Washing Old Doll Clothes

Remember when you were young and your mother tried to teach you how to take care of your clothes? Our readers vary a good deal in age, so the particular instructions from our moms would have been different, but they all had their special tips. I remember as a very little girl watching my mom wash clothes using a washboard in a big tub of hot soapy water. Of course everything was hung out on the clotheslines to dry in the sun. The clothes pins were kept in a bag that looked like a fancy little dress on a hanger and had a cutout in one side where she could reach her hand in and take clothespins out. It was made from blue and white flowered material that had started out as a flour sack.

I had my own little washboard and always stripped my dollies naked on laundry day so I could do my laundry when mom did hers. I especially liked pinning them to the clothesline. I also remember my exhausted mother trying to get me to only wash one or two things instead of all of them, and not leave the naked dolls in a heap in the laundry room. And I can still hear her tired sighs as she lifted me up to the clothesline so I could reach the pins to hang the dripping garments. More times than not I got tired or bored before the job was done and she ended up having to clean up my mess when her own work was done. That was the old days.

Recently I was asked to try to sell some of my mother-in-laws antique dolls. Many of them have been shut away for years in cupboards or an unused upstairs room. Not all of them are dressed in their original clothes, but all are at least quite old, and most of them have developed those ugly yellow-brown streaks or spots that we so often see, and in some cases, the color has been severely faded where the dust built up the most on the fabric. I not only didn’t want to offer anything for sale that looked this shabby, but their musty smell stirred up my asthma and I couldn’t be around them very long in this condition and breathe.

I was surprised to find that some of the garments had actually been stitched onto the dolls, and carefully picked out the threads holding them in place. Colored ribbons and trims were removed to make it easier to freshen them up and to prevent their colors from fading onto the garments. It would be great if we could just throw the clothes in the washing machine, but old fabrics can just fall apart from the agitation, so that means we’re limited to hand washing, and without a washboard! But how are we going to get the stains out?

I don’t know about you, but I’m a firm believer in color safe bleach, but that normally contains chlorine, and chlorine will weaken the fibers and cause the fabrics to fall apart. I prefer to start with giving them a good soak. Some folks use a half and half mixture of white vinegar and water with a bit of Biz added, but the first instructions I found several years ago recommended just using the white vinegar and water. Since I have a lot of iron in my water, I use distilled water. An empty porcelain slip jar makes a good container.

Before placing the garment into this mixture, be sure to check for any tendency for the colors to bleed. An easy way to do this is to wet a Q-tip in the mixture and gently rub it on an inside seam. If the Q-tip doesn’t pick up any color, go ahead with the soaking. Use enough vinegar and cold water to comfortably cover the garment and let it set in the solution for an hour or so, then rinse well with more cold water. This should loosen a lot of the soil or stains. I recently read somewhere that using Carbona stain products to pre-treat rust marks or heavy stains before soaking is a good idea, but I’ve personally never tried it.

Now the clothes are ready to be washed. Again, some folks use a bit of Biz in cold water, but I tend to use Ivory Snow because I think it’s more gentle on the old material. Soak the garments in this soapy solution for another hour. If at any time the fabric color starts to leach out into the water, remove the garment, rinse in cold water and let dry. If the material is colorfast, complete the soaking. It’s okay to shake the jar gently a few times to facilitate removing the dirt. When done, rinse again in cold distilled water and roll in clean towels to remove as much water as possible.

So what happens if the stains are still visible? Try soaking the garment again, but this time in a mixture of Snowy Bleach and water, following the instructions on the box. Snowy Bleach doesn’t contain chlorine, so doesn’t damage the fibers. When the soaking hour is up, rinse again repeatedly to remove any residue from the garment, roll in white or color fast towels again, then lay the garment out in the sun on a dry towel to dry. Turn it over so both sides are exposed to the sun. Too much strong sunlight can also be damaging, so limit the time to an hour or two per side.

Once the garments are dry, press them gently, being sure the iron isn’t too hot. Steam is okay, but starch can lead to future discoloration, and can attract bugs. Press ribbons and trims and reattach. Clean the doll gently with a damp cloth and dry immediately to prevent damage to the composition body. Redress the doll and tidy her hair if needed. She should now be fresh and beautiful once again!