How to reroot a Blythe (knot method, Alpaca)

[@lindamitchell-fox1926]

So glad Ali now has icy doll scalps with the holes already in there. This has been super helpful.

[@lunaandstella825]

I actually use acrylic ink (high flow acrylics) mixed with acrylic fabric medium to paint my scalps. The medium is flexible, so its less likely to crack or peel

[@eleanorclancy1672]

I find so long as it’s a thin layer it bends with the scalp, when I was much newer to making these I had tried doing a thicker coat and then it cracks 😅

[@CS-td1nn]

I was concerned about painting my doll's head - she had blonde hair to begin with and I painted the head brown with some Crawford & Black acrylic paints in an acrylic set that I got from an art store. I thinned the paint down a little bit but it was still quite thick. I was doing some rooting yesterday with the knot method on a Paola Reina doll and I was pushing the eye of the needle through the holes in the head then out through the hole at the base of the doll's head. The paint hasn't really rubbed off at all but only a very small amount of the colour came off where I was pushing the eye of the needle into the factory rooted holes. I also noticed that the paint feels sticky in a way but this was my first attempt at rooting a doll with a painted scalp as the others had factory scalps that matched the hair that I was using. I'll see if I can work out how to avoid making it feel sticky but so far I haven't had cracking issues, the paint has just very lightly rubbed off right where a few of the holes are but I don't have a tool to make the holes larger so I was forcing the needle and now it's bent 😅 I need one of those pointy tools that Eleanor has in the video but I broke mine somehow 🙃

[@girltoinfinity]

What a great video! Watching this and taking notes, I actually feel like this is a project I could take on - thank you for sharing all your tips!!

[@eleanorclancy1672]

You’re welcome 💕 good luck with your project 😊

[@itsinthedetails5007]

Brilliant instructional tutorial. Before you, the videos were never clear nor detailed. Fantastic job!

[@Vikkivegie]

Lots of great tips, thank you so much Eleanor!!

[@Erni3K]

This is a great 'intro to wig making' tutorial. You covered the basics really nicely for newby me! Thanks!

[@renejclaybrook9898]

Thank you so much for this awesome video! I'm totally new to rerooting but have some beautiful llama and alpaca hair to use on a Blythe scalp. When rerooting a Blythe scalp, do I need to purchase a dome as well?

[@IvetaWells]

Absolutely wonderful and helpful tutorial. I am willing to try. ❤️ Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@VirgosAlchemy]

Excellent video! Thanks for sharing! I found you through Beth Ramsden 🩷

[@odessa870]

I just love your videos, Eleanor! Video and audio is so clear and you use a good working pace that is perfect for following along. Two questions for you: 1. Why do you use a crochet hook instead of the rerooting tool that I've seen used by other customizers? Is it just personal preference? Is there some drawback to the rerooting tool for this knotted technique? 2. I've noticed that many customizers paint the scalp the same color as the hair, and have even seen the same with factory scalps as well. Doesn't it make sense to leave the scalp flesh color since that is how it would look on an actual person?🙂 I realize that may be a personal preference, but just curious to get your thoughts on it. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and experience!

[@eleanorclancy1672]

Hello, we he rerooting tool I think you are talking about pushes the hair into the head, not very far and is usually glued internally, but Blythe dolls don’t have a lot of space between the scalp and dome, so it’s not ideal. This way the hair is much more playable and can be wet, washed and restyled. As for the painting, it makes the hair look thicker. this makes the gaps less obvious if you wanted to style it in braids or half up/down and just makes it more versatile 👍🏼

[@NightCalls001]

This is very useful! Thanks for sharing your skill and know how!

[@madyellison]

Is it completely necessary to knot the hair first if you’re just gonna glue it down later?

[@lauraleecreations3217]

I am so glad to find this video!!!👍👍👍

[@Daisy-x4o]

Great tutorial, lots of great tips! Approx what weight would be required for a retort like this? 50g, 100g ?

[@eleanorclancy1672]

I usually use about 2oz for a reroot, but I have another video on here that shows what weights you might need for different length hair 😊

[@brendakleimandigoy5947]

Hola! Puedes hacer un vídeo para abrir y retirar el cabello original a una blythe fake? Cómo se destapa su cuero cabelludo, geacias❤

[@taratwelve12]

What is the name of the tool you use to punch in the holes? I can’t quite catch it! Thankyou so much for this tutorial

[@eleanorclancy1672]

It’s an awl, or a leatherwork punch. I usually get mine from eBay

[@sallymary76]

I've never reroot or done any customization, but I've been collecting supplies to do so. How much hair did you use to fill this scalp? I would love to know to help me gage how much I'll need to start off without running out of supply. Covid has truly affected everyone and everything. I hope you can help me so I can be prepared for when I start. Thank you

[@eleanorclancy1672]

Sorry about the late reply, I don’t really remember off the top of my head but this was probably 1.5/2oz because although it’s short it’s really thick 😅 there’s another video on my channel of how much alpaca is good per reroots of different lengths 😊 hope that’s helpful

[@donnaracosta8849]

Very nice video!

[@whatinspiresu]

Looks like you work quickly. Do you have any idea how many hours you put into a finished scalp? I tried once and never finished. I ended up sewing on wefts to speed things up. but theyre just not as pretty.

[@eleanorclancy1672]

It takes me probably 2.5hrs to prep enough ‘farm dirty’ hair for dyeing, then add dyeing which could take an hour or two (depending how many colours it could take a while) I’ve timed myself loads, it takes me about half an hour to make fifty plugs, I need a thousand so we are up to 12.5hrs Painting the scalp only takes about five minutes Then probably half an hour to root each fifty? Maybe a little longer? Not including any styling time. Sooooo without styling time I would guess 23.5 hours if I don’t run into any problems. probably anywhere up to thirty hours if it’s multiple colours, I’m working with something curly or have to cut in a fringe, that takes me about half an hour by itself 😭 but I do work pretty quickly and I watch an awful lot of Eleanor Neale and Bailey Sarian whilst I root 😊

[@tracytroyer4996]

Awesome! I've seen people add glue over the knot to keep them in place. Do you do that? And if yes, what glue?

[@eleanorclancy1672]

I don’t usually, unless I’m working with a particularly difficult fiber, but if you do, a tiny dab of PVA is fine. If I do glue I usually prefer to root them all first and then give it a little wash of glue on the inside and only usually for curly hair because that sometimes wants to come loose -hope that helps

[@laurenmarshall9967]

Thankyou for your video! I have bought 2 of your re roots a few years ago and they are incredible! Where did you get the tool from that makes the holes? Im struggling to find it 💕

[@CS-td1nn]

It is called an 'awl' and it is used for putting poppers into clothes like baby clothes and cloth pads - you can get them off of eBay for example, just look up 'awl' and there are lots of listings. It's just a metal tool with a sharp point and you can push it through fabric to then fit a popper which is great for things like baby clothes, cloth diapers and other things. Who knew that an awl is a multi tool lol 😆 I was trying to find a tool that would work for putting holes into a Blythe scalp and I remembered that I had an awl like Eleanor, I use it for sewing and because it has a sharp tip, it is ideal for putting holes into the flexible Blythe scalp ❤ Have fun!

[@donnaracosta8849]

Do you know how I can get rid of the play button in the middle of the screen?

[@CS-td1nn]

Is it possible to do the knot method with doll heads such as Paola Reina? You can remove their heads but they are like Barbie dolls with the heads that are rooted and in order to remove the hair, you have to cut the hair and then remove it from the inside of the doll head with tweezers or something like that before you can begin rooting. I have several Paola Reina heads that are bald and are ready to go but I'm not sure as to how I would be able to get the hair into the head like this because they don't have scalps like Blythe dolls 🤔 I really like this technique and I can imagine that it would make re-rooting so much easier but I don't know if it can be done with other dolls that don't have scalps that can be separated like Blythe dolls. You can cut the vinyl for dolls like Disney Animator dolls and some people cut the backs of the heads to insert glass eyes into dolls like that because the neck holes are quite small, too small to insert eyes but most of the people that do that will use a wig instead of rooting the heads so that the cut vinyl will be completely hidden under the wig. I'll look into it further but I hope I can try this method because the finished job looks fantastic and your doll has lovely hair 😍 You did a great job! Thanks for sharing 😊

[@eleanorclancy1672]

Hey, I’ve just seen your other comment too, or I would have directed you to the peteena reroot. You can buy doll needles from eBay or hobby shops. They are just long thin needles 😊 good luck with your rerooting!

[@CS-td1nn]

@@eleanorclancy1672 Thank you very much for letting me know, Eleanor. I look forward to giving it a try! 🥰

[@CS-td1nn]

@@eleanorclancy1672 Hello Eleanor! I have recently become interested in Blythe dolls and your channel is definitely soooo helpful! The knot method works for Paola Reina heads too with the rooted holes like Peetena Poodle dolls 🥰 Thanks again, I'll try this method and your other Blythe custom methods with my Blythe dolls ☺

[@serenaycmn1201]

thanks for share I need this so much !!!

[@eleanorclancy1672]

Glad it was helpful 😊

[@АлександраКологривых]

Thank you so much 👌🙌

[@teslaandhumanity7383]

Hey Nor did you prep alpaca or buy with knots ? Thanks

[@eleanorclancy1672]

Hi, I always buy raw alpaca, there’s a different video on my channel that shows how I turn ‘farm dirty’ alpaca into clean alpaca ready for rooting 😊

[@teslaandhumanity7383]

@@eleanorclancy1672 thanks I will go check 💖

[@sophia4332]

is the paint mandatory? i dont really see the point of it

[@eleanorclancy1672]

The paint means that the hair looks fuller and thicker, without the paint the scalp can be visible when the hair is styled, which makes the doll look bald and the reroot look worse quality. The painting stage doesn’t take much time and makes the final product looks much better. It’s especially worth it if you’re rerooting with a dark or fantasy colour -hope this helps

[@tracytroyer4996]

How many grams of alpaca did you use?

[@eleanorclancy1672]

I have another video that shows how much hair goes into various length/thickness reroots that might be helpful 😊

[@lauraleecreations3217]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️