US20220249966A1

US20220249966A1 - Poseable elf doll having a thermoplastic head/neck and cloth-body retrofitted with strands of wire to render same poseable and self-standing

Info

Publication number: US20220249966A1
Application number: US17/172,425
Authority: US
Inventors: Amy Lynn Welsh-Brockman
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2021-02-10
Filing date: 2021-02-10
Publication date: 2022-08-11

Abstract

A poseable doll and method of retrofitting to form a poseable doll that has a thermoplastic head and a cloth body. A wire extends across a central region of the cloth body widthwise and into both arms of the cloth body. Two wires extend separately from respective ones of the legs of the cloth body across the central region lengthwise and into the head. Otherwise, a single wire is bent with its bend in the head so that the bent single wire can extend through the central region and into both of the legs. Terminal ends of all the wires are curled. The method may include retrofitting a non-poseable doll and include cutting stitching whose presence would interfere with positioning the wire into the cloth body to reach hands and feet of the arms and legs.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO A “SEQUENCE LISTING,” A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING APPENDIX SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC AND AN INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a retrofit of a cloth-bodied doll having a thermoplastic head and neck with strands of wire to render the doll poseable and self-standing.

2. Description of Information Known to the Inventor, Including References to Specific Documents Related to the Invention, and Specific Problems Involved in the State of Technology that the Invention is Drawn Toward

According to U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,940:
[Years ago, dolls were manufactured with flexible body members, as by being, for example, of stuffed fabric construction or else having a more or less rigid torso to which the legs were flexibly attached. In recent years, doll manufacture has seen the increasing use of plastics and synthetic materials to provide relatively rigid constructions allowing the legs and other body members to be re-oriented by the user and even to permit the doll to stand on its own feet.
However, there recently has been extraordinary commercial success for a more primitive, fabric type of doll having the homespun, fundamentally homely character of earlier dolls which, because of the flexibility and general materials of constructions, are not ordinarily self-supporting and will not permit the legs to remain in a desired position. If the owner of the doll wishes to have the doll in a standing position, use must be made of a doll stand. For example, collectors prefer sometimes to have dolls in a standing position on shelves; and a child may prefer to have the doll stand as would a real person.
According to an online article authored by Ethel Leslie that it titled “How to Make Poseable Dolls” at the online address howtoadult.com/make-poseable-dolls-8622646:
An insertable wire skeleton is an easy way to make any cloth-bodied doll poseable. Placed inside the doll before stuffing and finishing, the skeleton frame may then be bent into a variety of poses. Florist wire wrapped in foam or batting is inserted into the doll's body like a real skeleton, giving stiffness and support to the doll before it is stuffed, decorated and dressed.
Measure the proportions of your doll, including the arm length from hand to hand, the body length from the middle of the head to the crotch, and the leg length from hip to foot. These measurements will be used to customize your skeleton.
Cut lengths of florist wire to match the arm span width, the length of each leg and twice the length of the body, as previously measured.
Fold the body wire over double, so it becomes an inverted V shape. At the two points of the V shape, attach the leg wires by twisting the ends together. Tuck wires tightly to prevent sharp edges.
Lay the arm wire across the torso wire in a cross shape, so that the arm wire would be sitting level with the doll's shoulders. Use the doll body as a reference. Cross wrap the arm wire to secure the piece in place, creating a stick figure-like shape.
Fold over the tips of the wire ends at the feet and hands, and bind tightly in foam strips or cotton batting. This prevents the wire from damaging the cloth on the doll's body.
Insert the skeleton through the largest opening in the doll body. Straighten and position the wire so that the top of the skeleton extends into the head of the doll, making a bendable neck, with each arm and leg in the correct area of the doll body.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,590,898 shows a doll having a first wire having two ends extending respectfully into the two legs and having a loop in the middle that extends into the head. A second wire extends between the arms and is connected at its center to the first wire by a flexible tie. The first and second wires may be bent into desired orientations.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,484 mentions in its Abstract:
The improved bendable framework in at least a portion of the interior of the doll consists of at least one linear framework member consisting of flexible metal wire coated with an external annular layer of flexible resilient plastic. The combination of central metal wire and annular plastic layer is preferably formed by extrusion of wire stock with in situ deposition of the outer plastic layer. The linear framework member typically extends centrally and longitudinally through a limb of the doll, so that the limb is bendable, and the terminal end of the member at the outer terminus of the limb is retroflexed so that the terminal end of the wire portion of the member is bent away from direct contact with the outer terminus of the limb. An entire internal framework of specific configuration and held together by at least one metal clip is also provided.
It is desired to retrofit a non-poseable doll having a cloth-body and a thermoplastic head and neck with strands of wire to render the doll poseable and self-standing, but without wrapping the wire around itself or making a skeleton wire shape in advance before inserting the wire strands. A non-poseable doll is one that cannot retain its limbs in position when posed or self-stand on its own.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of the invention resides in a retrofit for a cloth-bodied doll with two or three strands of wire. Such is effected by removing the head of the cloth-bodied doll to gain access to the interior of the cloth-bodied doll, cutting threads at seams as needed along the limbs of the cloth-bodied doll to gain access to the interior, and inserting the strands of wire one at a time into the interior of the cloth-bodied doll so that a single strand of wire extends across the full length of both arms of the cloth-bodied doll and a remaining one or two wires extend from each leg to within where the head will be after the head is reattached.
If a total of two strands of wire are used instead of three, then there will be just the remaining one wire, which needs to be long enough to fit into both of the legs and be looped within where the head will be located after the head is reattached. If a total of three strands of wire are used, then there will be a remaining two wires that can both be of the same length. Whether there are two or three strands of wire, the terminal ends of each of them needs to be retroflexed or curled. That way, the terminal ends of the wires are not placed in direct contact with the outer terminus of the limbs. Instead, the bent portion of the retroflexed or curled portion is closer to the outer terminus of the limbs than the terminal ends.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following description and accompanying drawings, while the scope of the invention is set forth in the appended claims. The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed in color. Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawing(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee.

FIGS. 1-63 are color photographic views that show, in a sequential manner, sixty-four steps to followed to complete a retrofit of a thermoplastic head/neck and cloth-bodied elf doll with three separate wire strands. FIGS. 1-60 and 63 show views of the rear portions of the cloth-bodied elf doll and FIGS. 61 and 62 show views of the front portions of the cloth-bodied elf doll.

FIGS. 64-81 are color photographic views that show before and after front views of various thermoplastic head/neck and cloth-bodied elf dolls, that is, before retrofitting with wire and after retrofitting with wire. FIGS. 66-81 show, in an alternating manner, the before and after front views.

FIG. 82 is a schematic diagram of an outline of a doll showing placement of three strands of wire in accordance with a three-strand wire embodiment.

FIG. 83 is a schematic diagram of an outline of a doll showing placement of two strands of wire in accordance with a two-strand wire embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

My retrofit technique can be explained by carrying out in sequence the sixty-four steps the follow. Each numbered step corresponds to the figure numbers in sequence. Thus, FIG. 1 shows the step that follows that is numbered 1. FIG. 2 shows the step that follows that is numbered 2. Such continues in sequence to FIG. 64 that shows the step that follows that is numbered 64. Prior to retrofit, the doll depicted is conventional and may be considered to be cloth-bodied, except for its head and neck that are made of conventional polyvinyl chloride thermoplastic material. The cloth-bodied portion may be felt that contains conventional stuffing material to give the cloth body shape in a conventional manner. Further, cloth body is dressed in a felt outfit.
1. On the back of an elf under the white zigzagged-cut bib, there is a glob of glue. The glue attaches the white bib and the red body to hide a cable tie head. The cable tie is around the elf's neck attaching it to the red felt body. The cable tie head needs to be cut in order to remove the elf's head from the red body.
2. The white bib 1 and red body are made of felt, so are fragile and susceptible to ripping. It is impossible to pull the white bib up to get to the cable tie head without ripping the red body or the white bib.
3. In order to accomplish the task of getting past the glue, I take the metal tip of a heated hot glue gun and press it against the glue 2 on the bib and the body. The tip of the heated hot glue gun loosens the glue that attaches the bib to the body and eventually reveals the cable tie head that is around the back of the neck.
4. Once getting through the glue, the clear cable tie head 3 around the back of the neck end is exposed.
5. I use a wire cutter to cut and break the cable tie head 3.
6. I pull the cable tie 4 out of the fabric loop around the neck.
7. The head is removed easily once the cable tie is re-moved from the fabric loop around the neck.
8. Cable tie and head removed. Shall I need to replace the body of a damaged elf, I'd simply throw this body away and continue with the following steps using a new elf body from elsewhere. If the body isn't damaged, I'd continue to wire the original body using the following steps.
9. I remove all the stuffing from the torso and the bag of beans located in the bottom. The bag of beans help the elf in the sitting position prior to wiring, but creates a standing/balancing issue if left in the torso post-wiring. I save the stuffing but discard the bag of beans.
10. I use a seam ripper to cut the threads 5 holding the white mittens together. This allows for me to add wire down the entire arm and hand and permits posing of the elf post-wiring. If the threads are left uncut, they would interfere with adding such wire and such posing.
11. The stuffing and bag of beans are removed and the white mittens are now unattached.
12. I use a seam ripper to remove the seam stitching from the “joints” 6 of the elbows, so I may eventually pass wire through those areas.
13. I use a seam ripper to remove the seam stitching 7 from the “joints” of the knees, so I may eventually pass wire through those areas.
14. I use a seam ripper to cut through the seam stitching 8 at the back of the leg closest to the elf's bottom.
15. I've cut approximately an inch through the seam stitching 8 on both sides of the legs.
16. I use a seam ripper to cut through the seam stitching 9 under the arm or “arm pit” area.
17. I've cut approximately an inch through the seam stitching 9 on both sides of the “arm pit” area closest to the neck and torso.
18. I remove and save all the stuffing from both the arms and the legs. This will allow a stem wire to pass through those areas a lot easier. At this point, the elf is completely void of any stuffing and is a hollow shell.
19. I then insert the end of one 18 inch (16 gauge) floral stem wire 24 through the opening in the leg I created with the seam ripper.
20. I then wiggle and push the end of the stem wire 24 through the inside seam that attaches the leg to the elf's bottom 25. It doesn't take much force and easily glides through this area.
21. I repeat steps 19 and 20 in the other leg with a further stem wire 28 and push both stem wires 24, 28 through the neck opening where I re-moved the head.
22. I then insert the end of one 18 inch (16 gauge) floral stem wire 20 through the opening in the arm pit I created with the seam ripper.
23. Just like I did in the legs, I then wiggle and push the end of the stem wire 20 through the inside seam that attaches the arm to the bottom of the neck (see circle 27). It doesn't take much force and easily glides through this area.
24. The stem wire 20 then appears in the opening of the neck.
25. Just like I did in the previous arm, I then wiggle and push the end of the stem wire 20 through the inside seam that attaches the arm to the bottom of the neck. It doesn't take much force and easily glides through this area.
26. One stem wire 20 is now through the neck and runs down through both ends of the arm.
27. I've used a total of three strands of stem wires. I have two separate stem wires 24, 28 going from the legs through the neck and one stem wire 20 going from the one arm through the neck and out the other arm.
28. I use the stuffing I set aside from the torso and place it back into the torso and around the wires.
29. I use one four-inch (18 lb tensile strength) cable tie to replace the head back on the body.
30. I feed the new cable tie 4 around the fabric loop of the neck.
31. Using a round nose pliers, I curl the ends 26, 30 of both stem wires that run through the legs, torso, and neck. This prevents the vinyl elf head from being damaged on the inside.
32. I will then put the curled ends of the stem wire inside the elf's neck and head 12.
33. The curled ends are inside the elf's head.
34. I use a needle nose pliers to tighten the cable or zip tie around the neck of the vinyl elf head.
35. I use a wire cutter or scissor to cut off the excess cable tie from the head of the cable tie.
36. The elf's head is secure and you can only see the cable tie head just as it was prior to me breaking the cable tie in step 5.
37. Just like I curled the end of the stem wire in the neck. I curl the end of the stem wire close to the hands or white mittens of the elf.
38. Curled end of the stem wire by the elf hand/mitten. Curling prevents the wire from poking through causing injury or damage of the white felt mitten.
39. I then pull the other end of the stem wire so the curled end 22 arrives at the opening under the arm pit.
40. I push the curled end 22 of the stem wire into the opening of the arm. I continue to push the curled end 22 of the stem wire all the way down to the white mitten. The curled end will end up inside the white mitten.
41. Once I can no longer push the curled end of the stem wire any further as it's touching the end of the mitten 23, I then address the opposite end of the stem wire in the other arm. I will pull the elf's arm taught prior to cutting the stem wire.
42. I leave about an inch to an inch and a half above the mitten to allow for enough wire to be curled on this end 22 as well. I cut off any excess wire.
43. Just like the previous hand, I curl the end 22 of the stem wire with a round nose pliers to prevent the wire from poking through the white mitten causing injury or damage to the white felt mitten.
44. I then bend the wire in half so the curled end can reach the opening under the arm pit. I put the curled end into the opening to feed the wire though the arm so the curled end reaches the inside of the white mitten.
45. It's helpful to use a needle nose pliers to help push the wire inside and through the opening under the arm pit. Then I straighten out the wire with my fingers by bending and applying pressure on the outside of the arm.
46. The arms are now wired.
47. Just like in the arms, I push the stem wire in the legs up until the curled ends hit the inside roof of the elf's head. This is important as it provides stability when balancing the elf to stand.
48. Just like in the arms, I will pull the elf's leg taught prior to cutting the stem wire. I leave about an inch to an inch and a half about the tip of the foot to allow for enough wire to be curled at its end 30. I cut off any excess wire.
49. About an inch and a half of wire above the tip of the foot remains to be curled.
50. I curl the end 30 of the stem wire with a round nose pliers by the foot just as I did in the white mittens.
51. I grab the middle of the stem wire 28 with the curled end and bend it in half.
52. I bend the stem wire until its curled end 30 reaches the opening I made in the of the leg just below to torso.
53. I put the curled end 30 of the stem wire into that opening and push the curled end all the way down into the foot just as I did with the arms in step 44. It's helpful to use a needle nose pliers to help push the wire inside and through the opening. Then I straighten out the wire with my fingers by bending and applying pressure on the out-side of the leg.
54. I repeat step 47-53 for the other leg. Now I have two wired arms and two wired legs that can be bent for posing and balanced to stand.
55. I replace the stuffing 40 I saved back into the legs through the same opening the wire went into. I use a wooden dowel to help me get the stuffing 40 all the way down the to the foot and in the length of the legs.
56. I replace the stuffing I saved back into the arms through the opening the wire went into. I use a wooden dowel to help me get the stuffing all the way down the to the hand/mitten and in the length of the arms.
57. Once the wire and stuffing are complete, it is time to stitch the two openings 50 I made in the legs just below the bottom of the torso.
58. It is time to stitch the two openings 52 I made in the arm pit areas.
59. I use a needle and red thread and stitch the opening 50 of the one leg shut using a conventional invisible stitch method for which the stitching appears hidden. The conventional invisible stitch method can be described as involving the following steps: pull a needle and thread tightly, push the item away from the needle and thread, cut the thread where it exits the fabric and thus the thread will simply jump back inside the item to become hidden from view from the outside once it has been cut, because it was being pulled tightly. An instructional online video for the method of making such an invisible stitch is titled “How to Sew: The Invisible Seam Stitch|Hand Sewing Tutorial for Beginners ladder|Slip Stitch” at youtube.com/watch?v=WbE5hXt27uU&feature=youtu.be.
60. Then I move on to the next leg and close its opening 50 using the conventional invisible stitch method. The leg opening that was closed from step 59 using the conventional invisible stitch method can be seen. The opening 50 in the other leg will be closed in a like manner.
61. I repeat steps 59 and 60 for the two arm openings 52 using the conventional invisible stitch method.
62. Arm openings 52 are closed and the result after using the conventional invisible stitch method can be seen.
63. I use a hot glue gun and add glue under the bib 1 on the cable tie head of the newly wired elf. This hides the cable tie head and prevents the cable tie head from causing injury.
64. Complete. The elf on the left is a before. He cannot stand or be posed without wire. The elf on the right is wired. He stands and can be posed and positioned.
FIGS. 65-81 are sets of before and after photographs of conventional cloth-bodied elf dolls of various manufacture showing their appearance before being retrofit with strands of bendable wires of the present invention and after being retrofit with strands of bendable wires in accordance with the retrofit technique of FIGS. 1-64. The photographs have Before and After designations that relate to their appearance before and after the strands of bendable wires are inserted in accordance with the invention. The elf dolls are not completely cloth-bodied in that their head and neck are made of conventional polyvinyl chloride thermoplastic material. Their cloth bodied portions (which may be felt) contain conventional stuffing material to give their cloth bodies shape and they are dressed in felt outfits.
FIGS. 82 and 83 are schematic diagrams indicative of the outline of an exemplary cloth-bodied elf doll 10 and showing the placement of skeletal wires within. The cloth-bodied elf doll 10 includes a neck and head 12 (made of a thermoplastic material such as polyvinyl chloride resin), a central body 14 and limbs include a pair of arms 16A, 16B and a pair of legs 18A, 18B. The first stem wire 20 extends in each of the arms 16A, 16B and through the central body 14 below the neck and head 12. Its pair of terminal ends 22 are curled or looped. In the case of FIG. 82, the pair of stem wires 24, 28 are provide with each extending from the neck and head 12 though the central body 14 and into a respective one of the pair of legs 18A, 18B. The pair of opposite terminal ends 26 of the stem wire 24 are curled or looped. Likewise, the pair of opposite terminal ends 30 of the stem wire 28 are curled or looped. In the case of FIG. 83, a single stem wire 32 has a bend 34 at its center so as to provide for two wire strands with each wire strand extending from the neck and head 12 through the central body 14 and into respective ones of the legs 26 in a substantially parallel manner with each other. The bend 34 is within the head 12. The pair of terminal ends 36 of the single wire 32 are curled or looped. The bend 34 has curvature. The end result is a poseable doll that can self-stand.
FIG. 72 provides an example of a damaged elf body being replaced with a new body with wire. As can be appreciated from the “After” views of FIGS. 70, 73, 75, 77 and 79, doll shoes can also be used to help balance the cloth-bodied elf doll to self-stand.
A cable tie (also known as a hose tie, zip tie, or by the brand name Ty-Rap) is a type of fastener, for holding items together. The most common cable tie consists of a flexible nylon tape with an integrated gear rack, and on one end a ratchet within a small open case at the head. Once the pointed tip of the cable tie has been pulled through the case and past the ratchet, it is prevented from being pulled back; the resulting loop may only be pulled tighter.
While the foregoing description and drawings represent the preferred embodiments of the present invention, various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method of forming a poseable doll, comprising:

arranging stuffing and strands of bendable wire within confines of a cloth-body, the cloth-body including a body portion with limbs extending outward from the body portion, the limbs including a pair of arms and a pair of legs that all terminate away from the body portion at respective distal end regions, the strands of bendable wire including a single strand that extends fully into both of the arms and across the body portion, the single strand having curled ends within the respective distal end regions of the arms, the strands of bendable wire further including at least one further strand that extends from the at least one of the legs and through the body portion and out of the cloth-body to terminate into a further curled end, the further strand having at least one curled end within the respective distal end region of the at least one of the legs; and

attaching a thermoplastic hollow formation to the cloth body, the thermoplastic hollow formation having a head and a neck contiguous with each other, the neck having an open underside, the further curled end of the at least one further strand being within confines of the head, the attaching taking place by inserting a fastener into a fabric loop of the cloth-body that wraps around the neck and then tightening the fastener accordingly to effect securement of the cloth-body to the thermoplastic hollow formation.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one further strand includes another strand that extends from a remaining one of the legs through the central region and into the head and having two curled ends with one of the two curled ends being within the head and remaining one of the two curled ends being within the respective distal end region of the remaining one of the legs.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one further strand fully extends into both of the legs and has a bend within the head, the at least one further strand having an additional curled end that is within the respective distal end region of a remaining one of the legs.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the arranging of the strands of bendable wire is carried out to cross the single strand and one of the at least one further strand with each other without wrapping around each other and without connecting to each other.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a non-poseable doll having the thermoplastic head and neck and the cloth-body that encloses the stuffing; and

converting the non-poseable doll into a poseable doll through retrofitting by:

providing access to an interior of the cloth-body by separating the thermoplastic neck and head from the cloth-body to expose an opening in the cloth-body where the neck had been attached and by cutting stitching at seams in the arms and legs to expose openings where the stitching had been that had been cut;

removing the stuffing material from the cloth-body via the access to the interior that was provided;

positioning the strands of bendable wire to extend fully into all of the arms and legs;

curling ends of the strands of bendable wire and positioning the curled ends of the strands of the bendable wire within the respective distal end regions;

putting the stuffing material back into the cloth-body;

stitching to close the openings in the arms and legs with thread.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the removing of the stuffing from the cloth-body includes removing all of the stuffing so that the cloth-body is empty of any of the stuffing.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the non-poseable doll having the thermoplastic head and neck and the cloth-body also has a cable tie in a fabric loop of the cloth-body that wraps around the neck and has a bib that is adhered to the cloth-body with glue, further comprising:

applying heat to weaken the glue that adheres the bib to the cloth-body to reveal an opening of the fabric loop to access the cable tie that is within the fabric loop; and

removing the cable tie from the fabric loop through the opening of the fabric loop after breaking a head of the cable tie from a remainder of the cable tie;

wherein the inserting of the fastener with the fabric loop includes positioning a further cable tie into the opening of the fabric loop to wrap around the neck to secure the cloth-body and the neck to each other; and

adhering a bib to the cloth body with glue so that the bib covers the opening of the fabric loop and is around the neck.

8. A poseable doll, comprising:

a thermoplastic hollow formation having and a head and a neck that are contiguous with each other, the neck having an open underside;

a cloth-body that includes a fabric loop that wraps around the neck, a body portion and limbs that extend outward from the body portion, the body portion and the limbs each containing stuffing, the limbs including a pair of arms and a pair of legs that all terminate away from the body portions at respective distal end regions;

a fastener within the fabric loop of the cloth-body that is tightened to effect securement of the cloth-body to the thermoplastic hollow formation at the neck; and

strands of bendable wire that are within confines of the cloth-body, the strands of bendable wire including a single strand that extends fully into both of the arms and across the body portion, the single strand having curled ends positioned within the distal end regions of the arms, the strands of bendable wire further including at least one further strand that extends from within confines of the head and neck to pass through the body portion and into at least one of the legs, the at least one further strand having a curled end positioned within the distal end region of the at least one of the legs.

9. The poseable doll of claim 8, wherein the at least one further strand is a single strand that has a bend within the head and extends also into a remaining one of the legs to terminate into a further curled end within the distal end region of the remaining one of the legs.

10. The poseable doll of claim 8, wherein the at least one further strand includes an additional strand that extends from within confines of the head and through the central region and into a remaining one of the legs, the additional strand having a further curled end within the distal end region of the remaining one of the legs, both the at least one further strand and the additional strand each having another curled end within confines of the head.

11. The poseable doll of claim 8, wherein the single strand and one of the at least one further strands cross each other in a manner that is free from wrapping around each other and free from connecting to each other.

12. The poseable doll of claim 8, wherein the fastener is a cable tie, the fabric loop having an opening that provides access to the cable tie within; further comprising:

a bib adhered to the cloth body with glue and covering the opening of the fabric loop to block access to the cable tie within the fabric loop, the bib being around the neck.

13. The poseable doll of claim 8, wherein each the legs have respective foot portions, further comprising:

shoes that are worn by the respective foot portions of the legs.

wherein the poseable doll is self-standing on a surface because the strands of the bendable wire in the legs are positioned accordingly and because the shoes balance the self-standing of the poseable doll on the surface.

14. The poseable doll of claim 8, wherein the poseable doll is self-standing on a surface because the strands of the bendable wire in the legs are positioned accordingly.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the legs each have respective foot portions, further comprising:

shoes that are worn by the respective foot portions; and

self-standing the poseable doll on a surface by positioning the strands of the bendable wire in the legs accordingly and by balancing the self-standing of the poseable doll on the surface with the shoes.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

self-standing the poseable doll on a surface by positioning the strands of the bendable wire in the legs accordingly.