β¦of people telling newbies that all they need to do to fix their dollβs posing issues is to tIgHtEn ThE sTrInG. Iβm coming for you people with a squirt gun.
How to Actually Make a Doll Handle Better:
Tighten/Loosen the string - Okay so yeah this CAN be helpful sometimes. Plenty of companies, artists and previous owners send dolls out too tight or too loose and it needs adjustment. This is basically 101 doll troubleshooting.
Note: Your doll shouldn't be so tight that you cannot comfortably pull hand/feet part out of their socket to replace them. I don't know why some of y'all do this shit, but I want to shake your head like an 8-ball every time you complain about not being able to get the doll's head off. OF COURSE YOU CAN'T! THE STRING CAN'T STRETCH ANY FURTHER! (also donβt keep the knot in the head because thatβs making life harder for you too)
Elastic cord gauge is too thick/small for your specific doll - This, in my experience, tends to be the most likely cause of issues. Lot of people are under the impression that all dolls of specific sizes use the same size elastic, and that is not the case at all. I got dolls that need different size elastic for their arms vs their bodies. What thickness you need is completely dependent on how much room is available in the individual dollβs string channels.
If you use too thick of elastic cord, it won't have room to move and thus won't pull back as well if at all (had this issue where my Raccoon Doll boy's hands wouldn't suck back into the wrist socket and his arms would also not sit nicely at his sides. Completely fixed when I used a thinner cord).
If too thin, then it won't have enough strength to pull pieces back together and you'll have an expensive rag doll.
Do yourself a favor and buy a pile of different sizes of elastic cord and experiment with what works in your individual dolls. I personally buy my elastic from Dollmore since they got a good collection of sizes with good strength for dolls, and even offer beige and brown colored cord (but if you have a local craft store with a good collection of elastic cord, thatβd likely be even cheaper).
Elastic is complete garbage - If that shit stretches for days super easy, throw it away. Yes, we want stretchiness, but we also want that shit to snap back into place so all the parts pull together. Resinsoul and Iplehouse are two companies completely guilty of shipping their dolls with useless string in their dolls (not sure if that is still the case, but it was in all the times I purchased directly from them). It does not matter how tight you make this shit, it will not make your doll behave any better (if anything, now your doll is kicky, still floppy, and also it's impossible for you to switch hands and feet out).
Resin is too smooth - Lot of people love that silky smooth finish on their dolls, but now the parts have no friction and nothing to grab onto in their sockets. Hot glue sueding in the sockets helps a ton with amending this.
Wiring - If you want action figure level of control, this will get you at least partly there lmao. I've only bothered shoving wire into my dolls when they have truly bad joint designs (RIP Dust of Dolls and Lillycat lmao), but itβs always great to have this extra stability in more competently designed doll bodies.
String style is some cockamamie horseshit - A rare occurrence, but it happens (looking at you, Iplehouse and your fucked up cross-elastic-at-the-groin-before-going-down-legs nonsense). A majority of BJDs are strung in the one specific way because it's what works best and allows the elastic to do its job without hindrance.
If the doll in question isnβt over-engineered, you can sometimes restring them the Correct way, but usually dolls that are like this have to be modified to behave right.
