I have a doll that I played with when I was a little girl and I have now passed it on to my daughter. She LOVES it and plays with it all the time. Unfortunately because it is old it is falling apart. The doll has a plastic head, arms, and legs with a soft cloth body. One leg is almost completely ripped away from the body and one arm is starting to tear. Does anyone know how I can fix the doll or if there are any companies that will restore old dolls? My daughter plays with the doll all the time and it has sentimental value to me so I hate to replace it or throw it away.
There was a doll hospital fix it company in type buisness in N.St.Paul but they moved. I have no idea where to but there are companies out there that do that sort of thing.
As below I would suggest sew it up yourself, or if you don't sew see if a relative or friend could sew it up for you. This will work if the plastic legs/arms are not attached by a plastic ball and socket type joint. If that is how the doll is put together then you might need to replace the plastic ball and socket because plastic tends to stretch/bend a little bit making the fitting loose and will fall out easier. That is harder to repair.
If the sentimental value means a lot to you and you want to keep it I am not sure you want your daughter playing with it. There is only so much repair you can do so after awhile the cloth will start to fall apart and you will not be able to repair it, unless you replace all materials of the doll.
Check out this website... they might be able to help you if you don't find a company in your area or friend/relative to help you.
http://www.dollsbydiane.com/serv01.htm?gclid=CMuh6u-P55EC...
I would try a local craft store. They might have a vendor that makes dolls and would be willing to look at your doll and see if they can repair it or take the plastic parts and attach them to a new body.
If you're OK with a needle and thread have a go. My mother used to fix things like this and she found that dental floss worked better than anything to stitch parts together. You'd need a decent size, sharp embroidery or darning needle and unflavoured, uncoloured dental floss. Good luck.
C.
