Restoring Raggedy Ann

 A friend recently took down her old house to make room for her new one. In the attic she found her long abandoned childhood 36 inch Raggedy Ann doll. The clothes were gone and the doll was in a bad state. So she threw it into the washer and it got worse for the doll. She knew I restored quilts, furniture and bones and asked if I could restore her doll. Sigh. The only good news was the eyes are still made if you hunt around for them. The bad news is that the fabric is very fragile now.

The face stain is from the original cardboard behind the eyes. It was also a metal ferrule under the  wet cardboard.

Eyes are sold in lots and not pairs.

Looks better with the new ones.

Hair is matted up thanks to her dryer and pulled into a knot.

Opening the neck to pull out stains.

Had a tear on the face as I worked.

Moth holes covered with black tulle and fabric bond.

Eyes are now in, tear is stabilized and now I am working on the hair and stuffing. After that the dress needs to be sewn and fitted.

Raggedy Repair

I was asked if I restore old dolls recently. I restore many things from machines, wood, cloth, bone  and leather. If it is broken I can fix most things, just not people. One thing about dolls is there is a lot of love in that object. Most want their doll back to the original but that does not happen in my price range and I refer them to a preservationist. But I can clean, sew and refurbish most things. I have sewn dolls and made clothes for many dolls. This Ann is the largest one I will work on. I had no idea there were so many kinds of Ann & Andy dolls in so many sizes. Most are well loved and it shows. The good news is that there are many out there for parts, parts still made and patterns available. I never owned an Ann, I had a large Snoopy doll I drug around and slept on. It is only a memory. But once in a while I get to work on someones woobie or toy companion. And I get to be Geppetto for a little while in my studio.