I came really close to losing Ann, however I'm not pleased with her outcome. I've never had a issue with a cloth doll before and I'm disappointed it had to be with a Raggedy. My mistake was washing her, and I did it about five times figuring I'd get the dirt out, ha! No such luck. The stuffing (which has been around more than 50 years) was dust filled and when it dried it kept making Ann look like this....
Oh my gosh....took me awhile to catch on and when it finally dawned on me, she laid on my counter next to the sink before I decided to do anything more with her. One day I picked her up and inspected closely as to what I could do.....I came to the conclusion that I could cut her under the hairline at the base of her back neck, remove the head stuffing and wash her. So that's what I did...
I'd have to reuse the original stuffing because it is rather threadlike and very firm, I have nothing like it. So I cut off the dirty spots and it didn't look that bad.
It was very difficult to put back in, I was very afraid she'd rip but I allowed a line of glue to dry around the opening to prevent that mishap, it worked like a charm.
After stitching it up, I glued the hair down. As seen it the photo, I had a small repair to the crank opening.
While I was working with her I kept this one thought in my mind, "She could be entirely remade and she'd be better." But I pressed on.
Her face faded so badly that she needed repainting, also.....I forgot to mention. The smudges on her eyes? Yep....apparently glue because when I pulled the stuffing.....it ripped the eyes, oh dear. They needed re-gluing and repainting too.
I think I killed her! C&G Design.
Words and photos by Dawn, C&G Design.
