My Dolls

To see photo's of all my dolls and their descriptions check out my dear friend Jim's website called Playpal Doll Pages. He has collected an enormous eclectic mix of all things dolls on his website. There truly is no other website around that compares to his. He has such a wonderful website worth hours of browsing. Please check it out. And to go directly to the page where my dolls are featured click HERE

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DOLL RESCUE - KIDCO 13" 1981

I've been asked by a few people to share more about my doll rescue, so today I thought I would show you my current kid in progress. I forgot to get a before picture. She's a Kidco 13" from 1981. Her hair is so horribly matted it looks like she has dreadlocks. Have you ever seen a dog with real bad matts? That's what her hair looks like. I started out by shampooing her hair with Dawn dishwashing liquid. Then she went into conditioning with Downy fabric softener. I use the unscented one in the white bottle. She stayed in conditioning for over an hour. Be mindful if she has sleep eyes, that you dont get water in there. They could rust or get damaged. When she came out of that after being totally rinsed off she is layed out on a towel and the hard part begins.l

 

I use a metal dog comb and start strand by strand picking through her hair trying to unmatt it. In the picture you can see some strands I have already started going through(the ones on the right). I use a generous amount of detangler during this process, it helps a little but most of the work is just good old elbow grease and patience. It took me over two and a half hours of hard constant labor to get all the matts out.

Once this process is done I try to figure out how her hair might have looked new. Did she have a part? pony tail? pigtails? This particular kid looks like she had pigtails because she had a part from front to back down the center(or rather off center a little). I try to research each doll but I couldn't find much on this one. So I'm going to put her hair up in pigtails and the ends I'll put in curlers as best I can.

After her shampoo and conditioning I bring her back in to my workdesk and spray her hair with STP Son-Of-A-Gun vinyl, rubber and plastic protectant. It puts a shine in the hair and protects it as well as helps to tame the frizzies. I'll  also use this on her body when the time comes. Once I spray with the STP stuff I comb through it and trim off any bad ends, being careful to take as little off as possible, and then rolling it back up on the curler.

Once this is all done I lay her out on a towel face down, because she has sleepy eyes and if there is any water in there I want it to drain out. She will stay in this place, "recovery", for several days to make sure her hair completely dries. Only then will we know for sure how well her hair has recovered from her previous abuse. I'll post when she gets further in her process.

 

So for now, she's resting and recovering in her quiet place. Shhhh =)

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DOLL RESCUE - KIDCO 13" 1981

Our dear little orphan is out of the beauty shop, she's been scrubbed from head to toe, she's been fitted with new clothes(since she came to me nekkid) and she's ready for her big debut. Without further ado.. here she is.. the new and very much improved... MATTIE!!! 

I did a lot of research trying to find out about this doll, but found pretty much nothing. I don't know what her name is so I'm going to call her Mattie, because of all the matt's she had in her hair. I might see if I can find her some shoes, or I might make her some booties.. or I may even just leave her barefoot. Time will tell. Mattie will always carry scars from her past, she has numerous mold stains. She's rid of the mold but it left her stained, most of it isn't noticeable, but she'll always be beautiful in my eyes. Hope you've enjoyed following along with Mattie's little journey and new beginning. =)

NOTE: Since this post Mattie has changed her name to Josephine. =-)

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MCCALLS 2468 22-23" BABY DOLL CLOTHES PATTERN

Links to the pattern in pdf form. Give them time to load.

Download McCalls2468Part1

Download McCalls2468Part2

Download McCalls2468Part3

This pattern is from 1961. I've done my best to scan clear images. What you see is what you get, the pattern is kind of rough in a place or two, but very usable. It's in PDF format and will print out on 8½X11 paper. Be sure to choose "no resizing" when printing.

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Comments

[Leah Ramsaur]

Are your dolls for sale?

[Sandra]

Myra,

I discovered your site while searching to identify my doll. The doll you reference as 16" AE "Lane" is identical except for one thing. I cannot tell from your picture if she has a hole between her lips.
My doll does but as I am looking at your picture the pucker of her lips and the lines around her mouth appear to be the same.

I received her, Christmas, probably 1960. My father always bought our next years toys after Christmas the previous year and put them away. Therefore she was most likely purchased in 1959 and is 52 years old.

She came in a wicker bassinett that had a pink gingham skirt and edging around the pull down hood. There was a pillow and blanket to match. From the hood there was a hanging clown toy. Her matching outfit consisted of a white lace trimmed gown with a full body skirt underneath. She had her own rattle and a baby braclet with her name spelled out in beads strung on a wire.

I think they were strung wrong because they spelled "LIL DRALIN". I think they should have been LiL Darlin.

Her only marking was in the small of her back, the number 168-5. I would assume this refered to the body part.

I think you will find it iteresting that she came to me with her own big sister doll.
Dressed in the same gingham material.

The sister doll has the arm that lifts which extends her leg to walk with a child.
She has the marking on the back of her neck that says "EFFANBEE" and on the next line underneath "MARY JANE"

In my research I found a picture of her exactly like my own with the identical dress.

The site I found her on is:

EFFANBEE MARY JANE DOLL 30 1/2" PATTY PLAY PAL FRIEND http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/effanbee-mary-jane-doll-30-2-patty-85558164

Before starting this search I felt like these two dolls were made by the same company. I am wondering about that know. Although they came together as a set with all the material matching, with the bassinett, I just do not know.

I would also like to know what company made the bassinett.

I have one little grandaughter and I got these out to get ready to give her and I got interested in finding out what I could about them.

I am so impressed with your Blog. Your workroom is incredible. You have been blessed with such a variety of talents.

I hope this gives you a little more insight into the doll you have named your baby "Lane".

[Shelly]

Hello! I love that dolls page and thanks for sharing how you fix their hair. I was wondering that while looking at the other site. I usually use conditioner on my dolls for the long hair process.

I am wondering if you can help me out. I downloaded the McCalls baby doll pattern, but when I try and download page 2 nothing comes up. I have tried it twice. Thanks!

[Shelly]

I got the doll pattern page two to work now! Sorry, 3rd times a charm I guess. Thanks for the pattern and sharing all the dolls on the other site. I have browsed it more than once for long periods of time.

Thanks Again!

[Myra Shaw]

Hi Shelly! Thank you for visiting my site. I'm so glad you finally got the pattern to download for you. Nothing more frustrating than when something won't work right. Take care!

[Myra Shaw]

Hi Sandra! I want to thank you so much for sharing all that information with me. I really do appreciate it! It will definitely help me with my identification of Lane. I keep telling a dear friend of mine I wish a big book would fall from the sky with all the doll identifications in detail in it. We can dream, can't we? =)Good luck in your own journey. Take care.

[Myra Shaw]

Hi Leah! Thanks for visiting my site. Nope, my dolls aren't for sale. I'm a hoarder, um, I mean collector, not seller. =) Take care!