Too Tight or Too Loose? Even tension? Getting it right!

If you tighten it and that wasn't the problem, all you have to do is loosen it back. It's no big deal. Just keep doing it until you get the perfect tension ^_^

 

she may be like me and not be able to untie the knot >,>

My boy came tight, his legs would always pull up. i restrung him and now its love, but he's just my prefrence ^^; you could just let the elastic stretch.

 

If you can't untie the knot, you can either just pull it tighter and make a new knot, then cut the old one off, or to loosen if, you can just stretch the elastic. Either way, you don't have to worry about the knot ^_^

 

I am frightened to cut any more incase it needs to be looser and not tighter!...going to have a go now, still don't understand why the legs 'swing' a little but one kicks like it is too tight!

 

Well, if you tie a new knot to tighten it and it doesn't work out, just untie the new knot. If you find that the new tension is perfect and you want to get rid of the old knot, do so. If you'd like to keep the old knot, even though the tension is perfect, you can dothat too. You don't have to cut it off, you can just fold it up inside the headcap :3

 

well, we tightened it a bit... he is still kicky but not as loose... I think I will just have to keep pulling the string on him... I can't get this one leg to stop being kicky- but it is better and he can stand unaided now so I think it is solved! thanks people!

 

If he continues to kick, you might want to look in to some sueding meathods to give him some grip in that joint. ^_^ The non locking dolls pose wonderfully tight and sueded.

 

yes i have been thinking about sueding for my volks....ohh I am really getting into it no, bought my mask for sanding today!

he is creaky now which seems right to me as the new dolls were creaky to start with

 

My friend just got her new Soulkid yesterday and though we're happy, we're both kind of new to the hobby. Anyway...he feels very stiff. We barely touch his leg and BAM, up snaps the knee and it's almost like rigor-mortis sets in! Same goes with his arms and his head's a bit hard to tilt and turn.

Anyway, does it seem like he's too tightly strung and a re-stringing is in order? Thanks in advance!

~Kumi

 

Not an expert mind, but I'd say yes, factory stringing very tight. If you don't know how, there are reputable folks here or probably even in your area to do it.

My boy does the same thing, btw.

 

You could try pulling on the arms and legs until you can see the string, then putting a little piece of rolled up cardboard or something in there to keep them stretched. If you leave the doll like that overnight it should loosen the strings a bit.

 

I like my dolls very tightly strung, but you really need some sort of sueding to keep the poses. Do a search for it, there's lots of info.

 

sueding really helps

i have worked on souldolls before, if you'd like me to help (advice or commission) than feel free to PM me

i have had two souldolls, a lune and a harang ^_^

 

Well I've found that it is just a matter of playing around with the stringing until you get it just right (getting a friend to help may sound funny at first but I actually needed to do so to tighten the elastic in Kaito's legs the last time I restrung him). The arms and legs are on different strings of elastic so it is possible for a doll to have really kicky legs but floppy arms...or even one floppy leg and one kicky one like Kaito did one time because both of his legs are on different loops of elastic because of the type 2 delf body.
Its simply a matter of trial and error until you can work out what is the right tension for you. But a little bit of sueding might help you out too, there is a thread on it in this section somewhere.

 

Here dear. Talk to this nice person:

http://designerleathercraft.co.uk/html/leather_supplies_for_small_qua.html

Tell him that you want paper-thin leather if he does not recognize the word "pliver", of the sort that is generally considered too thin for anything other than lining. I suspect if he can't help you himself, he can tell you who can.

 

My E-An came what i concider to be perfectly strung (not too loose and not too tight), shes now getting towards the loose side of things but i quite like her like this at the moment. I did hot glue her to help with standing and holding her arms out so for now im not restringing her. My souldoll Celestyn on the other hand was a nightmare when i first got him. My god was he tightly strung. I ended up giving him some new loops of elastic for his legs as the old ones were just too short, (i destrung him to give him some blushing and no matter how hard i tried i could not get the elastic to stretch enough to put him back togeather). Ive not hot glued him as he doesnt need it, hes still fairly tight but not as bad as before.

 

My standard Volks Elena came so floppy her left leg keeps sliding out of its socket when I try to stand her up.

I've left her as is because I have to disassemble her at some point for sanding and body blushing, and I can restring her after that, but for a while I wondered if I'd gotten a dud.

Playing with her a lot seems to have improved her poseability - she can now stand, although her arms keep slipping downward when she tries to hold a pose.

She is quite cuddly, though, in this current form, so I may just put KIPS discs in her major joints and keep her stringing a wee bit loose, so I can hug her close without getting elbowed or kneed.

- Mel

 

I have a Dollzone Mo that i've owned for two years and his legs keep snapping back and the lower part of the legs keep popping out of position.. when I straighten him and his arms won't pose so well straight out.. I've played around with him alot and tried many thngs.. Me and a friend tried working on his elastic to no avail. I really don't want him getting so tight that they snap. ;-;

 

DoC's are hard as hell.
But you should try sueding it really works ^^
I can let my Too stand with bend legs wit hthe sueding

 

I'm kinda new to the more technical side of BJDs, most of what I know is just 'oooh pretty', you know?

My DYNA boy Haruki... his legs are fine (well, I think so) but I have trouble with his arms when posing him, they pretty much want to be fully bent or straight, they'll only really go halfway when something's holding them there, is this a case of the strings being too tight?
The rest of him seems fine, it's just his arms, could anybody give me advice on the best way to solve this?
I love taking photos but posing is becoming a pain

 

Henrietta, my very first girl, is a Delf Kum-Ran, and strung quite tightly, at least her legs. I would like to loosen that a little, but where do I get such round elastic? I've never seen it anywhere.

Also, might it help to just let her rest for some time with pencils inserted into the elastic at the feet or something? So that it would stretch some more?

 

I know it's probably stupid to ask, but I had just gotten my first BJD.
What i do know about them when strung properly is that they should be able to stand up on their own.
However, Mine likes to move into the sitting position when i stand her up and it is rather hard to move her.

seeing as though i have only owned a BJD for less then 12 hours..It's a new experience that I am happy to learn about.

 

Which one have you got? Some have a reputation to be difficult to get them to stand, especially on uneven surface. Being strung tightly however should usually held to get them to stand, not otherwise.

 

Hi there - welcome to the forum

Sometimes, it's just a matter of balance. I recently got my first BJD, and for me, it was a case of getting used to the way she moves and how to balance her correctly

 

Sometimes if a doll is too tightly strung it makes it kicky, but with time the elastic can loosen to just about the right tension. Though, if it's really, really too tight you could consider retying it a little looser, but if you've only had your doll for 12 hours it's probably best to just see if it loosens a little over time.

 

I've experienced this before with a new body; but it usually is quite common for the elastic to loosen to just right as Tereya Chan said. Try to see if you can get used to positioning your doll - it also helps sometimes if the doll is clothed. Restringing is an option if all else fails! Good luck and congrats on your new doll!! =)

 

Third and second this. Wearing shoes will help them stand better. Which BJD do you have right now??

 

Absolutely if its a brand new doll it probibly has a case of kicky leg. to a search on "kicky" and you should get a whole list of topics. with lots of things you can do to try and loosen it up. that don't involve restringing at first.

 

if a doll is strung too tightly it can actually crack the resin (i've seen it happen, the stress produces little tiny fractures) But it has to be REALLY tight before you have to worry about that.


if you are having trouble with posing, hot glue sueding works wonders! Use a low temp hot glue gun and just smear a little on the inside of the socket of the joints

 

Too see if she's strung too tightly (or too loosely), hold her torso and pull gently on her thigh. If she's too tight, her leg won't come out more than an inch or so before the elastic reaches it's end. If she's too loose, it will pull out four or more inches. The "strung properly" range is usually between 2 to 4 inches, depending on the doll type.

 

I cannot figure out how this happened to my doll. She posed well when I got her, and her left arm still poses fine. Her right arm has become tight. How does this happen? Aren't they on the same elastic? I can't find any twists (looking down the arm).

 

sometimes the knot keeps the elastic from stretching out evenly. You can try pulling the tight one out until you can get to the strings then tug a little on the strings individually until they are even

 

My Niamh (1/3 Ophelia) is not standing. i've read that Bobobie's are generally strung loose. Anyone have any experience with tightening the stringing on a Bobobie, or could point me towards a tutorial? i'm deathly afraid if i try it without very strenuous research i may break her...

Thanks for any advice!!!!

 

this has happened on the torso joint of my homme ivan. he's strung so tightly that his arms swing back across his chest when i try to stretch them out sideways. there's a chip on his back where i tried bending his body to stretch the elastic.

i think he really needs his elastic to either be stretched or he needs to be restrung because he's so stiff, his joints creak when i bend them.

 

I took my new boy out of his package only around 4 hours ago. (DollZone-Megi) Naturally being that he is also my first doll I am a tad bit concerned with his stringing. He was pretty stiff in the neck and kicky when I first tried to pose him, but it didn't concern me that much at the time...but then,later on... I nearly had a heart attack when I tried to take the headcap off and couldn't even pull it more than an inch before thinking it would snap, so I kinda stuck my finger around the S hook and held on for dear life....and I swear I thought my finger would have to be amputated after the ordeal. I may not be an expert, but seeing that I didn't think my finger could hold up against the tug of the strings, I certainly am worried about the headcap! o_o" Is it normal to be so tight? Should I play with him awhile so that he loosens up before I worry about it? Or should I consider attempting to loosen the strings or restring him? Or am I perhaps overreacting since he is my first doll and I'm just not used to this? ^_^"

One thing's for certain, I'm not trying to change his eyes again anytime soon...*points at throbbing finger* x.x"

 

Yli arrived sometime yesterday.

She's absolutely beautiful and her body is cute as can be.

I managed to get her to stand after much hard work for about 5 seconds each time, but not since then.

She has one little clicky mechanism in the back of her thigh, but none that I can see on the legs.
As it is though, the left clicky thingy doesn't work very well either.

I am considering taking a trip this weekend to get a hot glue gun and some low temp melting sticks to try to hot glue suede her.

However, I really don't know if she is also too loose or too tight.

When I tug on the S Hook in her head, it wont budge really at all,

When I tug on her leg joints, the feet hardly come out, the knee on the left comes out about 2/3 an inch, and on the right a little less then 1/2. The thighs are about the same, the left one is definitely pulling out further.

Neither of them want to be straight, they always pull back into a bent /sitting/ position.

When I have her laying on her back she can put both legs straight in front of her if I can get the clicky thing to work right, but even then they tend to snap out of place after a minute or two.

I really desperately want to take some pictures of her, but with her snappyness (I wouldnt call it kicky, because she doesn't kick foreward at me, just sort of falls down) I can't manage it.

Her arms seem to pose decently, one moreso then the other - but generally they're fine.

Her torso seems a bit floppy but I hope the sueding can help that.

Does anyone know if she's too loose or too tight, and the easiest way of resolution?

(Yes, I've read the majority of the threads regarding stringing/tightness/looseness)

 

My 44cm Dollzone Felian is having almost exactly the same problem...
i was able to tighten her strings slightly (had to REALLY pull hard on the s-hook, then the strings...) so she will sit up straight, and her knees bend like they're supposed to... however, she won't stand at all.

 

She seems loose.

I restrung her (and found that two of the joints (thigh and ankle) were infact broken or dysfunctional which I to blame for some of the problems of standing)...
But I could only get it so tight before my fingers went numb in pain and I couldn't actually feel what I was doing..

The company said send the entire doll back if I am having problems with her / broken pieces...
Yeah, no. x.x

 

i'm almost thinking of getting a low-temp glue gun & using hot glue to 'suede' her joints... it seems to be getting rave reviews on this board.

 

Hot glue sueding works really well.. I've done it to both Sid and Aspen (as Aspen is kind of loose but I dont feel like racking my fingers to get him tighter).

If shes broken you should be able to get a replacement if thats how she was when you got her O.O"

 

First doll?

Continue to play with her. You're just not used to her. I always try and take time with my new dolls, especially if I've never had/played with the mold before, and figure out how they work. From what you have said, she is strung tightly. Crunch her up in the fetal position and leave her that way when you aren't playing with her. That'll stretch the elastic.

Do you have clothes for her? I've found several dolls of mine do not enjoy being nude and will be right stroppy cows about posing and everything until I dress them, lol. Also get some nice shoes, shoes usually stabilize dolls right up for standing.

 

Yeah, she's my first.

Her normal clothes haven't gotten here yet, nor have her shoes.
She has a sort of sleeping top and bloomers set she wears though.

I always thought their knees gave out when loose and kicked when tight...

Myhe either way I can't string her properly yet, last time I tried my fingers came out bloody red.

 

My MNF kicked a lot when I first got her (but still stood), I thought it was because she was too tight, but someone (a more experienced doll owner) told me "dolls can never be too tight". I kind of ignored it because I know it's not really true, since joints can crack and such with too much pressure. Anyway, I restung her and she stood really well. I know you already said you restrung her and that didn't help, but I also sueded my doll and it worked amazingly. You could try that before anything and if it doesn't work it's really easy to take off.
I think if the parts are actually broken, you should send them back (that way it's free). I understand you not wanting to, but you're going to be frustrated with her and possibly end up resenting her or yourself for it.
Good luck.

 

She's waaaay too tight, if you can't even pull her legs out an inch! Each loop (of doubled) elastic should be about the length of one leg, minus the foot, and you should be able to pull a leg out between 1 and 3 inches. At the least, that is a good starting point. Though some dolls do better strung more tightly, most need to be strung at about that tension.

Also, the elastic can make a difference - with thin, very stretchy elastic, it is difficult to get the tension right, and then it's so tight there's no stretch so she can't straighten out. It woks fine in tinies, but in MSDs or larger dolls it's a pain. If she has that kind of elastic, try getting some Volks MSD elastic or something similar that is stiffer and less stretchy. My Bobobie girl came with elastic like that, and new elastic worked wonders!

For tightening elastic, unless there is a TON of give in the elastic, it's better to slip one long piece of thin ribbon through the elastic at each foot (one ribbon for each foot), then remove the feet and tie the ribbons together (so the legs don't fall apart), and pull up the elastic so you can tighten it. Then pull the ribbon (and the elastic) out of the leg and reattach the foot on each side, and remove the ribbon.

 

I'm pretty sure the "kicky" motion in tightly strung dolls is the same things as the motion you're describing when you say her knees 'give out'. If you're holding the doll and trying to straighten the legs to stand, it looks like the doll is kicking its legs like an infant when they buckle, which is where the name comes from.

I have a lot of kicky CPs who do the same things you're describing. Experimenting with sueding and wiring might help, and you might find her more cuddly if you loosen her up a bit, but a lot of it is just learning your doll's limitations and figuring out ways to work around them. Just about every doll will stand with some practice, some just don’t do it as steadily.

 

I agree with what have been say below ^^
You doll is brand new, it's normal she acts like this. If you change her position, well, three times per week, the elastics will elongate little-by-little (in fact, I think they elongate even if you do nothing). One of mine needed four months to stop being a kicky doll XD

 

If she's got broken pieces you should send her back, it's hard to part with a doll and have to wait for her to come back, but if she broken she'll probably never stand right and it might even get worse.

good luck!

 

My Lishe has kicky legs. When I restrung her and loosened the strings, she was too loose. I cant find the happy medium between to tight and too loose.

 

What about when you straighten one leg and the other leg bends, so you straighten that leg...then the other leg bends...??
My Delf girl feels very floppy but this sounds like tight behaviour to me
Im going to try restring her and find a medium for her.

 

that happens to my Ivan as well! it's quite funny though

 

I have found that if the elastic is bad, it will act both tight and loose at the same time.

 

I tried restringing Mayou short time ago and I really broke into sweat. I didn't imagine it to be that kind of hard Well, I tried because the legs were too loose and the knee joints where turning on pressure (like standing). I tied the knots a little bit shorter and tried several times and now she's holding her poses more naturally. I didn't restring the arms because they were just right. ^^

Can anybody give wikkidgothbabe some advice? I sadly can not =__=

Laoky (kokoa somebody?)

 

I think that string can be too tight.
My friend sent me 2 of her dolls, Cocori's stringing was that tight, well, to me it seemed too tight, the S-Hook had bent like 4mm out of normal shape.
I can't pull the foot out more than 1 or 2cm.

And her other doll,Aaron, I can easily pull his torso from his hip at least 7inches!!
And his foot a fair few inches too!

My 2 dolls, if I pull their feet, they can come out about an inch or 2 easily.When held horizontally, They stay rigid, but posable at the same time.

I think it depends on the string though.I find if it's softer, its stretchier.
Doesn't make too much sense, but it does to me

 

Not sure if this is off topic, so apologies ahead of time.

Dolls usually arrive stretched out and wrapped in a prone position, right? One of mine arrived balled up in a loose fetal curl with one arm twisted behind his back. He seemed fine at first but as time gone by, well, he's developing an attitude. Examples -- his arms curl up and one wraps behind like he's scratching his shoulder blade. One leg straightens nicely but the left has a trick knee now. There are moments he reminds of Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow, all rubber legged and flollopy.

It's a little frustrating, mostly because I will not be defeated by a doll. It's not so bad that I'll resort to restringing yet, but I'm strongly considering sueding.

 

I'm a newb, and afraid I will break my doll trying to pose it because I cannot tell if it is too tight?

So say I can pull out a foot about one inch or so, would that be about right? Is that a good measure for all sized dolls? Less would be too tight? More than 2 inches maybe getting floppy?

Thanks for this thread.

 

My first BJD arrived today (Iplehouse Mars) and I think he might be strung to tight. Unless I lock the elbow and knee joints (which looks really awkward) they keep popping up into a "folded" position. I also can't get him to sit up straight...his upper body keeps snapping back like the legs and body all want to be in a straight line, if that makes any sense?

His head didn't come attached (is that normal?) and I had a real scare when I picked him up and it fell off! But thankfully it landed on one of the pillows that he came with. Phew! I can barely lift the S hook out of the grooves in the top of his neck (it's so tight it hurts my finger) and I'm afraid I might break something if I try to force it up to sit in the grooves in the head.

What do you guys think? Am I just being a bit paranoid, being a new owner and all, or is he strung too tight? The poor boy is laying on my bed right now, headless, because I don't know what to do!

 

It does seem like your doll's stringing is too tight
Head coming off isn't normal either..
I usually use a pair of pliers to lift the s-hook into the grooves.. Its normal for it to be pretty tight.

If you are afraid to restring him I suggest playing with him a fair bit, moving his joints so his string stretches and loosens out a bit.

Good luck! ><
-Ree

 

Ugh. I had that same problem. Pulling and turning the S hook gave me blisters on my hands T-T

I did not break my girl when I forced the S hook. I did not dent anything either. I think it's safe.

 

The fact that the legs keep popping into a folded position is a sign that he may be strung too tight. The head should have come attached. To lift the S hook you will need either this:

http://volksusastore.com/dollfie/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=284

Or a homemade version using a string tied into a circle to help pull the S hook through.

Here is a tutorial on stringing dolls:

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9103

 

Yeah, just play around with him/her for a little bit and loosen your doll up some. I had to do that with my Delf Yder (even though his head didn't have an S-hook) Hope that helps.