Let’s get started by first discussing "How to Restuff a Cloth-Bodied Doll"

Over time and from lots of handling, the stuffing in cloth-bodied dolls will either shift or settle. This settling will render less support to the doll’s head. Typically this occurs in larger play dolls that are handled frequently. If this happens, the remedy is simple.

What You Will Need:

Scissors
*New plastic neck-tie(s)
**Poly-Fil stuffing

*New plastic neck ties can be purchased from any craft store, doll supply source, or substituted with electrical wire ties that can be purchased at Wal-Mart, Home Depot, or your local hardware store.

**Polyfil or stuffing can be purchased from any sewing center or Wal-Mart. It will probably be less expensive at Wal-Mart.

What to Do:

Use scissors to cut the existing plastic tie that attaches the doll’s cloth body to the head.

You can either remove the old stuffing or keep it in and just add enough new stuffing to provide the desired firmness to the doll’s body.

Fill the stuffing all the way to the neck portion of the cloth body; pack it down in the body to be certain that the body is completely filled.

Once the desired fullness of the body is achieved, thread the new plastic neck tie into the neck "hem" portion of the cloth body. Put the two ends of the ties together loosely first; you’ll tighten them after the doll’s head has been replaced. Replace the doll’s head.

If you desire for the doll’s head to move from side to side, pull the tie snug, but allow enough laxity for the desired side-to-side movement of the head. If you do not want the head to move, be sure that the face is aligned properly with the front of the doll’s body, then pull the tie as snug as possible. Finally, cut off the excess ends of the tie.

If you have additional dolls to re-stuff, follow the steps outlined above.

Let’s move on to "Remedies for Removing Odors from Malodorous Dolls"

When dolls are exposed to tobacco smoke or other harsh odors over long periods of time, these odors seep into the doll’s material and; while the owner may become immune to the odor; if the doll is sent to a new home, the new owner may find the odor quite offensive. This will be the case particularly if the new owner is a nonsmoker and the doll came from a smoker's environment, or if the new owner has a sensitive sense of smell.

To remove the smell of tobacco smoke or other harsh orders, it will be necessary to hand wash the doll’s clothing and lie them flat to dry or hang them outside on a sunny day to air dry. For dry clean-only fabrics, these should be sent to the dry cleaners.

If the doll is vinyl, use a diluted cleaner such as Mr. Clean or Orange Glo to wipe the doll’s vinyl surface clean and allow it to air dry. If necessary, use a damp cloth and wipe the doll’s cloth body with either of these solutions. If the hair is washable, wash the hair with a mild shampoo. (Rooted hair is washable; wigged hair is not.) Allow the doll to dry.

If the smell still exists, or if the doll is made of non-washable material such as porcelain or composition; place the doll in a scented trashcan liner and tie closed; or cover the doll from head to toe with several scented fabric softener sheets, then place it in an unscented trashcan liner and tie the liner closed. Leave the doll in the liner for several days. If the doll remains malodorous after a few days, remove the doll from the liner and place it outside in direct sunlight. Allow it to sunbathe for a few days. When all else fails, the sun usually does the trick to remove odors.

If you opt for the sunbathing trick, be sure that the doll is in a protected area so that stray animals will not harm or remove it from the premises! If more than one day of sunbathing is required, bring the doll inside when the sun sets and take it back out the following day. Repeat as often as necessary. Usually two or three days of sunbathing will do.

We hope these tips help in your doll re-stuffing and/or doll odor-removing tasks.

If you have doll care tips that you would like to share, please email us. You will be given credit for your tips if they appear in a future issue of Black Doll-E-Zine.

To contact us:
blackdollezine@yahoo.com (Zee)
blkdollezine@aol.com (Deb)