Thursday, May 28, 2009

Restoring Raggedy Ann

My mom gave me my 30-year old Raggedy Ann to pass down to Ellie when she was born. This poor Raggedy was deeply loved by all, including one of my cats that we had growing up. She was in desperate need of a facelift, literally, and a little cleaning up. So, over the long weekend, I decided to tackle this little project. I don't make dolls or repair them. I just did the best I could with the little sewing skills I've acquired. I should have taken a before picture. Oh well - I'll describe her before. Her clothes were stained from the years, elastic had lost its elasticity (she really did look like a rag-a-muffin and needed to quit dropping her pantaloons!) and the cat had given her a good open wound to the forehead. So, we soaked the clothes in oxyclean and then washed them. Then, I repaired the broken elastic with new and added another row of eyelet at the bottom of the dress. To repair her face, I just started stitching it together as best I could and then positioned a bow in her hair to camouflage it a little. The bow also served to make the somewhat dishelveled hair look not so bad. And here she is:If anyone knows how to get the stains off the doll herself, I'd appreciate any advice. I'm thinking maybe getting an oxyclean solution going and using a cotton swab to dab. Thoughts?

4 comments:

The Hamilton's said...

Try quilt soak. It's used to take stains out of old quilts that discolor over time but I use it on my kiddo's stuff. You will probably have to buy it online.

Julie Wolfe said...

I think someone else has told me about that before. I will definitely have to try it. thanks!

Meredith said...

You did a great job!!

Unknown said...

Talk to gramma D. She really did a great job of restoring the quilt she completed for Zoe. Ann Masson gave her some great tips on gently getting old stains out. Can't wait to see you guys!