Three Restoration Dolls

My husband has taken to searching online

for dolls I might like to restore.

I know! What a gem!

A couple days ago he came across an ad for these 

three little girls. They all three belonged to the 

seller's mother. His mother's name is

Nancy Erickson.

I'm so grateful that Nancy's son found

a new home for these dolls instead

of throwing them away!

On the left is this composition Horsman 

baby doll. She is about 15" long.

In the middle is this China Head doll

who is about 15" tall.

And on the right is this cloth doll

with a plastic painted face.

Along with the dolls I got this lovely lot

of vintage doll dresses from the 1920s and 30s

that were used to dress and play with these

three dolls.

This is my favorite! Look at that

beautiful fabric!

These little shorts are adorable!

This little blue dress with the scalloped collar

 is also so very sweet.

I decided to start with the China Head doll.

Upon closer examination, I saw that her shoulder 

plates were broken and someone had cleverly 

used a wooden dowel to keep her head on!

These are the clothes she was wearing.

Top left is her velvet cape. I will be

doing all I can to save and preserve it, 

the rest however are too fragile and too

far gone, even for me!

Sadly, her body was in tatters as well and 

losing sawdust. I will either make 

her a new body, or find a donor.

After removing her head you can see she is

missing her shoulder plates. These are 

not her original hands, so a donor 

body will be my best bet.

BUT, how in the world do I fix her shoulders?!?

After a little research I discovered Milliput putty.

It is a putty mixed with epoxy for repairing china.

The paper roll is covered in wax paper to

create the rounded shoulder plates.

I took equal parts of the the two compounds and 

kneaded them together for 7 minutes.

It's important that the two compounds

are completely mixed together.

The putty stays malleable for 30 or 40 minutes. 

At this point, I said goodnight 

and left her to set.

Next morning I was thinking about washing some

doll clothes.  First I needed to make sure frayed pieces were 

repaired. This little dress was originally

gathered in front, but it has pulled apart.

Using a needle and thread, I repaired the front.

After stitching the rent and regathering the 

front, I use Fray-Check to secure the fabric 

from further fraying.

The arm holes were also frayed, so they got 

the treatment as well.

After being reinforced, all the doll

dresses went into a cold soak wash.

Don't be afraid to gently wash even quite old clothes.

Just be sure any frays or holes are reinforced.

NEVER SCRUB! Only Swish!

Next I returned to the China Head doll.

I'm really happy with this fix.

The putty is REALLY strong!

I think she looks like a Clara.

After some sanding Clara is looking

much better.  Clara will not be

as valuable as if she were unbroken,

BUT! How great to learn there is a 

fix for a broken doll!

BEFORE    and    AFTER

I will most likely use a ribbon

choker necklace to hide the line

between her head and neck repair.

This donor body is on it's way, however,

I really wanted to get started on Clara.

I drew around her original body.

From this I made pattern pieces.

I imagine many dolls were repaired 

by mother's in a similar way.

Clara's neck plates were a little wider

than I realized, so I added a bosom.

This body will be about the right size to create her

clothes and accessories while I am waiting.

I made her pantaloons and a slip...

And a lace camisole.

Here she is! I have a piece of pink

taffeta that I will use to make her gown.

BUT, what about the other dresses!?!?

My 1937 McGuffey Anna got to model the

blue dress. This dress was made for a

doll similar in size to my Anna.

Remember this dress? It has

been washed and pressed. There

are still some stubborn stains, but

I don't mind that a bit!

I hid the stains on the collar with a

green bow.

Patsy Joan loves this new dress.

Everyone is looking very pretty!

NEXT TIME!

Clara will get a new taffeta gown and...

What is happening to the Horsman baby!?!?