Yesterday I decided that it was time to clean up the dollies that I bought on my trip away last week. The four dolls that I bought were all a bit grubby so the first thing that happened was they got a bath. As it seemed to be mostly surface grime I washed them in warm water and Wool Wash as that was what I had handy. I often use dish washing liquid and that does a good job as well. For really dirty dolls I do have some 911 from Twin Pines of Maine but I use it sparingly because the high cost of having it posted to Australia makes it expensive to use. I gave the girls a wipe down with some white vinegar on a damp cloth.

Here are the girls before and after their baths.

For the doll with moulded hair that was about all that was necessary. She does have a few issues, I mentioned that the back of her hair had chew marks and a hole as if it had been pierced with something. When I cleaned her up I noticed that her toes had also been chewed a bit and she was missing some fingers. The fact that I didn’t notice that in the shop comes down to the fact that I was too busy looking for makers marks but really it doesn’t show up too much. I have an idea in mind for a knitted outfit for her which has a hood and mittens which would hide the imperfections. I just have to look out the pattern leaflet I saw it in.  In the meantime her original mummy made outfit looks fine.

 

The curly-haired doll didn’t need a lot of work either. I washed her hair in the Wool Wash as well and after a rinsing and a comb she was fine. I believe her outfit is her original one so she will be keeping it.

 

The other two dolls have long hair and it was very tangled so before I washed it I de tangled it as much as I could with a wide toothed comb. I washed it in Johnson’s Baby Shampoo and  used conditioner on it. Sometimes I use fabric softener which also does a good job but I didn’t have any on hand. I combed the conditioner through their wet hair to get the rest of the tangles out and then gave it a good rinse, dried it off, combed again and left them to dry over night.

This morning I checked on them and the blonde doll’s hair  was soft and silky although still a bit damp. She is a very nice doll, unmarked so I don’t know who made her but in great condition with all her eyelashes intact. She has her original panties and shoes but I think her outfit is mummy made. Usually when I get dolls whose former owners, or their mothers, have taken a lot of trouble to dress them I leave them in that outfit even if it’s not quite what I would choose myself.

The red-haired doll had a few issues too. She has some purple staining on her face and hands. I may have to get some Remove Zit or similar product to shift it but I don’t want to take her eyebrows off too so I’ll have to be careful.  It’s not too obvious though. Her hair is the older coarse type of Saran and as you can probably see from the “before” photos it was a bit of a mess.  After I’d untangled it I decided to create a new fringe for her as what she had didn’t sit quite right. I don’t know how her hair was originally styled but I thought it looked neater in two bunches. I’ll have to find her some hair ribbons later.

While the dolls were at the beauty spa their clothes got a soak in Omo overnight to freshen them up. The green dress needed a minor repair. Finally everyone was dressed and ready to take their places on the doll shelf with the others. My next task will be to try to do some research into them although given the lack of markings or original outfits I don’t expect to find out much. I’ll let you know if I find anything out in another post.