Crafts Unlimited (UK) Toy Repairs - www.toyrepairs.co.uk
          
RESTRINGING A FIRST LOVE DOLL
DIY INSTRUCTIONS
          
Restringing a First Love Doll is  fiddly but fairly straight-forward and is something you can do yourself.  They are not very easy (they're a bit of a pig) AND the manufacturers have slightly changed the latest model (shaving material off of the parts that hold the elastic in the limbs) that probably saved one penny but makes them much more fiddly and difficult to do. 
           
YOU WILL NEED
  • A saucepan nearly full of hot water (simmering just below boiling point).
  • It is also a good idea to have another pair of hands to help out, unless you are really organised with a restringing hook secured to a heavy bench to act as a "third hand".
  • Hopefully you will be able to fish out (from the body and limbs - great fun!) the old pieces of elastic which (if they are original) should have the plastic pins stuck in a hole in the end (or they may be rattling about in the body).  We have a few of these pins but they are impossible to find and so you may need to resort to brass pins (no rusting when wet). 
  • Some elastic bands.  See below.
  • A restringing hook.  See below.
ELASTIC BANDS

We used to have some of the original strong custom made elastic bands. There were different sizes for different parts of the doll.  We had lots of some of these but only a few of one particular type (arms, or body - cannot remember).  When we almost ran out of one particular type we started looking for an alternative to the custom made bands - just about the time when we started getting some of the dolls returned to us because the "new?" bands we'd replaced had broken.  At first we thought it was rough handling but it soon became clear the bands were probably old and unreliable - so we stopped using them.
          

We then used very strong and stretchy elastic bands (rubber loops or Latex bands) that can be bought in two ways.  The bands have been basically cut from the end of a tube of material (you can see that by the irregular "edge" to the bands).  We used to buy them ready cut here  but then tried to find the tubing to cut them ourselves.  The tubing comes in different sizes and you can vary the size of the bands required by cutting each tube at an angle - which elongates the band.  We have NOT been able to find this tubing easily available in the UK but did find a place in Canada to sell it to us (for the purpose of doll restringing).  Have a look here and scroll down to Latex Tubing.
          
RESTRINGING HOOK

For this (and other restringing purposes) we've made ourselves up a long hook from hanger wire.  For jobs like this you really need a good comfortable handle, the handle is optional - although a lot of force is required to stretch the elastic so it is a good idea.

We got a large 3/4" piece of dowel about 4 or 5" long, rubbed down the ends so they were nice and rounded and then drilled a hole through the side so the hanger wire was a tight fit.  We pushed the hanger wire (the hook at the other end) through the dowel rod, bent it at 90 degrees (about 1 inch of it) then again bent the end of the bend down back towards the dowel rod.  Where it pointed to the dowel we put another hole (not all the way through) and cut a small groove between those two holes so the long bend of hanger wire would fit snugly into it (when pulled back).  We then pulled the wire back through the dowel so the long bend sat in the slot we'd cut and the little bend fitted back into the second hole - we glued it in with Araldite Rapid.  We now have a secure and comfortable handle with a long hook about a foot long.
          

RESTRINGING A FIRST LOVE DOLL

The lower body, upper body and head are held together with one band.  The lower body and head (like the arms and legs) have a conical hole in them into which fits a small white cone.  The "top" of the cone is flat with a slot and some little projections - the strong elastic band fits through the large end of the cone, through the slot and a plastic pin is inserted through the elastic band and sits on top of the flat end between the little projections - which makes sure it does not move around - the top of the cone has a lip around it so that the pin does not slide out of the elastic.
          

When you need to repair one of these dolls the little plastic cones are normally stuck in the holes of the body parts held in a thin plastic "bag" attached to the hole that stops it falling into the body part - try not to damage these "bags" because the little cones do not sit nicely in place without them.  To get them out you need to dip each part in the saucepan of hot water (on the heat and just short of boiling) - not the whole thing, just the part with the cone.  After about 30 seconds the plastic goes nice and soft (and stretchy) and you can insert a smooth spoon end between the cone and "bag" and "scoop" it out.  The cones USED to be solid and thick but to save the odd penny, later ones were very thin and instead of being solid the wider end was cut into 4 strips - this made them very fiddly to remove and the little strips forming the bottom of the cone can easily break off.  Sometimes you need a pair of small nosed pliers to grab them and pull them out when the spoon method fails - and this is when the later flimsy ones tend to break easily.  We have a few of the earlier more robust ones but we've had trouble getting these to fit into the "later" dolls.  Not sure what we'll do when these are all used.
          
When you've removed all the cones (hopefully intact) it is time to reassemble.
          
First we cut a large band for the body to head.  The length of this is a bit trial and error but we've found that just cutting across the largest tube is fine.  It means you have to pull the elastic REALLY tight - but it is VERY stretchy (but strong) and you need a lot of force to stop the head wobbling.
          
We feed the band (with some difficulty because it is a bit thick before it gets under tension) through the wide part of a little cone, through the slot and poke a plastic pin through it - pull the elastic back hard against the pin to hold it.  Then dip the cone hole of the lower body part in hot water until it softens and pop the little cone (smallest end with the pin first) into the body hole - it should almost "click" as it holds behind the surface lip of the hole.  Now you need to feed the elastic up through the centre section of the body and pull it out of the neck.  You do this with the restringing hook BUT, remember to feed a small plastic cone onto the wire hook first.  The hook needs to pass through the SMALL end of the cone (so you can pull the band through the upper body, through the cone, and through the slot).  The band will be REALLY tight  when you pull it through the body and you then need to pull it through the second cone slot and put a small plastic pin though the cone to hold it and remove the hook.
          
The problem is that the cone will want to pull back into the hole in the upper body - you need to hold it firmly.  At the same time you need to dip the bottom of the head into hot water to soften it - and then (really difficult because it is fighting you) pop the cone into the head.  Once it pops into position it will want to pop out - so you need to hold it for a little while (and squeeze the bottom of the neck) until the plastic begins to cool and harden.
          
Once you've done that you need to repeat the process for the legs and then the arms.
          
And if you have the soft floppy cones the job is nearly impossible.
          

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