Body all sewn, I put it together roughly stuffed to check it was working out, in scale and lining up:
Need to root the body now, long job but it’s keeping me busy while I can’t work!
Hope everyone here is ok and keeping well 
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Very Cute!
So finally I have finished rooting the body!! It has taken forever or it feels like it at least! It’s done now though so on to the next step.
Painting. I remember asking about paints way back when I started this thread but I didn’t go into much detail as it wasn’t needed then but now I need to know. Can somebody please tell me if I order some Decoart Americana acrylics and a primer/dealer ( I was told at the time these would work?) exactly how to apply them so they stick to the vinyl?
Is it sealer - paint - sealer
Or paint - sealer
Will it make any difference if the paints are mixed together to get the shades I’m after?
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I use heatset paints so no help but would love to see how your chihuahua looks now with the body rooted.
Sealer, paint, sealer. The first primer/sealer layer will help your paint stick.
Thank you. Is this the right one?
So paint on thinly, then paint, then another thin layer? Or could I put the second one on thick so it goes kind of glossy? Is that how you get the moist ‘wet’ look to babies’ mouths?
CC I have disassembled the body for now as I want to clip and shape it but I will post a pic when I’ve done so as it now looks quite different! It’s very soft and fluffy! A bit too fluffy hence needing a haircut 
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EDIT: do I need to put varnish on top of the sealer?
My paint, sealer and varnish has arrived. I attempted applying a tiny bit of paint to an unseen part of the vinyl (top of the leg). It dried ok in about 30 mins but scraped straight off. Admittedly I didn’t put the sealer on first but surely it should have adhered at least a bit better than that if it’s going to stick at all? How do I make sure it’s stuck properly? Or will a sealer really fix it in place? I’m not feeling too confident now after seeing how easy it came off 
I’ve been experimenting with the paint and sealer. The paint stays on fine if the sealer is applied even if it’s rubbed hard, however it does come off if I really scrape at it with my nails. Is that normal? Or should it not be coming off at all no matter what?
Also do I need to do several layers? The paint looks patchy and cracked, not sure if it’s my brush that’s not soft enough or if I’m applying it too thin.
It’s really cute.
Sorry this has been so long since I last updated… it has been a long process but OH YES I’VE FINALLY FINISHED!!! WOOHOO!! I can’t believe this little dog has taken me almost a year to make but my gosh I am so happy with the final product! Working on vinyl and all it entails was totally new to me and when I started out on this project I had no idea at all what would come from it, if I could do it or if it would even work for that matter, so I want to say a huge massive THANK YOU to all the members on here who have given me help, advice and recommendations along the way as without your invaluable expertise I couldn’t have done it 
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I absolutely love her!! She is super pose-able but also flops into your arms like a reborn. I did end up altering the nose as it just didn’t look long enough and this became even more evident when I put her together, it looked not bad from the front but too flat from the side. Personally I think it’s much better now and was worth the extra work it took to do it. Hope y’all like her! 
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She is fabulous ! Well done ! I think she’s worth all the work !
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I can’t believe someone rooted an entire animal to fur density.
Beautiful…I love her!
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She turned out awesome! I agree the snout looks much better now! Soo cute!
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Wow! That looks really good!
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Did you root the cloth body?
I was wondering that as well… How did you secure the “fur” so that it does not come out on the cloth body?
You dog looks incredible!!! He looks so real! <3
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Oh gosh sorry for the delay replying here, been busy as started back at work and had internet problems to boot.
Thank you for your kind comments on her, yes Leabelle I think she was worth all the hard work and sore fingertips!
She’s rooted all over except for the edges of the ears. The vinyl there was just too thick to push any needle into. I rooted the body, legs and tail by putting the strands in a long doll needle, pulling them through the opening home and knotting the end so that when they’re pulled from the outside it stops them being pulled back out. The head vinyl is harder and the hair stays in without a knot.
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Totally love this!!!