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