Chapter 11. Tools and Techniques

Anything you do, whether it is doll-making or dish-washing, is done more rapidly, thoroughly, and easily when the work is organized and the proper tools are used. An expert in any field is simply a person who has learned to use the correct tools in the smoothest and most proficient way.

As a matter of fact, there are no special tools needed for doll-making. Practically everything one needs is right in the house now; scissors, needles, thread, thimble, pastes and cements, crayons or paint. All of these being rather common objects, you've used them time and time again. However, there are a few tricks in using them that perhaps you have not come across. Take scissors, for instance. There are many different kinds, each designed for a specific purpose. Whichever kind you use, experience has shown certain facts about them and more efficient ways of using them that might be useful to you.

Scissors

If you are going to make many dolls, two pairs of scissors are really necessary. One pair should be used exclusively for paper-cutting, the other pair for cutting cloth and similar materials. Paper-cutting quickly dulls a scissors. This may not be apparent so long as that particular pair is being used on paper only. The dullness shows up, however, as soon as you try to cut fine fabric with it. A dull scissors will drag the material, even pull it out of place, which results in a badly cut, inaccurate piece. The rough, sometimes even frayed, edge that comes from cutting with dull scissors looks most unattractive.

A 7-in. scissors is the most convenient size to use. Its blades are long enough to cover ground rapidly and its weight is not too tiring. The handle loops may be identical in shape, or one loop may be large and the other small, as is customary in dressmaking shears. The trick with either style loop is to balance the scissors and let them work for you. This is done by keeping the loops near the tips of the fingers holding them, rather than pushing the fingers all the way through the loops as far as they'll go. This fingertip control produces more accurate cutting and is far less tiring. The kind of scissors used for embroidery makes an excellent addition to the work kit. Use them only for snipping threads and cutting the finest fabrics.

Cutting

All cutting should be started as far down between the blades as you can fit the material. Close the blades about halfway, then open them again for the next stroke. The scissors is moved forward with each opening of the blades so that the material again fits into the crotch of the open blades. Very little pressure of the fingers should be necessary. If real strength is needed, you can be sure of one of two things; either the scissors is dull, or too many folds of material are being cut at one time. Change the scissors (or have them sharpened), or cut through fewer folds of material.

Cutting curves, particularly in paper, is sometimes difficult to do evenly and smoothly. The trick here is to move the paper as the blades close upon it. To do this, the right hand is kept in one position, its only movement being that needed to open and close the blades. The left hand, holding the paper, guides the work between the blades, turning it as the work progresses. Because paper is usually stiff, somewhat longer cutting strokes may be made than are used for fabrics.

Snipping or slashing is done with the very tips of the scissors. This type of cutting occurs at the edges of fabrics to allow for stretching. It is used to make curved seams lie flat. Care should be taken to avoid letting the cut extend longer than is required. This is particularly important where the snip or slash is aimed in towards a sewn seam. Open the scissors blades slightly and fit the edge of the material between the tips. See that the tip of the blade does not touch the seam line. A quick closing of the blades will produce the necessary slash or snip.

When cutting a sharp angle, cut up along one side right to the tip of the angle, then stop. Take out scissors, then start cutting up along the other side until the tip of the angle is reached. The last quarter inch of cutting is done very slowly to avoid going beyond the desired point.

Pastes, Glues, Cements

Library paste and household cement are two adhesives that you probably have in the house. They are both excellent in various phases of doll-making. Library paste is white, smooth, and pleasant smelling. It is fine for pasting paper to paper, but there its usefulness ends. Another kind of paste, called vegetable glue (made by Higgins), is not generally known, but is far more useful than library paste. With it you can paste many different kinds of materials to each other: paper to paper, cloth to paper, tin foil to paper or cloth, cloth to cloth, leather to cloth or paper, et cetera. It has the added advantage that it does not eventually dry out to the point where the pasted pieces come apart.

The household cement made by Duco is just about the stickiest thing ever invented. It will stick anything to anything, but it is more difficult to use than paste. Then, why use it? Well, there are many jobs Duco will do that a paste won't. Because it is liquid and colorless, it can be used for sticking on tiny things such as beads and sequins. A too generous drop of it will not show up when dry, the way paste does.

Applying Pastes, Glues, Cements

No matter what type of adhesive is used, a thin coat is better than a thick one. With paste and glue, a blunt-ended water-color brush is the best kind of an applicator to use. You can cut off the pointed tip of any small water-color brush, or you can buy a "lettering brush" which is good for this purpose. Your own finger tips can be used for some pasting, but they can't put the paste on in as small an area as a brush can. Then too, paste-covered finger tips have to be cleaned off before the rest of the work can be done. An interruption like this is often annoying.

Both paste and vegetable glue dry white and hard, so be careful not to get either of these on the right side of the material. Smooth out any lumps that may turn up, because they, too, will show up on the finished work.

Cement gets over everything, dries almost immediately, and if allowed to fall on furniture will mark or stain the wood. A little practice in using it, however, minimizes these disadvantages. Buy the very smallest tube and open it according to the directions on the outside. Once it is open, the slightest squeeze will start the cement oozing out and it will continue to ooze unless the tube is held upright. To leave both hands free and to prevent the cement from oozing all over everything, stand the tube upright in a small glass.

Never try to apply cement with the finger tips. Squeeze a small amount of it directly on the surface where needed, then spread it out thinly with the flat end of a wooden toothpick. The pointed end of a toothpick will pick up just the right amount of cement from the tip of the tube for putting on tiny trimming details such as beads. Use a fresh toothpick for every application.

Paste, glue, and cement must all be tightly covered between working periods.

Sewing Tools

Don't try to sew without a thimble. It can be done, of course, but there is real danger of hurting yourself when pushing the needle through folds of cloth. The thimble is used to protect your finger and is very necessary, especially when the material is somewhat heavy or thick. You will find, too, that the thimble aids you in taking stitches of a much smaller size than are possible without it. A thimble will fit you a long time so why not get a pretty one?

The size of the needle and thread is of paramount importance in fine sewing. One of the things that makes modern sewing compare unfavorably with that done by nineteenth-century seamstresses is our use of fairly coarse thread and thick needles. We, today, are inclined to make one size thread do for practically everything, that size being No. 60. Far finer and more beautiful work, and work that is no harder to do, is accomplished with No. 90 thread and a really fine needle.

Most packages of needles contain assorted sizes from 3 to 10. Select the finest needle in the package and thread it. If the thread is hard to pull through after the end has been put through the eye, choose the next finest needle. The thread should slip through the eye easily, neither loosely nor so snugly as to require real pulling to draw it along.

It will be much easier to thread the needle if the end of the thread has been broken, not cut. Moisten the broken end between the lips, then roll it to a point between the forefinger and thumb. Insert the pointed end through the needle and draw the thread through for about two thirds of its length. Knot this end. You will have less trouble with thread snarling and twisting as you sew if you put the knot in the end that was threaded through the needle.

Sewing tools, of course, would be incomplete without scissors, which were discussed earlier. Be jealous of your scissors and don't let anyone else use them!

Sewing Machines

A child's sewing machine can be used for making the inside seams of dresses, coats, etc. Since these little machines use a chain stitch, be sure to finish the ends of each seam with a few hand stitches to prevent their coming unraveled. You know what happens to a chain stitch when the end is pulled!

A full-size sewing machine is tempting, but not recommended for doll-making unless you are more than ordinarily skillful in using it. It goes too fast! Before you know it, you've overshot the mark and sewn quite a distance beyond the point where you intended to stop. The hand- or treadle-operated machine, is much slower and more easily controlled than an electric machine.

The nicest sewing of all, of course, is your own beautiful hand sewing.

Tracing and Transferring

While any transparent paper may be used for tracing, the kind you buy in pad form in art stores called "tracing" or "layout" paper is most satisfactory. It is tough, heavy, and ideally suited to this purpose. It comes in various sizes, the 9-in. by 12-in. pad being most practical.

To make a tracing, secure the sheet of tracing paper to the thing being traced so that it will not slip while you are tracing. Small pieces of masking or scotch tape will hold the paper in place. These are easily peeled off when the work is done.

A ball-point pen is best for making the original outline. It makes a thin even line that is easily seen through from the back. Also, the inked line indicates which is the right side of the tracing. When the outline is done, turn the tracing over and, with a soft lead pencil, draw the outline that shows through the paper.

Lay the tracing, inked side up, on the paper or fabric to which the design is to be transferred. Secure it in place, top and bottom, with pieces of scotch tape. Be sure that the material is smooth and is resting on a hard surface. Redraw the inked outline, again using a ball-point pen. To make sure that all lines have been gone over, release the bottom scotch-tape tabs and lift up the tracing. Be sure that all lines have been transferred. The top tabs will assure you of returning the tracing exactly as it was originally. Make any corrections, then take off the tracing. Save it, as you may want to use it again.

Patterns

Heavy brown wrapping paper, preferably new, is the best for making patterns. It is stiff and thick enough to hold its shape when you trace around its outside edges.

Read all instructions for patterns carefully. When the pattern says "Cut Two", the material should be folded, so that when you cut, you will have two pieces. Fabric should always be carefully smoothed out before the paper pattern is laid on it. The pattern is then held down with your left hand while with your right hand you trace its outline with a medium hard pencil. Do not bear down hard on the pencil. Too much pressure will drag the fabric.

The drawn or traced outlines of the patterns indicate the lines along which the sewing is to go. Always trace the pattern on the wrong side of the fabric. When cutting out the piece, cut beyond the drawn or traced edge to allow for a seam.

As in anything else you do the first time, the first doll will take longer to make than will following dolls. As you become familiar with the handling of patterns and fabrics, you will gain in skill and speed.

The curious thing about making dolls is that, once having begun, you never run out of ideas. While finishing one doll, the plans for the next will begin to take form and shape. There is an intriguing attraction that draws you on and on. Perhaps it is because each doll turns out as she, the doll, wants, and not exactly as you planned. Why or how this happens is a mystery. It just does, that's all. Perhaps this mystery is what makes the young "play-doll" maker progress to the grown-up "display-doll" maker. Whatever it is, doll-making is an enchanting occupation that is seldom outgrown.