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Date: Apr 23, 2008

Best method for rooting

Buffington · Guru

I don't suppose you have our rooting DVD by Stephanie Sullivan? She is an awesome rooter! http://www.secristdolls.com/inc/sdetail/6361
Some of rooting is trial and error and what works best for you. Other methods are tried and true. I would really go by someone who is known for rooting (like Steph or Ruth from SR). They are awesome! And they both use different methods.

Date: Apr 24, 2008

I'll check it out. Thanks. smile

Reagan · Member

This is Reagan, I starting rooting on Monday of this week. I have already had two rooting needles break on me. I am not doing it hard or miss using them. I just wanted to warn people, they should be careful when rooting!

Faye · Member

Hi Reagan,

I've just finished rooting the hair on my second reborn (my first time at rooting) and I broke 4 needles... 2 on the same day! Although, in all fairness, I think I was bending the needles a little as I used them. I think all reborners should expect to break a few needles when they're learning how to root. I only bought a pack of five needles so when I got down to needle number five I was VERY careful not to break it - LOL smile

!

Blessings,

Faye

LovesDolls · Guru

Yes, also pay attention to what you are doing. Those things HURT when you stick yourself.

I fold the hair in a U an root from the center of it. I've not seen anything with problems with it laying down right. I've done tons of research on rooting and there is not really a right and wrong way to do it. You have to do what works best for you. And it is something that gets better with practice! I've now rooted 7 dolls and the difference between my latest and my first is amazing. The mohair quality is also much better, which makes a difference but my technique has also improved greatly!

Some also root crown out, other hairline to crown. Play around and decide what you like. Every doll I've rooted, I've done differenlty!

Buffington · Guru

I broke about 10 needles when I started rooting, and that was on my first head! But once I got the hang of it and learned the angle, don't go fast, and don't jab the hair in I did a lot better. I still occassionally break one but I'm pretty good on not at this point.

karensbabies · Veteran Member

how stressing is rooting though or is it just me at my first attempt half head done 10 needles broke..oh dear!

Buffington · Guru

It can be very stressful the first few dolls you do. I broke 10 needles on my first head! Now its like crocheting or knitting for me, very mechanical no brainer and quite relaxing. I even root in the car on a trip (of course someone else is driving lol) but it gets better the more you do and the more you learn from others and your own mistakes.

LovesDolls · Guru

karensbabies wrote:

how stressing is rooting though or is it just me at my first attempt half head done 10 needles broke..oh dear!

That's it? Only 10 needles? I broke 30 on my first two heads (a piece) and close to that on my 2nd two heads! It wasn't until I switched to the 3 barb crown rooting needles that I wasn't going through needles like crazy!

precious_lullabies · Guru

I do root from the center of a strip of hair -- even though i've read what some have said about this, i've never had a problem with the outcome. I'll cut a piece of hair about one inch in width and about 4" in length. I'll lay this horrazontally on the area of head i'm about to work and root in at an angle for the direction i wish the hair to lay.

I actually start from the outer hair line and work in toward to crown of the head, starting with the front of the head, so that the front/top head is rooting first. I then work again from the outer hair line of one of the sides of head, working in toward to crown again, then the back and other side of the head.

when working in toward the crown i actually leave the crown for last - so that once i've worked all sides of the head i have a circular bald spot about an inch in diamiter left where my crown will be. I'll lastly work this - directionally rooting to create a nice swerl.

I'll take some pics and link them here of my next rooting as i progress through if you'd like so you can see what i'm trying to explain here. I'm painting up a luca as we speak and will probably start rooting her this evening, so will post pics tomorrow showing her hair in stages. I can now create an entire baby in about 24hrs of work. Seeing this visually might help more than what i'm trying to explain.

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As for the number of rooting needles i broke, well when i first started i was a)working on hard vinyl La nursery dolls from the shops, and b)was using standard felting needles - i broke over 10 in my first head.

when i switched to the crown felting needles i broke far less as these are much stronger than the normal felting needle. But i still went through them... sometime one needle would last me a few heads other times i'd break a few still on each head.

Now i use the german rooting needles and i can't sing of their praises enough, i love them so much!! they're fantastic, strong and really do help make micro rooting trully micro rooted!!! I use the 42g now.

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the most i can say about rooting is its just practise, and like buffington say's it does become a very automated process after a while, like knitting, like dirving a car, like writing your name -- when we first stared any of these things it took concerntration, deliberate movements that were highly controled and took time to coordinate - now these things are second nature and we give each of these activities very little thought.

Don't dispare, time and practise is what it takes... no one is a pro at anything over night, everything takes time, dedication and practise.

LovesDolls · Guru

I plan on getting the German needles when I am running low on my crown rooting needles!

Buffington · Guru

Let me know how that goes. I still haven't gotten the hang of those darned things!

LovesDolls · Guru

Buffington wrote:

Let me know how that goes. I still haven't gotten the hang of those darned things!

I will, although it will be awhile! I'm slow. I studied newborning/reborning for about 18 months before I ever bought anything! I'm glad I waited though because everything switched over after I finally took the dive. I reborned two dolls and do not ever want to try and sand heads or use goof-off to remove factory paint, again!

patupin · Newbie

hi i'm new here, can any one teel me how much mohair it should take to root taffy because i seem to be using rather a lot .also i started at the front and when i turned her over to root the back the front rubbed out.

hugs patricia

LovesDolls · Guru

It sounds like you may need better qualilty mohair.

shakyhandsme · Senior Member

Oh no....another Pat!!

What surface are you rooting on? If your surface is hard it often rubs out the hair, or breaks it, when you work on the opposite side. I root on a pillow. Holds the head well and does a lot less damage to the already rooted hair. Give it a try.

Pat C.

Cuisle · Veteran Member

Precious Lullabies - What is the mold of that GORGEOUS baby of yours, holding the pink teddy please - You've done a beautiful job there - an AMAZING baby! Could I please have the name of the mold??

-- Edited by Cuisle at 11:05, 2008-07-12

Buffington · Guru

patupin wrote:

hi i'm new here, can any one teel me how much mohair it should take to root taffy because i seem to be using rather a lot .also i started at the front and when i turned her over to root the back the front rubbed out.

hugs patricia

Oh yeah Pat C., another Pat!

Nice!! hehehe

Ok Patricia, I would think that 1/2 ounce should do but since you are fairly new at newborning, it will probably take you more. One of my students went through only 2 needles (which is good for beginners) but she went through at least an ounce of mohair. It's trying to get the hang of it that takes so much, and if you have needles with sharp barbs it can cut the hairs too. So a combinatiion of things. Some of the hair falling out will be just from rooting in general cause not every hair that your needle takes is rooted so they naturally fall out.

As far as the hair rubbing off, I usually hold the head to my chest and root with the needle point towards me. that way the head is secure and I can see exactly where I'm rooting.

Hope this helps

LovesDolls · Guru

One mistake I made when I started rooting was NOT cutting my hair. I was using the full 6-7" length! I went through a lot more than I do now. Of course roving hair produces a lot more waste than higher quality hair. So, if you are buying the straight hair you'll have more waste anyway.

Cuisle · Veteran Member

What is "roving" hair please? I'm not familiar with this term.

Buffington · Guru

Roving is taking sheared mohair

and sewing it to a strip of fairly long fabric or just stitching it together by machine. Its kind of like the lashes, how they are sewn together to make a longer peice.
Some of the people/companies will sew mohair into roving so as to keep it all together, or to sell more, or sometimes to sell cheaper mohair for a larger price, (amongst other reasons). Also some people make it into roving as its easier to dye. They might take rows and rows of this roving and put it in the washing machine to dye it and it just makes it easier for them to handle. Sometimes the dye doesn't get in to where it is stitched and you loose that also.

When you get the mohair you take it out of the package and cut the mohair off the fabric or binding before using it. There is usually more waste with roving as you need to cut it off (or you can try gently pulling it out of the binding its sewn to and see if that works).

I know all this as a friend of mine (Betty the goat lady)

used to raise angora goats

and she told me this is what she/they do. This is where I got my 5 goat hydes from that I use for my dolls hair.

-- Edited by Buffington at 05:50, 2008-07-13

LovesDolls · Guru

Interesting! I just thought it was the naturally straight hair that grew on the goat! I know it is the lowest quality of the hair and is so mixed up there isn't an up and down like with higher quality hair. I've only had it the way Secrist sells it and I bought some from another company who I can't remember! LOL. The hair that Willow is rooted with (and if you look at my history of dolls, Graham) you'll see the Secrist straight hair. Of the 3 kinds of used, Secrist is by far the highest quality. Granted, the first batch cost about $5! The stuff from Secrist and the other (William is rooted with it) were of about equal cost with Secrist being better quality.