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There are a variety of eyes available for doll making and reborn, some are plastic, some are glass. The best eyes to use are German multiflecks. These are easy to work with and have a never-before-seen realism in dolls eyes.

You will need to start by either baking your baby in a low oven for 8 minutes to make it more pliable, or alternatively you can use a hair dryer to heat the eye sockets remembering to heat both the inside of the head and the outside. Taking your thin-bladed utility knife, cut away the fold of vinyl inside the eye socket, this is unnecessary and can be neatly cut away to expose the inside of the head in preparation for the eye. Using a glue similar to the one you use to seal the inside of the head after microrooting, it must be clear drying glue, apply a small amount to the circumference of the eye socket on the inside, where the eye will be positioned. This can be quite tricky so it’s best to take your time and make sure you don’t have glue sticking out of the sides, it can be pretty obvious against the eye once placed.

Once the glue has been applied, let it rest for about five minutes, this will make it easier for the eye to stick to the socket, if you put it on immediately you will see that the eyeball will slide a little. To get a good grip it is best to let the glue harden for this period of time, then place the eye in place. Setting the eye is again a procedure that requires patience and a lot of attention to the area you are working on, pushing the eye through, moving it until you are happy with the placement, then gently push into the glue.

It is recommended that you hold the eye in place with your fingers for another five minutes to make sure it doesn’t move and has adhered well enough to hold its position while in place. When you are sure you can remove your fingers and the eyeball is not moving, you can gently pull your hand away, keeping your head very still. It will take a few hours for the eye to fix properly, so you’d better find something small and heavy enough, some sort of tool would work, a wrench or something similar.

Wedge the head in a position it cannot move from and rest the weight inside the head against the eye to prevent it from peeling off the glue, after a few hours your eyes should be fixed permanently and you can give other tweaks to the your reborn.

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