Reborn Doll Kits

A reborn doll kit is the blank vinyl head and limbs of a baby sculpt, ready for you to paint, root and assemble into your own lifelike baby. Whether you are a complete beginner or an experienced reborner, this guide covers how to choose a kit, what else you will need and how the process works.

What Is Reborning?

Reborning is the craft of turning a doll into a realistic baby. The hobby began with artists transforming ordinary manufactured dolls, stripping the factory paint and repainting them to look lifelike. Today most reborners start with a purpose-made kit of unpainted vinyl parts instead, which gives a far more realistic result.

Choosing a Reborn Doll Kit

• Size: most newborn kits are 17 to 22 inches. Smaller 16 to 17 inch kits are a popular choice for a first reborn, while preemie and toddler kits are available too.
• Sleeping or awake: sleeping kits have closed eyes, so you don’t need to buy and fit eyes. Awake kits need eyes in the right size.
• Limbs: 3/4 limbs attach to a soft cloth body, while full limbs let the doll wear short sleeves without the body showing.
• Limited or open edition: limited edition kits are numbered and usually come with a certificate of authenticity (COA). Open editions are cheaper and widely available.
• Genuine sculpts: genuine kits usually carry the sculptor’s name stamped on the vinyl. Very cheap unbranded kits are often copies of popular sculpts, so buy from established suppliers if you want an authentic kit.

Reborn Doll Starter Kits

A complete starter kit is the easiest and often the cheapest way to begin, because buying every item separately quickly adds up. Contents vary, but a starter kit typically includes:

• a blank vinyl head and limbs, and a cloth body to fit
• cable ties to attach the head and limbs to the body
• a starter set of reborn paints and thinner
• brushes and make-up sponges
• glass beads or pellets for weighting
• sometimes eyes, eyelashes, mohair and a rooting needle

Other Reborning Supplies

Hair

You can paint the hair, fit a wig or root fine mohair into the scalp strand by strand. Rooting needs a rooting tool or needles, which come in different sizes, and a little glue inside the head to secure the hair afterwards. Mohair gives the most realistic finish but takes the longest.

Eyes

Awake kits need glass or acrylic eyes, which come in a range of sizes and colours. Check the size the sculptor recommends for your kit.

Weighting

Reborns are weighted so they feel like a real baby in your arms. Fine glass beads in small bags are placed in the cloth body together with soft filling, and some reborners add a little weight to the head and limbs too.

Magnets

A small magnet can be fitted inside the head to hold a bow or headband, or behind the mouth to hold a magnetic dummy. Strong magnets are dangerous if swallowed, so keep magnetic dolls and dummies away from young children.

Electronic Extras

You can add devices that make a heartbeat, coos or a gentle breathing movement, as well as voice boxes, umbilical cord stumps and heat packs that make the doll feel warm.

How to Reborn a Doll: Step by Step

1. Prepare the kit. Wash the vinyl parts in warm soapy water and let them dry completely.
2. Build the skin tones. Paint many thin, translucent layers to create mottling, veins, creases and blushing. If you use heat-set paints, cure each layer as the paint maker instructs before adding the next.
3. Add the details. Paint the lips, nails and eyebrows, then finish with a matt varnish if your paint system uses one.
4. Add the hair. Paint it, fit a wig or root mohair, then secure it from inside the head.
5. Fit the eyes for an awake baby, and add lashes if your kit needs them.
6. Weight the doll with bagged glass beads and soft filling.
7. Assemble and dress. Attach the head and limbs to the cloth body with cable ties, then dress your new baby.

Painting Safely

• Use a dedicated oven for heat-set paints. Paint makers recommend an oven kept just for reborning rather than your kitchen oven.
• Ventilate well. Overheated vinyl can give off toxic fumes, so cure in a well-ventilated space and never overbake.
• Test first. Use spare vinyl parts to check your oven’s temperature and timing before you bake your kit.

What Does It Cost?

Budget unpainted vinyl kits on eBay UK start from under £20, while limited edition kits from well-known sculptors can cost well over £100. On top of the kit, budget for a body, paints, brushes, weighting and, if you want them, eyes and mohair, which is why a complete starter kit is often the best value for a first doll.

Take Your Time

Reborning is a slow, rewarding craft. Your first doll can take several weeks, and it is normal to practise on spare parts before painting a kit you love. With patience, each baby you make will look more lifelike than the last.