Gotz Doll Restoration

Remember this little waif?

I found her at Goodwill last month and snatched her up immediately.  I love these Gotz dolls.  I'm not sure what her name was originally--some are called "Sarah" and others are "Hannah"--but they have such sweet faces.

 

While her body was in great condition, her hair, unfortunately, was not.

 

This is what it looked like after soaking in fabric softener for a couple of days and then getting towel dried.

 

Here you can see the hair that has been combed and treated with the hair straightener (on the left), and the rest of the hair that is still a snarly mess.

 

This is what a section of hair looks like after I comb it out, but before I straighten it.

 

And here is that same strand of hair, after I've run the straightener over it several times.  See how nice and smooth it makes it?

 

Hair completely combed out and straightened.

 

I just barely trimmed off a bit of the ragged edges.  Here you can see how many layers her hair had.

 

I decided to set her hair on rollers to get some of the curl back that she originally had.

 

And...voila!  Here she is all gussied up in her new dress with her once again, pretty hair.

 

This looks like a dress and a pinafore, but it's really all one piece.  I love the colors.

 

Bodice closes in back with snaps under decorative buttons.

 

Isn't she adorable?  I'm always amazed at how different these little orphans look after a trip to the "beauty parlor", and getting something pretty to wear.

 

And yes, I tried this dress on my new Gotz Classic Kidz Louisa, and it fit her perfectly as well.

 

 

We have been snowed in for the past couple of days, and tonight we are getting hit with freezing rain on top of the snow.  I can't say that I am unhappy about that; on the contrary, I have rather liked being holed up inside, puttering around inside my sewing room and "playing dolls".  The kids, of course, have enjoyed everything associated with the snow, especially sledding.  They have yet to build a snowman--I'm hoping that happens tomorrow before it all melts away.  I love snowmen.

Tonight I will work on the finishing touches of a pretty, little coat I started for an American Girl doll a couple of years ago, but never finished.  I will sit in front of the cozy woodstove while I sew on buttons, and think about what my next project will be.  It's a good day!