Rerooting Saran - Locked Loop Technique at Puchi Collective

Rerooting Saran - Locked Loop Technique

Before you can reroot her, you will have to scalp her.

blythe doll rerooting tools For the whole process, you will need:

Tweezers
Sharp x-acto knife
steel hook
Crochet hook - #11-12 (1.0mm)
Crochet hook - #13-14 (0.9mm)
Rerooting hair of your choice
Permanent paint to match the hair (must be water and heat proof - for best results, try V-color or spraypaint specifically made for bonding to vinyl)
Masking tape
Household iron
clean, white handtowel

Cut all the original hair down to about an inch long.Turn the scalp inside out and start pulling the loops with the hook. (If you work left to right, you will be able to lift many plugs at once.)Take your time. When you get to the partline, be careful not to pull too hard or you could tear the scalp (the plugs are very close together.)Use the exacto knife to shave any plugs embedded in glue, then tweeze out any lingering hairs.
Here’s the cleaned scalp. You may need to use a rough emery board or sanding pad to knock down any remaining glue.On the outside of the scalp, mask off the bottom row of plugs and spraypaint the scalp in the hair color. Let it dry as per the directions on the can.
Working with small handfuls at a time, wet or gel the hair, and carefully separate it into groups of about 6-8 hairs. (This depends on how thick each strand of hair is. Experiment to find the amount that works the best. Too much hair will tangle, too little will slip through the holes too easily.)
I’m showing the technique on a piece of white paper for contrast. Start rooting your scalp at the innermost row of the part (Older scalps have partlines consisting of 2 rows of roots. Recent takaras have 4 rows. If you are relocating the part, give her 4 rows), then proceed to fill in the spiral starting at the crown.Begin by pushing your #13/14 crochet hook (the smaller one) UP from the inside of the scalp. Hold the hook in your right hand.
Fold a strand of hairs in half and hook them. Hold it taut in your left hand, while pulling the hook down and THROUGH the scalp with your right hand. (Don’t let go!)
This pic is showing the underside of the “scalp”.
Keeping the hook inside the first loop, push it UP through the next hole in line.
Fold another strand and place it in the hook. Hold it tight and pull it through the scalp…
…pulling it through the previous loop. (Make sure you don’t let the new loop fall off the hook!)
Push the hook through the next hole. From the outside, pull the first strand, tightening the loop and locking the stitch.Keep repeating the process until the part is done! Then switch to your bigger needle (10/11) and starting at the crown, work your way down the spiral.
Here’s what the loops should look like as you progress. A few stray hairs will pop up, but should not be too much of an obstacle.When you need to take a break (to prepare more hair or to eat, sleep, etc…) push the needle through the next hole so you don’t drop a stitch!Keeping the hair wet is very important. If you have to, lick the strands before loading them on the hook. (Shampoo her when you’re done!)
To end the rooting, take the last two loops and tie them together, then seal the knot with a clear sealant.
Move on to Thatching and Finishing

37 Responses to “Rerooting Saran - Locked Loop Technique”

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1LindseyOct 3rd, 2006 at 11:44 am

hey! this is my 1st time tryin to reroot and i am haveing some trouble. I srapy painted her scalp. I let it dry overnight. But it is sticky? i was wondering if this is normal. i dont wanna start and find that the hair just gets stuck. I guess i got the wrong spray paint. If it is not sopused to be sticky, then should i sand if off? Oh and thanks for ur tutorials they r very helpful. also that 10% off on saran hair was great!

thank you
-Lindsey
2MelissaOct 3rd, 2006 at 1:18 pm

Lindsey - it definitely sounds like the spraypaint is incompatible with the rubber. Try looking for a spraypaint that is for painting outdoor vinyl furniture, or a hobby paint specifically for vinyl.

Glad you like the tutorial, and took advantage of the 10% off!
3LindseyOct 3rd, 2006 at 2:37 pm

ok thanks!
4BlythesBoiFeb 12th, 2007 at 7:34 am

I am ordering from restoredoll.com and was wondering how many skiens and in what sizes I should get them. They have Standard and Large.
5Sue(Purple_Tiger)Mar 14th, 2007 at 10:52 pm

BlythesBoi: Go for Large X2.

Melissa: Thanks for the fab tutorial - you explain things really clearly
6feeltheskyApr 26th, 2007 at 3:00 pm

I have run into disaster! a few of the holes tore while i was pulling. I was thinking about moving the part to the other side anyways but will the hair slip out of the places where it tore?

also, I dont have the right crochet hook, but I read elsewhere that you can use a needle… but even the smallest one is too big for the holes (and I don’t want to risk ripping any more)

any help would be greatly appreciated!
7MelissaApr 26th, 2007 at 4:14 pm

feelthesky - I strongly urge you to purchase the correct size crochet hook from a craft or knitting shop. they are inexpensive and will make the process much less scary.

you do need to push hard to get the needle into the holes - the rubber should stretch. if the part line is weak from the original roots, you can move it over and poke new holes. if the tear is large, use a rubbery glue like e6000 to mend it before rooting.
8feeltheskyApr 26th, 2007 at 4:50 pm

thank you very much for the help! I will do that
9feeltheskyApr 27th, 2007 at 3:47 pm

I’m having the hardest time doing this. the hair keeps falling out of the hook as I am pulling it through the holes I think it’s because I can’t really hold the hair straight with one hand and pull with another. Is there a way to keep the scalp in place while I reroot?

also, whats the best way to poke new holes? I was thinking a small needle perhaps?
10JulieMay 19th, 2007 at 11:08 am

Melissa,
I just wanted to thank you so much for your tutorial. I received my Saran Kat-Silk hair this week and did the reroot on my petite blythe. It took me about all day but by evening I had it in and styled and she looks great. I did however, realize that once I got the hair out (and this is probably just for the petite blythes) the hole pattern in her head was very scattered, not a spiral so I had to make some new holes to get a decent spiral pattern but, other than that the reroot went great. Your technique rocks!

I’m actually waiting for another petite in the mail and plan to do a reroot on her. Thanks again!

Best Wishes~~Julie
11jenniferMay 21st, 2007 at 8:28 pm

what are some web sites or stores that i can purchase saran and mohair from, also how much do i need to re root my petites?
12MelissaMay 22nd, 2007 at 12:15 am

jennifer - try restoredoll.com. you could probably reroot a whole petite with whatever they recommend to root maybe two barbie dolls.
13MimokoMay 24th, 2007 at 5:21 am

Hi Melissa, thanks for all your great tutorials!!!
I want to reroot one of my girls with human hair, I have as wefted, but I want to do a plug by plug reroot work, so i will cut from wefts.My problem is that hair that I already bought will be shorter than I want if I just fold on half as with saran.Can I fold less, like Mohair, or you mean will not stay or will looks bad? (hair is nicely wavy)
Thanks for your reply, and for your lovely site!!!
14MelissaMay 24th, 2007 at 7:45 am

hi Mimoko - my concern with folding less hair at the end is that you will get little short hairs poking out around the top of the head and it might look like she has damaged hair.

you could try an old technique where you put a knot in the end of each hair plug before rooting it to secure it, you may need to seal the knots with glue or clear nail polish. that way the ends of the hair are underneath the scalp and you get almost the full length of the hair hanging out.
15KristinaJul 5th, 2007 at 2:34 pm

I am not sure if this is an appropriete question for your site, but is the scalp piece of a Blythe doll the same size as a Pullips’? I found an “abused” Pullip that I want to fix, with the technics ou have on your site, and I need to replace the scalp piece…could you lend some insight as to the differences? And if they are similar, where can I get an additional scalp piece? Thank you.
16MelissaJul 8th, 2007 at 8:08 am

kristina, I have customized a few pullips and am sorry to report that no, the scalps are not the same size, in fact they are a completely different shape around the hairline and a different material as well.

I wouldn’t know where to get a new pullip scalp, as the newer and less expensive pullips have wigs, I believe.

does her scalp just have holes? you can fix large holes with a rubber based glue, like e6000.
17LelahAug 5th, 2007 at 5:08 am

Great tutorial! Now I’m not scared to give it a go on a CoolKat scalp.
18LaurenOct 7th, 2007 at 8:08 am

Hi,

I was just wondering, but, why do you need to paint the scalp?
19MelissaOct 8th, 2007 at 2:20 pm

lauren - because the roots are a bit far apart. if you paint the scalp to match the haircolor, then you won’t see bald spots when you style her hair “up,” like in ponytails or pigtails.
20kittenbuttercupsDec 1st, 2007 at 2:55 am

Could I do it all with just the size 13 hook?
21MelissaDec 3rd, 2007 at 10:26 am

size 13 is pretty small, her hair may look a little thin if you do the whole head with it. It might not be so bad if you fill every hole.
22traggedyannDec 8th, 2007 at 12:33 am

hi!

thank you so much for this tutorial. the pictures made it so easy to follow and i
didn’t have any problems at all. i scalped a ABG Blythe, fixed her eyes and sleep-
eyed them, matt-sanded her face and i have my blank slate all ready to create
something on. all within a few hours. couldn’t have done it without your website.

i appreciate this kindness that you are showing
to all of us dolly people, without people like you, how would we learn, except by
the hard way, which would mean we would have some spoiled dolls.

this is a great site!

thanks,

traggedyann

ps: its amazing how pretty an ABG gets after you get the green eyeshadow and top coat
off. she has nice pale skin with no greeny look now. yay! i think i’ll keep working on them
until i have everything down pat, because they are cheaper to buy nude for customizing.
23DenebFeb 25th, 2008 at 3:17 pm

This is an awesome tutorial, but I have a really newbie question. I plan on buying a blank scalp from Coolcat which has no holes….how do you add the holes? Sorry if I missed where this was answered.
24MelissaFeb 25th, 2008 at 8:09 pm

Any sharp “needle tool” will work. I use a large sewing needle inserted (securely) into the end of a 1/4″ dowel for adding holes to scalps. If the scalp is fairly soft and you have a steel crochet hook (cheap ones will break off, I have lots of these in the bottom of my toolbox) , you can probably just poke through with the hook.
25DenebFeb 25th, 2008 at 9:21 pm

Melissa- thank you ^_^ so just follow any sort of pattern? I like? I have a Pullip scalp that is rooted I could compare it to, but I wasn’t sure if Blythe’s needed a special pattern.
26MelissaFeb 26th, 2008 at 8:01 am

The typical factory pattern is to do the partline first from the crown to the front and back up, then a spiral all around the head from the crown down.

Good luck!
27Novelty12Mar 9th, 2008 at 11:54 am

I am having trouble finding some long white saran anywhere, can someone help me?
Thanks
28CherylApr 4th, 2008 at 7:54 am

Hi This is great. I work with the Barbie dolls. What can u recommend for using your method with Barbie? thanks for any help cheryl
29AmpMay 28th, 2008 at 1:30 pm

These tutorials are great, but how much saran from restoredoll do i need to buy to reroot a whole head? Due to increasing shipping costs I don’t want to end up with too little.
30LeonardJun 10th, 2008 at 4:07 am

I am very new to blythe and would like to attempt my first reroot. I would like to have the finish hair length to be very long (down to her feet and maybe longer, if possible) Should I order the x-large format or the large formats? How many would i need?
If I don’t follow the existing holes in the scalp( the circlualr rows of the one I have is very uneven in some areas) will it be obvious and look untidy?
Thank you for reading.
31AnaJun 13th, 2008 at 8:25 pm

Hello! I am a big fan of your tutorials!

I am having a hard time. Can only make to about 4 plugs before things mess up. I guess Im not keeping the hair wet enough and I cant seem to make the plugs fast enough! strands from the inner loops are sticking out everywhere.. I cant make the plugs fast enough!
Any tips on keeping it organized, minimizing the waste of hair, keeping the plugs neatly together…. etc??

thanks!
Ana
32AmberJun 16th, 2008 at 6:09 pm

I know this is doll related but I came upon this by doing a google for “wig rooting”. I am hoping to fill in the back of a wig by rooting it, would this method work for a human wig as well as doll wigs?
33ArtyJul 29th, 2008 at 5:09 pm

Hey, this doesn’t really have to do with rerooting, but I’m ordering a wig for my blythe and I was wondering what the under side of a wig is like, and what the best way is to attach it to her scalp… Help! ;P
34blythe.collectorSep 6th, 2008 at 8:01 pm

RELPY TO LEONARD

I recommend buying the hair from: www.dollyhair.com
if you purchase the 38″ Hank at $5 each they are wonderful and soo long!!
35morganNov 1st, 2008 at 4:59 pm

Hi, I have some questions…

First, I am purchasing a doll for customizing that doesn’t have a scalp. I’ve seen I can buy a new scalp from Coolcat but it doesn’t have any holes in it…how do I go about rerooting? Do I have to make the holes first or just as I go along?

Second, I have never done any form of rerooting before and am wondering what is easier to do, saran or mohair? I like the look of mohair better, but would it be harder?

thanks! -morgan
36morganNov 1st, 2008 at 6:05 pm

oops, sry i saw someone else already asked my first question!