How to Make a Doll Mold From Scratch
- 1). Spread newspaper across a large work area. Since you need to create molds for multiple parts, you need enough room for all of them to fit. Put on your face mask and nitrile or neoprene gloves.
- 2). Embed each doll or doll part halfway into a block of plasticine. At each corner of the block, sculpt raised nubs out of the plasticine. These nubs will allow the two pieces of your molds to lock together. Do this for every part.
- 3). Rub the exposed portion of each part down with soft soap. This layer of soap will keep the plaster from sticking to them.
- 4). Pour a large amount of the powdered plaster into a bucket. How much depends on the size of the molds you are making. Pour enough to conceivably cover every piece.
- 5). Put the bucket under a faucet and turn on the water. Stir the plaster with a stirring stick as the faucet is on. Stop the water when your plaster reaches the consistency of thick mud. Continue to stir until no plaster particles are visible.
- 6). Pour the plaster quickly over the exposed portion of each doll part and its bed of plasticine. Pottery plaster takes only minutes before it begins to set, so time is of the essence. Use your fingers to shape the plaster so it has the same shape as the plasticine bed beneath it. The poured plaster coating should be at least one inch thick at any given point. Allow the plaster to harden for one full day.
- 7). Flip each plaster mold over and remove the plasticine beds, exposing the other side of each piece and the new plaster molding around them. Rub the new side of the doll part and the hardened plaster around it down with soft soap. Rub the sides of the plaster molds with soap, too.
- 8). Mix up another large batch of plaster, just as you did before, in order to make the second half of your mold. Pour it over each exposed part and the already hardened plaster around it. Shape the new plaster with your hands so that it conforms to the shape of the hardened plaster mold. Make sure that the new plaster is at least 1 inch thick. Let it harden overnight.
- 9). Pry the two halves of each mold gently away from each other and remove the doll parts within. Wash the soap from each mold and allow them to dry for a week before you use them to cast slip. Slip is a watery ceramic sludge used in plaster molds to make doll parts and many other ornaments.
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