Restringing A Minifee

Okay, next in my line of restringing tutorials is the minifee tutorial.

Posing pictures can be found here.

Note:
If you are restringing a recast, please be a bit gentle, especially with the thinner areas near the ankles and whatnot.
Materials:

Standard restringing tools, like new elastic, calipers, a chopstick or pencil, a ribbon or cord, etc. An extra pair of hands will always make the job easier!







Step 1: Clean Up

Whenever I'm restringing a doll, especially if it's a recast fresh out of the box, the first thing I do is take the doll apart and make sure the string channels and other areas inside are nice and neat. I bevel, sand, remove flashing, etc while the doll is in pieces. Next, I clean it really good with soap and water. This removes excess oils and resin dust from the doll. Let the doll dry thoroughly before putting it back together.

Note:

Keep track of the pieces and which side of the body they correspond too (left, right, leg, arm, etc).



Step 2: The Neck Piece

The neck connector thingy is a pain the rear and can be really confusing. Here is what it is supposed to look like:



To achieve this, take a long piece of elastic. Tie it in a knot. Fold the string in half and stick it up through that little ball thing. You want the knot close to the ball but not through it, as the neck piece won't fit if the knot sits on top. Hook the little s-hook in the neck piece to the loops of elastic sticking out of the little ball thing. Pull it tight.

Next, put the elastic loops through the torso piece. This isn't the best image but in general it will look like this:





Step 3: Tummy and Hips

Next, bring the two loops through the tummy piece, like this:



Okay, now the hips. The hips have two openings, one loop goes through each opening. Take a piece of ribbon and put it through one of the elastic loops (you'll need ribbon in the loops for the legs in the next part. I just do it here so I don't forget). Put each leg loop through the hips, as shown:





Step 4: The Legs

We forgot to take some good pics of this part, but next you will thread the hip cup onto each loop. The hip cup is the rounded part that fits over the top part of the thigh. In the picture of the pieces all laid out up above it is labeled for you.

Next you will thread the top part of the thigh, followed by the thick upper thigh, knee, and calf. Use ribbon to get the elastic through the narrow calf and to help pull the elastic tight. It will look like this when properly assembled:



Be sure to keep an eye on which is left leg parts and which is right leg parts! As you go to pull tight on one leg, the loop for the other leg might try to jerk back up into the hip/torso. Use calipers or a chopstick to hold it and prevent it from doing this.

Step 5: Feet!

Next up is the ankle ball. Thread that onto the loop like so:





The feet are a little tricky, especially depending on how tight you're stringing the doll. Minifee feet have these little resin "hooks" in them. You need to place this hook into the loop of string, like so:



Sometimes it helps to have calipers or a chop stick hold the elastic so that if you miss the hook or it slips off the foot the string doesn't shoot up into the leg. Nothing more annoying than having to restring a leg you've just strung...especially one with as many parts as minifee legs.

Funny note: Right after I made this tutorial I switched from flat feet to heeled feet. Not paying attention, I didn't put a chopstick through the elastic loop under the ankle to prevent the string from shooting up. My hand slipped, and the elastic shot up into the leg and I restring the whole darn thing.

Just repeat this step for the other leg.

Step 6: You're done!

I didn't do an arm tutorial here because I hate restringing arms and the tension was just right as is. You can restring arms essentially the same way as legs, one piece at a time, being careful to attach the wrist balls.

You may have to string and restring a few times until you get your elastic to the right length for tension. Minifee are kind of a pain this way, since there isn't a large s-hook with a knot holding it all together at the head.

In the end I was able to get my minifees to pose extremely well. You can see the pics in the image post I linked to above.

Note: Sueding and wiring helps minifees and most other dolls pose even better. I like to suede while the doll is assembled, some people do not. If you don't like dealing with it while assembled, be sure to suede before putting the doll back together.

Nifty preview of the pose thread, completely unassisted with a pukifee on her shoulders:



I hope this helps!

If any more pictures or explanations are needed, feel free to comment below. Have a good one, and thanks for looking!