A daddy brought this poor lumpy doll to me. He said he tried to fix her, but she just kept coming apart.
His child was not with him, but he was desperate to get the doll fixed. No other doll, apparently, would do. The child couldn't sleep without her special "lovey doll." I explained that I could do nothing with the hair except to clean it, but offered a new wig. He refused this suggestion, stating that the hair was fine.
I knew I would have to keep this doll as "original" as possible, so that the child would be able to see it was still her special doll.
The toy was dis-assembled. Several types of homemade stuffing were removed and discarded. All cloth parts were cleaned. The vinyl parts were cleaned separately. The hair was washed and conditioned. Everything was laid out flat and air-dried. All cloth parts were mended by hand. Vinyl parts were re-attached, and the body was stuffed with new poly fill. The doll's hair was gathered into a makeshift ponytail, and a matching stretch ribbon bow was tied around it. The doll's round plastic eyes received new blue irises, 3-D color printed and cut from paper stock. Découpage served to fix them in place, followed by a clear matte topcoat sealant.
This doll went home with a new lease on life!
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