Karen here and today I am sharing how I did a very simple doll head replacement. Simply by changing the dolls head I gave a damaged doll a “new life”. One of my nieces best friends left her doll in my care and we quickly realized that her dolls hair was not going to be a simple fix. Her bangs had been cut to the root line and this was not a fix I was able to do but then I remembered that I had picked up a body-less Battat dolly a few years back that I could not leave her behind at the thrift store. I noticed that the Battat doll neck and my little friends Springfield Doll were very similar. So I set out to replace my little friend’s doll head with the one I had set out to save.
These dolls do not have a string closure like the American Girl dolls but use a “Zap Strap” Multi Purpose tie instead. I cut and removed the “Zap Strap” from the Springfield Doll’s neck. When I removed the dolls head there was a long plastic tube that I was able to remove and replace in the opening of the Battat doll’s head. I used a 14 inch “Zap Strap”, which I threaded through the now opened neck casing. I was able to purchase and entire package for $1.25 and have several more I can use for future doll rescues.
Once the head was replaced in the opening, I threaded the “Zap Strap” end through the “box” and pulled the strap tight. Once it was pulled as tight as I could, I used a pair of scissors to trim the end piece.
Now Dolly is feeling much better and her head turns easily! She is ready to go to her forever home! I was amazed at how easy this was to do and hope that by sharing my experience with this head swap that you may be inspired to save a dolly or two yourself.
Every little girl learns the hard way that doll hair does not grow back. I’m sure your little friend will be thrilled with her new doll.
It’s great you were able to save her ! She looks amazing now !
I love seeing dolls “be brought back to life”. So glad you were able to transform her into a lovely doll again! 🙂
I learned to do that a long time ago with Fisher Price My Friend dolls. They have the zip ties on their necks, too. I just like to rescue them and then put them up for adoption, after I’ve repaired and cleaned them and made them some clothes and shoes. They are one of my favorite all-time doll brands, slightly smaller than 18 inch dolls. They were very popular until the 18 inch dolls came out. Little girls still find them easy to dress and care for, so I keep doing this as I find the dolls.
How nice, I’ve done the same thing myself. If you are doing this for someone who really wants the neck string instead of the zap tie, you can use candle wicking. It comes in different thicknesses and usually isn’t to difficult to feed through the casing with a small safety pin. I buy it at Michaels and you really can’t tell the difference between the candle wicking and an AG neck tie.
Some wicking has a thin silver wire running through it, but just cut your length and it is easy to pull the wire out.
I’ve replaced heads with both the zap tie and candle wicking and are both very good.
That is amazing
Very cool! I love seeing old dolls given a new life!
Very nicely done. A great fix. Thank you for sharing your tips.
Wow!
Very nice, Karen!
Thank you everyone! My young friend stopped me to say she had just been to Micheal’s with mom this weekend to get her dolly new clothes and that she will not be cutting her hair anymore!
cool! Seems much easier then I had thought.
Wow Karen! Does the new head have bangs?
Cool! I have seen a doll head removal before. My sister’s baby doll’s head cracked and we had to glue it back together. I have an otter with short fur patches because I decided to cut them once. 😀
Wow.