My recent doll acquisition, a 9" Patsyette,
came with her original oilcloth shoes.
These shoes are literally made from cloth
that was oiled, most probably with an oil paint.
Here they are.
I always ask myself before I try restoring
Dolls, doll clothes, or in this case,
doll shoes, "can I make it any worse?"
The answer in this case is a "no".
These shoes are tattered and unattractive.
I am sure many collectors would tell me not to do this!
"You'll ruin their value!"
They may be right, but I don't think any
self respecting doll would want to wear such sad slippers.
I also ask myself , "If I do nothing would the item
in question continue to deteriorate?"
YES, I think they would.
SO, here we go!
You can see here how the fabric has torn
from around the snap closure.
I cut a small piece of muslin and using
TACKY glue I glued the fabric to the inside
of the shoe for reinforcement.
Next I mixed some acrylic paint in what I
call an antique pink and brushed it all over the outside of the shoes.
I was careful to avoid getting paint on the buckles.
After the paint was dry I used tiny scissors
and trimmed off the ragged edges of the shoes.
And here they are!
The little bows are now lying flat.
The edges no longer look tattered.
I think this is a huge improvement!
The paint strengthens the fabric and stops the fraying.
Before and After.
Such lovely results.
Elizabeth is so pleased!
13 comments:
The shoes are adorable! I like how you asked yourself the questions before taking on the task.
How did you know what to do? I would not have had a clue.
I bet Elizabeth gave you a big hug when you were finished. She looks so cute with her new dress and shoes.
Thanks Dorothy! I always ask myself if I am sure I want to forge ahead when deciding to try and "fix" something old. HA! I have had some real messes in the past and then had to figure out what to do then. I always seemed to figure it out. It's a great learning process I suppose.
I'll tell you a secret Dorothy. When I was a young wife and we hadn't much money, I had a pair of pink flats that I loved. When the toes and heels started to get scuffed, removing the color, I figured, "What have I got to lose?" and mixed some paint to match the color. Do you know no one ever guessed? I went on wearing those shoes for another year or two. I knew these oilcloth shoes are just painted cloth, so I thought I could get away with the pint trick again. It worked beautifully!
Elizabeth loves her renewed shoes and did give me a big (tiny) hug. :)
The shoes turned out beautifully and Elizabeth looks so happy to be wearing them. Brenda, you did a marvelous job on them. I appreciated learning your step by step process in this experience.
What a great idea! They look brand new! :o)
Thank you Becky. I always like to share how I do things so others might be encouraged to restore something of theirs. I am very pleased with how they turned out and so is Elizabeth.
Thanks Carolyn, I am very pleased with how well they came out. I do so much just based on a guess and hope it all turns out! I am quite pleased with these little shoes.
Hello Brenda,
I am sooo happy you showed how you did this. My bigger Patsy, Francine, has her original shoes. They do look just like Lilibet's. I don't know if i will repaint them, but re-enforcing them from the inside sure sounds like the way for me to start. Mine are so fragile.
For now, they are stored, I was always afraid to use them too much. But i sure do love the look of them. One of these days, when the weather permits, i will take them out on the deck to work at the table there. I'll have to spread newspapers out to work on - I am often very messy with glue.
Thank you for the inspiration! Your fortitude in doing repairs is admirable - I guess I should adopt that - Can I make it any worse - attitude . I am general pretty brave but somehow shoes intimidate me!
Janet
Thank you Janet!
That is why I do this. I want other people to see that they can do all kinds of things, just try. I ask myself the question to help me resolve to try something. My Patsyettes shoes were in terrible shape and would have gotten worse. I feel like I have saved them. I know many true collectors would frown on my changing them in any way, but it's done now! haha
Hugs
Brenda
I so agree with you about fixing something to make it last and make it better.
I am getting a doll with old oil cloth shoes like yours and a missing buckle and bow. I am going to to search online for two similar buckles and replace one still there and add the missing one. But I will definitely repaint and reinforce the shoes when I receive the doll. So I am very appreciative for your post.
I collect dolls too, but as long as one does a nice job either repairing the doll or the clothes, no one should care. I like to see fairly nice hands and toes and body on my dolls. So I taught myself how to repair them. Often I will do just a light but very nice repaint. Like you I can’t see a doll with an exquisite face and clothes wanting to be displayed with missing fingers and toes! Plus have a dirty body or one that has deteriorated or has severe paint loss.
Keeping dollies beautiful is my mantra! ;) Sue
Thank you Sue,
I agree with you. A doll should be clean and as prettily displayed as possible. With a little research any doll can be cleaned and repaired and restored. I have done a lot even with old, tattered doll clothes. With gentle handling and reinforcing of damaged areas I have saved some quite old and fragile doll dresses.
I am so glad you found my blog Sue!
HUgs
Brenda
Brenda, I am right there with you! I had a friend's badly damaged compo Patsy-type doll restored, as she was crumbling at the crotch, and her face was so crazed it was difficult to see her features well. My friend was thrilled with her! (And, I confess, I envied her that little cutie! Enough that I started my own Effanbee Patsy collection shortly thereafter!) My justification was just that, she had barely survived 80 years thus far, and would continue to deteriorate. Now she will have a chance at another 80 years!
Brenda, I too have repainted some of the foiled fabric shoes, although the metallic craft paint isn't as shiny as the foil.
Jenny :-)
Thank you Jenny,
Wow! I would love to see photos of hte repaired Patsy. It is so rewarding to restore and save an old doll and her clothes and shoes. I too love the Patsy dolls. I now have 6! Patsy Ann, 3 Patsy Joans and 2 Patsyettes. It is so amazing to me that these dolls are 80 or 90 years old.
I know what you mean about the gold foil shoes. The skates I recently repainted are not as shiny, but I am still happy with them.
Hugs
Brenda
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