Did you miss the first post? You can reread it here! Also, all my links open in a new browser window so you won't lose your place with this new post. So feel free to go back and read if you wish!
Let's see what else was hiding in the fabulous strawberry toy chest (which looks great in my son's room by the way)
It's a wonderful doll from my mom's childhood!
I LOVE her! She is a very unique doll with a soft body and a kind of paper mache face. She wears a jumper dress with little soft sneakers.
She has a cute expression.
Unfortunately from lying in the toy box, her dress and hair are matted. I love her pigtail braids. I'll have to take the dress off and wash and iron it.
Except this dress is sewn on her. There are no snaps, zippers or buttons. I'm thinking I could loosen the threads but not sure if I want to go that far with such an old doll.
Her legs are in perfect condition and have a unique joint so she can move her legs back and forth!
My mom accepted her doll too.
I traced over it with a fine sharpie marker and then covered the bottoms with clear transparent tape. I had to really struggle to see where it was written as it was with pencil.
So that's it for this time! What do you think of her? And like the last doll I featured, she does not have a name either. Any ideas for cleaning and pressing her dress? Maybe I just have to be careful and press it while on her? Let me know in the comments!
I'll try to have the next post up in a couple of weeks. Until next time dolly friends!
7 comments:
She is a cutie and time has been kind to her. As for cleaning her dress, I would definitely open the seams and handwash the pieces seperately, this would also make it easier to replace the wobbly elastic of the blouse and ironing them. Later you can either sew them back to the doll or make button and loop closures.
If the doll didn't have a paper maché kind of face, she could have been washed in the sink. Maybe you can steam clean her, if you have a steam cleaner.
That is a interesting leg joint. No way this would pass todays security regulations. The damage to her arm could be the result from dragging her along by her arm, most little girls do that with soft dolls.
I hope you can clean her up, she is a real treasure.
How wonderful that you have one of your mom's dolls. I think her face is actually a thin, flexible plastic 'mask'. You should be able to feel a thin lip all around the edge of the face and if you can pull down the neckline of her blouse, there will be a 1/2" extension of the mask that serves as a neck. These were sold in craft catalogs and came in Santa and clown face styles, also. It has held up well - no cracks, chips or scars on the it. I'm pretty sure that the polka-dot fabric is from the late 50's - early 60's. Maybe from one of your mom's dresses?
However, I would be cautious about washing her for a couple of reasons. The fiber of her hair looks like it could become a tangled, broken mess. And she could be stuffed with something that wouldn't wash well. My experience in washing stuffed dolls and animals is that no matter how much you rinse and carefully air dry, there always seem to be brown water stains from some unknown material in the doll.
Sorry to be so discouraging but better that you are aware of the risks before possibly ruining her.
Teresa F.
Thanks Andrea and Teresa! I am thinking I will clean and press her dress and spot clean the body. I don't think the body has many stains, if any at all. Maybe a light wipe down with a semi-dry cloth will do the trick. I wont touch the hair. I don't have enough antique doll restoration knowledge to know what to do with that one. I think the hair looks good enough though, albeit a little flattened from being in the toy box but still good and relatively clean. Once I get the dress off I will stitch back up her arm. Good point Andrea, probably from being carried and loved on. :) Thanks for the info about the face Teresa! I'll have to check and see if it is one of the mask faces. She is a precious treasure for sure!
After taking a closer look at the doll, it looks like her face mask is sewn on. There would not be a lip around the edge in that case. If I remember, the ones with lip edges were for glueing directly on the doll and then the lip would be covered by whatever type of hair (yarn, wig, etc.), chosen for the doll.
I also seem to remember these face masks available in the dime stores back in the 60's and 70's. They sometimes came 2 or more to a package.
Good Luck and please show us the 'after' picture.
Teresa F.
I'm not sure if it's sewn on or not....I thought that the stitching was for the 'scalp' for the hair. Hm, I'll have to take a closer look at this! Examination time will begin shortly, LOL. Thanks for the info on the masks, I'll have to ask my mom where she got the doll and if she remembers them selling any masks for it.
Oh yes, after pictures will be shown for sure! :)
She definitely is a treasure. She looks identical to the Polish dolls from the 50's. I was fortunate to find one stamped Poland behind her thigh on the fabric. She has the same joint & is stuffed with sawdust. I wish she belonged to my grama. Along with her I found a boy doll made with similar materials. I def would spot clean her due to her age.
Thank you!
Last year at an estate sale I cam across 2 of these doll in... well loved condition... in other words, rough!
Both have Poland on the back of one leg. One has a full dress on the other just a slip and panties with a yellow bonnet on. Both need an arm reattached. It is there but barely on one and safety pinned in place on the other.
I felt they were old but I had nothing to go on but my gut feeling! I think they are adorable!
Now, thanks to my love of Barbie, I have more to go on!
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