The only problem with buying used dolls is that sometimes they come with problems! Most of them are a little dirty, which is no big deal. The dirt can be cleaned off with alcohol and a Mr. Clean eraser sponge.
Some dolls have stains on their bodies from clothing dyes, and sometimes they have ink on them from their former playmates. These things can be a little bit of a challenge, but a product called "Remove-Zit" has been a Godsend for the really stubborn stains. This product is only available online, and it's a little spendy. But, it really works!
The last, and hardest challenge for Momma Cat was that some of her dolls needed to be restrung! Momma Cat has never restrung a doll before in her life! So, she went online to YouTube and found an excellent video that showed her just how to do it!!!
How To Restring A Doll At Home
This video gave Momma Cat step by step instructions for putting the little dolls back together again. Momma Cat highly recommends it!
Even though the video was really good, Momma Cat had to redo her first doll a couple of times to get it right! Here's a picture of a couple of dolls that She just finished restringing, along with a doll that is waiting to be put back together.
 |
| The two sitting dolls have just been restrung. |
 |
| You can see the broken rubber bands that used to hold this one together. |
 | ||
| All you need is some round cord elastic, two hemostats, and scissors. |
 |
| The elastic goes through the hook on one leg and up through the neck. |
 |
| Attach the head and run the elastic down to the other leg. |
 |
| Attach the leg and tie off. |
 | |
| Attach elastic to one arm and run through the doll to the other arm, and tie off. |
 |
| She's done! Here she is with all of her friends! |
Momma Cat still has one more doll to restring, but she ran out of elastic cording!!!
The next thing all these little cuties will need is some clothing and shoes! It's a good thing they can't talk, or they'd be bugging Momma Cat all the time!
If you have a doll that needs to be restrung, save your money and try doing it yourself! You can get the elastic cording at just about any fabric store. You can buy the hemostats at fabric and craft stores, and probably sporting good stores, as well (people use them to make fly-fishing lures)! Momma Cat found some at JoAnn Fabrics and Crafts in the quilting notions! Only there they are referred to as "Needle Pullers"!!!
Needless to say, it was crafty, it was fun, and Momma Cat saved herself a lot of money by trying it herself!😺
- Momma Cat
Excellent post! When I was a child, this was my all time favorite doll; I have two from the '60's that need to be restrung, and with these directions I know I can do it.
ReplyDeleteYour girls are adorable; look forward to seeing them in their new frocks :-)
Thank you!
warmly,
Beth
Beth,
DeleteI know you and I share a love for the little Madame Alexander dolls. I am so glad I took the time to do the research and then try restringing for myself. It's a little tricky at first. Too tight is almost as bad as too loose! So don't get discouraged if you have to restring the same doll more than once to get it right!
The hemostats are oh so important!
- Momma Cat
What an interesting post! I didn't know that restringing a doll was something you could do yourself. When I was a little girl, broken dolls were sent to the "doll hospital," if you were lucky. Restringing is a great way to keep dolls from being discarded.
ReplyDeleteMaureen,
ReplyDeleteI thought the same thing. But then, I decided to try YouTube. What a goldmine of information! There are people out there that know how to do just about everything! The wonderful part is that they're willing to share information for free!
I usually look at more than one video to see the different techniques and tools that are used. This is very useful, and it saves a heck of a lot of time!
Also, doing it yourself saves you a lot of money.
- Momma Cat