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MarlinGrey β Doll Joints Tutorial
Published: 2010-01-18 18:18:19 +0000 UTC; Views: 39526; Favourites: 289; Downloads: 440
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Description
Here is a simple tutorial on how to make doll joints and how to use them.What is the advantage of doll joints in general?
They make the limbs of your doll/plush movable which is really cool if you're going for realism.
These are cheaper than the ones you can buy because it's quite likely you will already have all the materials at home.
They are however more difficult to use.
Please make sure to use wire that will not rust. If you had it lying around for years and it still looks fine, it will be okay.
I can not guarantee that the joints made with this tutorial are safe for toys for children.
Feel free to ask for advice, point out mistakes, or leave lovely comments.
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Comments: 24
Thank you for making this!
Not sure how much it'll work for what I have in mind (life-size Pokemon plush, specifically Vaporeon and Vulpix), but it's a start and the only real tutorial for this I've found so far.
I was more thinking ball joints so the arms could go outwards Β like on an action figure, but since I've never made a plush with them, this may be an alternative.
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If you're looking for patterns for human plushies check out this site: [link]
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Is thare a hsien ko one
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There are no special character patterns but you can always modify existing ones.
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Thank you very much for this, I'm sure i will use this method a lot in the future.
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This will be really useful, I'm just getting into making plushies and ragdolls and this will be great for making something more realistic.
Would plastic buttons okay to substitute to the plastic/cardboard circles though, or should I just experiment and see what happens?
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You can try using plastic buttons but be careful with the wire. If you put the wire through the separate holes of the button and twist it you might break the bridges between the holes. Maybe you can carefully use a drill or something like it to make one bigger hole in the button ("connecting" the smaller holes). But of course you can just experiment with an unaltered button, they should be sturdy enough.
If the connected body parts aren't too heavy and the wire is small enough you could of course use a button with two holes and you wouldn't need an additional bead.
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Thank you for the great tutorial! I will have to try this method sometime! I'll be sure to let you know if I do! 
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No problem, thanks for faving
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Cool tutorial. I was just going to try and wing it, but now I shall follow this, and it shall hopefully! go to plan!
One question: Could you use buttons instead of the plastic discs, and then miss out the bead bit? It's just that the're lots of buttons lying around my house, so they would probably be easier to source than a sturdy bit of plastic C:
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Yes, I guess you can use buttons. If you want to put wire through them you'll have to be careful so they don't break. But if they're sturdy enough why not.
Alternatively you could try this tutorial: [link]
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Eh, they look pretty durable, so I'll give it a try!
Thanks for the other tutorial, I'll have a proper look at it later, when I'm not so tired!
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I'm going to use this for an experimental hinge in my cable puppet system. There has to be a hinge where the cable connects to the head, but I'm still working out the best way to do it. Pre-made doll joints are too big, so this method may be what I need. Thanks for sharing!
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No problem. Will you post a picture of it on DA? I'd love to see one
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I will. For my current project I ended up not doing that because it was easier to just use a fabric hinge because it's small. I think it would work better on a larger or heavier design, though.
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[link]
Would you use this to make that doll?
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The arms definitely look like they were made using some kind of doll joints. But I can't tell what the legs look like. All I can say is that it gives the plushy quite some broad hips if you use the joints for the legs.
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Do you have anything specific in mind, i.e. do you plan on making a doll or the like?
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Something kinda like a doll. It's more of a moving sculpture, very abstract.
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Sound interesting. I'll keep an eye out for it
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