Three More Justyne Smith Dolls

Eight circa 1940s cloth dolls by Justyne Smith

A few days ago, I resumed the restoration of more circa 1940s cloth dolls by Justyne Smith. In December 2023, I received eight dolls by Smith from doll artist Trish Williams. All needed restoration. I restored the first three in February 2024 a few weeks after Trish Williams transitioned.

The second set of Justyne Smith dolls was photographed before restoration began.

I retrieved the second set of three dolls from the shed to begin their restoration. These three were in better condition than the first three and required less work to restore.

First, I took several "before" pictures. To avoid fully wetting their bodies (a mistake I made with the others), I rubbed these three down from head to toe with disinfectant wipes. Some of the clothes were hand-washed, but these were wiped with disinfectant wipes first.

Individual Before Pictures

A 17-inch auburn-haired boy is illustrated from the front and back.

A 25-inch redheaded girl is illustrated from the front and back.

A 17-inch girl is illustrated from the front and back.

I removed the clothing items that needed washing, sprayed each with stain remover, and soaked these overnight in hot water, liquid detergent, and Oyx-Clean.

The boy's shirt and jacket were removed.

The larger girl's pinafore was removed.

This photo illustrates a stain on the back of the girl's pinafore and the yellowing of the boy's shirt.

The clothing was soaked in warm soapy water.

After soaking, the boy's white shirt remained yellowed near the collar and chest area. I soaked it again for 45 minutes to an hour in equal parts hot water and hydrogen peroxide. This solution whitened the shirt.

Hair nets held their restyled hair in place.

Next, I finger-combed the yarn hair and braided or re-braided the girls' braids. Hair nets held the hair in place for over 48 hours.

Clean and ironed clothing

After the washed clothes dried, I ironed each piece. I did not wash the dark plaid dress fearing the colors might bleed, but I ironed out the wrinkles as illustrated next.

I ironed the larger girl's dress.

I needed but did not have beige ribbon for the smaller girl's braids. So, I tea stained white ribbon by soaking it for approximately an hour in a cup with hot coffee and a turmeric tea bag. The tea bag did most of the staining. 

The formerly white ribbon stained nicely.

After the ribbon was rinsed and dried, I cut and tied a piece around the ends of the smaller girl's braids. I used a piece of the same ribbon to replace the larger girl's original sewn-on ribbon headband and tied green string around the ends of her braids to match the trim of her pinafore. 

With the dolls tidied and redressed, I took the next photos. 

Shown in a full-length photo, this trio's restoration is complete.

The trio is shown in a close-up photo after restoration. They look happier.

Combined Before and After Photos

The boy cleaned up nicely. His shirt is no longer yellowed, his jacket is clean, and his hair is combed.

The 25-inch girl looks much better with a whiter pinafore, rebraided hair, and new ribbons for the braids.

The smaller girl required the least care. One braid was rebraided, the bangs flattened, and ribbons added to the braids.

The dolls circled in the next photo are the last two needing restoration. 

The restoration of the dolls circled in green is forthcoming.

Related Link

Circa 1940s Cloth Dolls by Justyne Smith

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