Lately I've been enjoying figuring out how to repair dolls. The method I will show you is not the only way, or may not even be the best way, but it is the way I discovered that works best for me! Here we have an 18" Madame Alexander doll, marked 2004 on the back of her neck. I found her at a thrift store with her arm already broken. I was able to get her for half price because of the defect, so I believe she cost me a whopping $2.00. Her clothing and shoes alone made her worth the price, and I figured I could practice my rehab skills on her.
Here is a picture of her leg joint, but it is exactly what her arm joint looked like as well. When it breaks, there is no way to repair it aside from removing it and replacing it with a new sort of jointing system. I used pliers to crack apart the plastic and remove all the parts. This is what you are left with:
A nice, empty, shoulder cavity.
Here's the arm, with the plastic joint removed. Also shown is the wooden craft ball with a center hole which I decided to use for the new joint. The ball is just slightly larger than the armhole opening. You'll need to use a blow drier (or heat your vinyl some other way to make it pliable) in order to be able to shove the wooden ball inside the cavity.
Here are the supplies I used: Elastic stringing cord, metal washers, crimp sleeves, and wooden craft balls (with a center hole)
Thread elastic cord through the wooden ball and secure a crimp sleeve on one end with pliers.
Heat up the vinyl (only takes about a minute with a blow drier), and then shove the wooden ball (crimp-sleeve end first) into the arm. Wait a few minutes for the vinyl to cool and become hard again.
Thread the free end of elastic cord into the shoulder cavity and out through the body. Add another wooden ball (optional), a washer, and then another crimp sleeve. You don't have to add the wooden ball, but I was having hard time reaching into the narrow body cavity and securing the crimp sleeve with the pliers, so adding the wooden ball allowed me more room and ease to get this accomplished. Pull the elastic as tight as possible and secure the crimp sleeve with pliers. The arm is now functional again!
Another picture of the joint repaired. I ended up cutting off the long tail of elastic that wasn't needed. Then I restuffed her torso with fiberfill stuffing and closed the opening with a ladder stitch.
All ready to be loved and enjoyed again!
This particular doll is being donated to a lady in my doll club who is involved in an organization that gives dolls to children in the foster care system. She will receive a nice, new outfit and shoes. But most of all, she will receive a new little girl to love her! I am so happy to have been able to give to new life to a doll that most likely would have ended up in a landfill. Aside from her broken arm, she was really lovely. Her hair is thick and full, and she has the sweetest face. These early, Madame Alexander play dolls are so pretty.
And while this is not doll related in the least, I just had to share:
This is my son's teddy bear hamster, Lydia. Isn't she cute? She is so sweet and tame. Here she is, taking a sand bath in a ceramic bowl. She is about 1 1/2 years old. Hamsters only live about 2-3 years on average, so I am already dreading the day she passes on. My son (and the rest of our family) just love this little rodent so much!
Just like people, her hair is turning white behind her ears with age. So I guess we have a little old lady hamster!
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