The Sad Tale of the Second-hand #58

I have a couple of doll-related projects I'm working on now. 

One: the dollhouse. I have the top two rooms pretty much set up. I'm working on decorating the lowest floor, which is a kitchen/eating space/restaurant.

The other thing I've been working on started when I bought a doll secondhand on impulse. I have had a Truly Me #58 on my wishlist for a while, after seeing a really beautiful Addy in a thrift shop, and then falling for #58's bouncy curls. So when I saw an opportunity to buy a used #58, I went for it.

Looking back, this purchase was not a good idea. This poor dolly had a couple of major issues. On the other hand, I have enjoyed working to repair her, although my first-time repair job has not had entirely great results.

Here's what she looked like when she first showed up. 

So far so good.

Except that she had a huge hole in her side! 

And her hair ... I don't know how long it was in that ponytail, but it did not want to come down. 

First: the hole. It had been stitched together somewhat - not a pretty job, but thick and sturdy thread. The problem was that the fabric itself was fraying and stuffing was peeking out.

And the hole seemed to get a little bigger each time I handled her. It caught on everything.

My first thought was to patch it, but that was kind of drastic. Instead, I tried stitching. There was a lot of frayed material to cover, and the fabric was still fraying as I pushed my needle through. It was bad, guys. This was no longer a case of "well, a patch would be unsightly." We were far past that issue. This was Patch or Doll Hospital territory.

Back to my first plan: patching. First I used a little fusible bonding in the middle to hold the patch in place, and then I carefully stitched around the edges. I finished up with a large helping of FrayCheck.

This is the closest fabric match I could find. She won't be wearing bikinis anytime soon, but I think she is less likely to develop a case of the Giant Torso Hole.

Next: the hair. 

I love #58's hair and I think a lot of people do judging by how many pictures I see of her. However, I don't know that there's anyway to get those gorgeous curls back after a certain point.

In my girl's case, some of her curls (mostly towards the crown of her head) seemed intact, but the greater part were stretched out and hopelessly tangled. Especially around the back of her neck, the curls were completely flattened out. Also, on the back of her head, it seemed there had been some hair loss with thin and almost bald patches.

I tried finger curling and then wetting the hair and curling it around a pencil. Nothing helped very much; her hair still wanted to go vertical.

I could not find any tutorials on restoring #58's hair, although there were plenty out there for other curly-haired AGs. 

"I can't make it much worse," I thought.

I proceeded to make it worse.

This was not working. At this point I'd pretty much lost what was left of her curls. I decided to try other wigs.

Here she is in a Grace wig (specifically the one that used to be on Larkin).

Then I went researching wigs similar to 58's. One recommendation was the Kamilah wig by Global Dolls, which is no longer produced but is still available through some secondhand sellers. I purchased one in a 10-11 size.

A close enough color match.

It fits snugly on her head, so well I've had no need to glue it in place. The curls are very small and tight. It's a different look from most of the dolls I've seen. Less big and fluffy.

The original wig is currently in my room with some more curlers in it; as long as I have it, I am not totally willing to give up on it. So this will probably not be the end of Second-hand #58's transformation.

I tend to have a "character" for most of my dolls, and this girl is still unnamed. I had the name Guenevere in mind for a #58, but I may end up keeping that name for a new #58 with an intact wig. We'll see where this goes.

Dolls from Heaven: John Paul II Review

There is now a line of 18" dolls based on Catholic saints. It's called Dolls from Heaven. So far, they have St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Joan of Arc, and Pope John Paul II. 

JPII, doll pope, came home recently. I got the basic model, which comes with cassock, cap, and red shoes. (They also offer a little boy's sailor suit for him, and accessories including a red cape, a rosary booklet and a prayer card.)

I scrounged up a Bible and rosary for him.

His body is made just like an American Girl Doll's. I did notice that his body fabric seems darker than his skin.

He is gorgeously painted, with blush on his knees and cheeks, and detailed fingernails and toenails. I picked him because I liked his face mold better than Joan and Therese's; he also has lovely deep blue eyes.

I also wanted to try him out in some clothes from other lines. Here he is in modern clothes from the Springfield Collection.

They fit pretty well. The shoes were the hardest to get on and were a bit too small. I want to try some boy doll clothes from other lines when I get the chance, which may be easier since more lines are making boy dolls now. 

He fits in well among the dolls and brings some variety to my collection. His head is proportionally larger than theirs, which is noticeable when they're together. As other reviewers have pointed out, these dolls also have much fairer skin. In American Girl Dolls, even the lightest skin color is not very pale, and they tend to have a somewhat olive cast.

Future plans: I want to make him some skis.

In the meantime, I do know where to find a very small kids' Mass model set. So . . . John Paul II gets to celebrate Mass!