Baby Shoes and Mittens

My siblings' mittens and baby shoes

My sister's mittens (seen in the first photo) were worn as an infant during the 1960s), and the baby shoes were worn by my brothers during the 1940s and possibly early 1950s when the third brother was born. One shoe is missing. The mittens are about 61 years old. One pair of baby shoes might be 79 years old if they were my oldest brother’s. 

This is how they were found in a nightstand drawer in my mother's bedroom.

My mother stored the shoes and mittens in the original shoebox of one of the smaller shoes. The end of the box reads Mrs. Day's Ideal Baby Shoe Company, Inc. / Danvers. Mass. Style 397, Size 1 Medium, Color White, and Made in U.S.A.

These are the two complete pairs. Wee Walker is stamped on the bottom of the larger shoes.

One year after taking the first two photographs, I decided to create shoestrings for the two complete pairs and find dolls that could wear them.

Braiding cord

I used tan braiding cord for laces (because the use of new baby shoestrings would require aging the strings to match the color of the yellowed shoes). So, I used what I had on hand.

I stuffed tissue at the toes of both shoes to create a snug fit for both selected dolls. 

A 1940s Mama doll wears the smaller pair of baby shoes.

These shoes were originally worn by the 1940s Mama doll and might be original to the doll. I will store them properly.

First, I tried the larger pair of baby shoes on a larger 1940s Mama.

The larger doll had worn a pair of light-blue vinyl (circa 1960s) shoes.

After several days of wearing them, I decided the larger pair of shoes would be a better fit and look for a 1920s composition boy. He models them next. The shoes that he had worn, which were my daughter's, are now worn by the 1940s Mama doll. 

This 29-inch 1920s composition boy wears the larger pair of baby shoes.

The 1940s Mama doll wears the shoes that the composition boy had worn. These circa 1978 Stride Rite shoes were my daughter's.

"Aren't you going to polish them?" asked my husband. My answer was, "No. I'm leaving them just the way they are. You'd show wear and tear if you were from the 40s, too; oh, wait, you are." 

All jokes aside, I am pleased that I now have dolls that wear shoes worn by my brothers and my daughter when they were babies. Not seen in this post, I also have dolls that wear shoes that were originally my son's and my grandson's. 

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The Mittens

I attempted to remove the stains from the mittens as illustrated next.

Before soaking, my sister's mittens were sprayed with a stain remover.

The soaking mittens

Before soaking the mittens in warm soapy water and Oxy-Clean overnight, I sprayed stain remover on each.

After rinsing and allowing the mittens to dry, I darned what appeared to be moth-eaten holes.

Washed and darned mittens

The mittens are clean, but stains concentrated on the palmar surface are still there. I didn't have another non-bleach cleaner on hand. So, I left them as they are for now—clean and hole-free. 

A 1960s  U5-marked Patti Playpal-type doll wears her original clothes.

Next, the 1960s Patti Playpal-type doll shown above tried on the mittens which fit her perfectly!

The mittens are put to good use on the hands of this doll.

Next, she tried on a coat that was worn by my now 19-year-old niece (my sister's daughter) as an infant. Dressed in her original pink voile dress, replaced socks, original shoes, and outerwear previously worn by family members, she is ready for wintry weather. 

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

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