Stuffing and Weighting

I cut the joints open on the limbs as shown in the picture below. I just use an exacto knife. Be careful not to cut yourself when you do this. (I usually cut these open right after I take the doll apart before I start any coloring on it.)

Then I fill the limbs up with pellets. I fill them up almost all the way, just leaving about 1/2 an inch for some polyfil.

I then pack the remaining space with polyfil as tight as I can so that the pellets do not rattle or move around inside. But I try not to put so much that the polyfil bulges out of the limbs.

And for the last step, I seal the limbs. I use a clear silicone caulking (used for kitchens and bathrooms). The caulking is not expensive. It is usually about $2-5 at Walmart, Home Depot, etc. And Walmart had the caulking guns for less than a dollar if I remember correctly. It is very easy to use.
I smear the caulking on over the polyfil and the vinyl around it, and also try pushing the polyfil in as I do it to get rid of some of the air inside the limb. (I hope that just made sense.)
This needs to be given plenty of time to dry completely before putting the limbs on a body.

Copyright (c) 2005 Kimberly S. McMullan, All rights Reserved