need something to grip to hold. There are several ways to do this. Here are the ways I know of. This is one of the easiest improvements you can make to your doll, so don't be afraid to try.

Hot Glue Sueding

In this method, you'll actually be putting hot glue into your dolls joints. Hot glue stays rubbery, which helps to give the joints more friction while posing. You'll want to take your doll apart. Take a low-heat glue gun and put dots of glue all around the inside of the socket of the joint. Be sure not to touch the metal tip to the resin, as it'll melt it. Take a piece of paper (to prevent burning yourself) and spread the glue around in the joint. Try to get it smooth-ish, but don't spread it too thin. Now, I'm saying not to spread it too thin, but you don't want it so thick that the ball joit won't fit back in. Make sure it's completely dry and you're done. If you decide later that you want to remove it, the glue just peels off easily.

Here is a link to American Doll Outfitter's hot glue sueding tutorial to help you get a visualization.


Kips
Kips are silicone disks you insert into the doll's joints during stringing. They're actually sold through several BJD dealers such as Volks. Kips work much like other forms of sueding, except they're not actually fixed in joint.

Image belongs to Volks

Pliver Sueding

Pliver is a thinly pressed piece of leather (or any thin leather like material). Cut circles in it that are about the same circumference as your doll's joint sockets. Cut a slit from the middle of your circle out. This will help the material fit into the socket. Spread a little glue (you can actually use Elmer's glue) into the socket, then press the circle in. Let everything dry completely and reassemble your doll. That's it :)

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Wiring

Wiring is where you thread wires through your doll's arms and legs. You'll need to make sure your wire is thin enough to fit through the stringing holes, but not so thin that it won't support the doll's limbs.

For arm wiring, you'll need to cut a length of wire that will run from inside your doll's shoulder stringing hole and down the arm to about the middle of the lower arm piece. For leg wiring, you'll need a piece of wire that can run from inside your doll's hip stringing hole and down to about mid-calf. Make sure you leave enough wire inside the doll's body so that it won't pop out when you bend the limbs.

To insert the wire, just pull your dolls limb apart to where you can see the elastic and push the wire inside, threading it through.

You'll probably want to use some sort of coated wire and wrap electrical tape around the ends where it is cut. You don't want the wire to scratch up your doll's insides. You can use uncoated wire, but you may want to wrap it in tape.