I’m wanting to buy some eyes for the reborn dog I’m making and I don’t know what size to get. I’m so confused as to what to buy. The eye socket measures 21mm from side to side and everything in Google says to add 1-2mm to the size. However as there’s slightly less space inside the socket due to me rooting the eyelid should I discount that? I also cannot put them in from the back, they must be insertable from the front. So do I buy 20mm , go smaller (18mm) or bigger (22mm)?
Oh and can you put half round eyes in a oval socket or will they look odd?
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whoever you bought the kit from should list what eye size to use, you can typically go up 2 mm from that without any trouble but I would not go smaller. Having rooted the lashes should not make the eye socket dramatically smaller to needing to use smaller eyes. Also, to insert from the back you would slice open the eye socket with an exacto knife and then glue them in, it’s typically unusual to put them in through the front, is there a reason for needing to go in the front?
Is the socket 21mm wide or the opening at the front? The eyes will need to be wider than the opening.
The opening, I can’t actually measure inside the socket but the widest point of the opening is 21mm measured with a tape measure. If I buy 22mm won’t they then be too big to push in through the opening?
eversunny - the eyes need to go in through the front because after rooting the entire head it’s not possible to get to the back of the sockets at all. I need eyes that will basically press into the sockets and as I won’t be able to get them back out except by breaking them I really want to get them right first time.
You should be able to squeeze the vinyl a bit to get them in. Heating it may help a lot.
If you get eyes that are smaller than the opening, they’ll probably rattle around in their sockets.
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I would find a listing for the kit and look at the size that was recommended for it.
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Can you show pictures? I’m having trouble envisioning why you can’t put them in from behind
I tried that, there is no mention of the eye size on the description.
I can’t put them in from behind because it’s covered up. It’s an animal kit that I’m making into a dog , I’ve rooted the whole head and face so there is basically a thick mass of fur blocking the eye sockets inside the head. It’s just not possible to get to them.
The eyes I’m considering buying are flat back glass oval ones. If I can get the size right I’m hoping they’ll sort of slide into place.
If you’ll post a picture of your kit, I am sure that someone will help you with eyes size. We have people here who is better than Google 
I took a chance and bought some 22mm oval eyes. Will the size be measured only for the painted part of the white bit as well? So if they physically fit but don’t look right (too stare-y or something) and I get a different size will the whole eye then be too big/small?
The eyes are measured for the whole eye including the white not just the coloured part. Just because the eye-opening is oval does not mean that the actual socket is oval as well. Most baby kits have round eye sockets even though the opening of their eye is not round. I’m not sure how well a round eye would fit into an oval socket but many people put oval eyes in round sockets. I can’t help you with the actual size you need but the socket will be bigger than the opening so the eyes will need to bigger than the opening as well. It is not unusual to insert eyes from the front, we do have a lot of reborners on this forum that insert from the front. They insert them while the head is still hot, I’ve done it myself. If I’m trying to get a rather large eye into a small opening it sometimes helps me if I wet the eye with water so it slides in better.
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Quiltsabunch thank you so so much for your detailed reply, that is very helpful and informative. I have more of an understanding now of how the eyes work, thank you for explaining it to me 
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I have just picked the head up and though the opening is oval I really can’t tell what shape the socket is inside but it doesn’t feel round from what I can feel of it. I didn’t buy round eyes as I thought they wouldn’t for through the opening and even if they did, that they’d leave a gap either side. Logically my thinking was that an oval shape will fit an oval hole without any gap. As I have covered the head in fur I 'm hoping a hairdryer will be enough to soften the opening enough to slide the eyes in.
Is there a way of telling if eyes are going to be the right fit before putting them in place? Like is there a way of just knowing by lining them up or something?
I’m glad it was helpful, even though I couldn’t tell you what size eyes you need. If you can’t look in the head to see the socket to tell if it’s round or oval you won’t be able to tell what size you need as you can’t really do it from the front. I imagine it would be pretty hard to get it right even if you could see the socket from inside the head. You can’t tell from the opening how big the socket is. There could be a big socket for eyes that are squinty and not very big. The best way to find the perfect fit if you can’t find the information is to just try them out to see what fits best.
Maybe you could make another post asking if anyone has made this cat before and what size eyes they used?
I just noticed the link you posted says that the kit comes with eyes, did they not send them?
I also just noticed that the eyes shown with the kit are round.
I didn’t get eyes with the kit because I bought it cheap off someone on eBay but it is the exact same kit as on that website link. They only had the vinyl parts I wasn’t bothered if the eyes and body weren’t with it as I planned on changing them anyway so didn’t think I’d need them.
I do have a pair of half round polymer eyes like those in the picture though and there’s no chance of fitting them in from the front as they are nearly bigger than the eye hole, I think something would break if I tried to force them in.
The eyes have arrived today. They’re just a bit bigger than the opening and will fit into the socket if I push them but I haven’t done so as I want to paint the socket and eyelid first and I won’t be able to get it back out. The color is also ok and pretty much what I wanted. The one thing that is making me hesitate though is that although the eyes will fit in I think there’ll be a bit too much white showing either side. If I go up a size to 24mm though they’ll be too big to fit. Ideally the painted part needs to be a bit bigger without the whole eye itself being bigger. As I can’t find anything to suit that I’m wondering if taxidermy eyes will be a better option? Has anybody ever tried them and know what they’re like? Alternatively, is there any way of lessening the white showing?
You would be surprised how big of an eye you can put through the hole if the vinyl is hot. If the eye isn’t big enough to fill the socket then it will be loose in there and it’s hard to glue in place when you’ve inserted through the front, or you might have to take it out to stuff the socket with something and put it back in. Have you used the spy glass to search the forum for tips?
I hadn’t planned on gluing them in as I haven’t gotten any cuts in the back of the socket they can’t go anywhere. I don’t think they will fall out from the front either.
I have tried the search bar (is that the same as the spy glass?), It’s bought up a lot of useful stuff but what I can’t find anywhere is information on any size differences between round and oval glass eyes. Are they the same or do you have to go up/down a size to compensate for the shape?
Yes the spy glass is the same as search. I think it’s common to go one size bigger in oval, but most of the time people probably get to try to see what they like best before they’re committed.
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