Is 'restringing' neccessary?

It's a bit of both. Crazy legs is... well, just what it sounds like-- the doll kicks and wants to have its legs up in 'sitting' position because the strings are so tight. It makes standing difficult.

You can stretch the string by literally pulling your doll in opposite directions.. it looks a bit painful but if you do this a few times a day it'll slacken up until it suits you.

If it doesn't help or you don't want to do that, then yes, you can restring your doll and just give it a bit more slack than the current stringing.

EVENTUALLY you'll have the opposite problem-- the strings will be too loose and he won't do anything but flop around. At this point restringing is usually necessary...

It's really up to you and your preferences ^^

 

from what little I know, just playing with him, and putting him in different positions should help loosen the strings after a while anyway. so I say just handle him a fair bit and he should be okay soon enough, without you having to restring. =)

 

If you leave him kneeling overnight, it will stretch out the elastic over time. :3

 

I'm not sure if all dolls are strung like this, but mine have seperate elastic for the arms and hands and then a different strand for the head, torso, legs and feet. So perhaps then the leg elastic is too loose and the arm elastic is too tight! If the legs are too floppy then I suggest taking him apart and tightening his string. The arms hopefully will losen with time. Perhaps you can try sueding his arm joints?

These links are really helpful. I was terrified to take my doll apart, but with the help of these links it was easy and actually enjoyable...a bonding experience. Lol

 

I think all are strung with one piece for arms and two for legs/head...I could be wrong though.

 

Some dolls have one string connecting both legs, and some have two strings (it pretty much depends on if it has been cut - a prefrence of the company or person stringing). All dolls (at least all 5 of my strung dolls) seem to have separate strings for arms and legs.

If you are afraid to completely unstring your doll... For the legs, you could try just taking the head off and pulling the leg string(s) out and getting someone to help you hold it out and tighten the knot. Just a bit can do wonders, so don't tighten it TOO much or you will have the opposite problem!

As for the arms, just fold them up when your doll is not being played with, and maybe try pulling the arms. Be careful though... You might want to fish around a bit to find the arm knot and make sure it is tight before you do much pulling, otherwise restringing will be a MUST if your darling's arm falls off because of a loose knot!

Don't worry though... If it does come down to restringing, it's really not as scary as it sounds.

 

my first restringing was a nightmare 0_o it took my boyfriend there to help me, now i can do it in like ten minutes XD I try to clean my girl once a week just because as a model she gets so dirty! XD

i bought an entire spool of elastic >,>soo... i don't have the biggest problem with needing supplies, but restringing/sueding will help.

 

Where did you buy an entire spool of doll-elastic? I'll need to get some for when I finally get Thalia her body.

 

Does anyone have suggestions on tightening? Like a tutorial perhaps. My CP El is too loose. The arms won't hold a pose they flop. Also one of the legs is loose and the piece that is between the thigh and pelvis rotates all sorts of funny and he won't stand. I've had him for maybe a week and he's my first, so I have to no idea how to tighten the strings on him. *scared* Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Luxuria - crockworks ^_^ it's in a mall down by where i live. At the moment they're out of white elastic, but they have black ^_^; i think it's crockworks...

it annoyed me so much that it was the only store that carried the right kind XD

 

My friend just lets the elastic be. Through the posing and moving of the joints, it should loosen to "normal" after a while. Same goes with creaky joints if you have any.

 

my first restringing was a nightmare too!
It's my best friend who repaired the massacre! All of that because I would like too suede and blush her body!

 

When i received my Dollmore Ipsae, she was very Floppy. I did what Squeekiekitty suggested. I took her head off and pulled up on the string and retightened it with a new knot. She could already stand but tightening the string made a Huge difference. She is no longer floppy and can hold many poses. I plan on sueding and wiring her as all my Girls.

 

This helped with one of my dolls. The problem was the kick. And now she doesn't. Thanks.

 

I'm not sure if my doll's kicky or not. Her knee, with the slightest movement, will want to go back, and the leg will be at a 90 degree angle. Her thighs and feet are just fine. Is this being kicky, or something else?