Breathing new life into stained and damaged doll clothes

There are many many used dolls out there, and it's our company mission to rescue as many as we can and get them to a loving home. Condition is an important part of our decision to purchase a doll. This includes the condition of the hair, outfit, and the body itself. The final test is also if we've fallen in love with the overall look of the doll and our reaction to seeing it.

While I do sew, it is impractical due to the sheer volume of dolls we receive to sew individual outfits for all the size dolls that are on our restoration list. It is always our aim to re-use as much as possible to not continue to waste or accumulate tons of garbage, so saving doll clothes becomes part of this task. If the outfit is in good condition, we can often wash it to get rid of dust and get it looking vibrant. Sometimes it doesn't even need that and a good spot cleaning does the trick. Sometimes it's not a matter of cleanliness but it's ripped or damaged and we can repair it to get it back to looking it's best. In this post, we will discuss outfits that undergo cleaning and the stains never lift.

An outfit that is still perfectly sewn and in tact can still look dodgy and dingy if it's been in the sun, is old and faded, or if it's permanently stained. This can happen for all number of reasons. Sometimes it's the way the doll was stored, sometimes it's left in the sun and has become discolored, sometimes it comes into contact with a spill or substance and it wasn't cleaned right away, and sometimes it's just age. In restoration, I always try to save the original outfit as it was, but a lot is attributed to how the doll was taken care of previously to when it comes into my possession. And dolls that need the most help are actually my favorite because I can use my creativity.

Today's example is an 8" Madame Alexander Bo Peep. Although she was still in the box, her stringing had failed and she was missing some of her body parts. She's currently waiting for a limb donor to be herself again, but her outfit had also seen better days. Very faded, stains on the front, and her apron looked dingy and old. Even if I reassembled her, putting the outfit back on her would have just made her look old and tired and she would have been passed over by a collector who found another of her in better condition.

The Bo Peep Outfit in it's original form

Now this is a cute outfit, and it's well sewn so really we are just looking at color, so I chose to dye it. Since the dress is assembled as one piece, we will lose the two tone of the original in favor of one color, but because the vest is black velvet it won't absorb any dye. I chose a dark pink because I wanted a bright pink and black look to catch the eye.

Rit DyeMore Synthetic Super Pink

I used Rit DyeMore Synthetic Super Pink as my new color choice. To do the dye job I used an old pot and an old wooden spoon as well as a glass bowl. This alone made it so I never actually touched either the dye or the clothing at any time so I actually didn't need to wear any gloves and still no pink traveled anywhere.

Filled Pot of Water with Dye

Using the instructions for this product, I filled my pot with water and added the dye and then heated it to boil.

Adding the doll clothes to the dye bath

When I added the clothing pieces, they were so light that they just floated on top so I used my wooden spoon to dunk them in and stir them into the dye. I wanted a nice even tone so I continued stirring until I saw that bright color coming through.

Stirring the doll clothes in the dye

Note that I used this wooden spoon because it was old and I never use it, but it does absorb dye. If you want something that doesn't, use a metal spoon.

Submerging the clothing in the dye

I made sure each piece of clothing completely submerged. When I was happy with the color tone, I took my glass bowl and gently liften each item of clothing with my wooden spoon, letting as much of the dye drip back into the pot as possible before adding it to the glass bowl.

Dyed doll clothing in a glass bowl

You can see from the picture above that everything dyed including the laces and the original flowers decorating the hat so that it is all one color tone. I took the glass bowl to the kitchen sink and ran water over it several times pouring out any pink water until the water poured out clear. I made sure since this is layered clothing that I pulled up the layers and re-rinsed to ensure there were no pockets of dye hanging out in the folds.

Adding water to remove excess dye

After I drained all the excess water, I put the outfit in my dryer on low.

The finished outfit in it's rinsed state

After drying the outfit was a bit wrinkly, so I used my iron on low setting to get rid of the wrinkles. So let's analyze the results.

• The dingy look is completely gone in using the dye. All the trims dyed pink make the outfit look more current. The style of the outfit is not modern, but it looks like something that would have been released in later years, so in essence dying has removed it's signs of aging.

• The staining on the apron and front of the dress are completely gone and show no traces. There are no dark marks from where the stain used to be and the dye has applied evenly. It was as if there never were any stains or age at all.

• The different materials used on this outfit have all absorbed differently. The top half behind the vest is a bit more muted, and the lace dyed similarly whereas the skirt taffeta and bonnet are a clear fuschia tone. It is not mismatched, but there's just enough variance there to give a little bit of tonal difference.

• This outfit can now be used for a new doll or doll that is missing it's outfit, so the result is that yes, dying an outfit can give it an opportunity for a new life.

Footnotes: After completing the dress, bonnet, and petticoat I discovered her pantaloons and socks were still in the box and decided to repeat the process so that all the pieces are the same color tone. I'm happy at the results and will be using this process to give new life to the doll clothes that are faded or stained. As soon as I repair the doll, I will upload a photo of her final look.