How To Clean Up A Cabbage Patch Doll
Practice's and Don'ts of Cleaning Old Cabbage Patch Dolls
If you're anything like me, visiting local thrift stores on the hunt for neglected dolls to rescue is a thrilling treat. When you find some onetime beauties sorely in need of a spa handling for only a couple of bucks it can make your heart sing.
In this article I'm going to teach you lot how to clean a Cabbage Patch doll and then that she/he comes out spotless and spiffy.
But beware. Dunking a highly collectible vintage doll into hot, soapy water can be a disastrous error! Whatever damage done in the procedure can seriously take away from the value of the doll.
Then my advice is to always, always, always bank check online to make sure the doll you're about to rescue isn't worth hundreds or fifty-fifty thousands of dollars in its UNwashed state!
For example, I recently visited Babyland Full general Hospital (the birthplace of Cabbage Patch Kids) in Cleveland, Georgia.
Yes, that'due south me in my favorite chair EVER! The acme I'yard wearing is i of my ain creations.
The photograph is by my beloved, Wayne-Face.
Looking at the display cases of original Cabbage Patch Kids that were hand-crafted by Xavier Roberts starting in the late 1970'south I was shocked to learn that those dolls can sell today for upwards to $40,000!
[Promo: Cheque out this fun and like shooting fish in a barrel Cabbage Patch Mermaid Outfit Course]
From this I concluded ii things:
1) NEVER dunk a doll until y'all're certain of what information technology's worth in its original condition, and
2) I definitely need to go to thrift stores more than ofttimes in case I get lucky and discover a valuable dolly treasure. (Wayne-Face does not necessarily concord with this idea.)
Don't forget to check out my How To Clean A Cabbage Patch video HERE:
A Fiddling Bit of Cabbage Patch History
When I start started getting interested in the Cabbage Patch dolls that were commercially sold in the 1980'south I was pleasantly surprised to discover how amazingly resilient these Kids are. I mean actually – these dolls are over thirty years erstwhile and they make clean upward beautifully!
However, in club non to ruin your doll you do demand to know what you lot're doing and then I'grand going to give you my strategies for how to clean a Cabbage Patch Kid SAFELY. I've developed these gems of wisdom every bit a issue of having spiffed upwardly well over a hundred of these beauties to date (and having screwed upwardly a couple – sniff).
I should mention here that being from England I was not exposed to the Cabbage Patch Kid craze that stormed America in the 1980'south. I'd heard of them, but since I'd never owned one I didn't accept the passion or emotional attachment to them that many American women have.
Still, I picked up a couple of sorry-looking critters at a yard sale a few years ago and brought them home. I did some research and cleaned them up and fabricated them some cute clothes.
Next, I joined some Facebook groups and began collecting vintage Cabbage Patch Kid dolls. Then I started a national therapy doll movement. . .well, yous become the idea.
Today I am hopelessly hooked on these charming imps and I will most probable ain many of them until the day I pass over to that keen doll collector'due south paradise in the sky.
How To Clean A Cabbage Patch Kid Doll
Many of the Cabbies I have come across have been – well – filthy. Let's say they are well-loved and have ofttimes gone thirty+ years without a bath. But even the grubbiest Cabbie can clean up fabulously with a little love and elbow grease.
First, yous'll need to requite your Cabbie a nice bubble bath to go rid of the viscous-candy-doggie-kissy-smoky-yucky-stank. I like to use an earth-friendly dye-free dish soap, slightly diluted with h2o. Sometimes the doll is so dingy it takes 3 or 4 baths to get her clean.
For stubborn spots on the material body I spray on a little laundry spot remover (I prefer to use baby-safe organic products when I can) then I scrub with a soft fingernail brush. I was pleased to observe that the fabric used for a Cabbage Patch body is very sturdy and handles scrubbing and stain removal very well.
Adjacent, I launder the hair with a gentle baby shampoo, no matter if it's the yarn or regular silky doll hair. Information technology works fine for both.
After that I tackle the head/face, which is a hard, sturdy plastic. Often their faces and necks have stubborn stains on them so for those I use Soft Soap and a gentle scrubby sponge. Many of my fellow collectors swear by a Magic Eraser sponge which is fine if y'all like it. I personally don't because trivial bits of information technology break off and clog my sink, which Wayne-Face up does non appreciate.
Practice your best. If the stain won't go away with a little gentle scrubbing don't worry, there'southward a solution for that also. You don't want to scrub your Cabbie'southward face up too difficult because you might remove their eye or cheek pigment and that is a challenge to fix.
Once you've done the best you can to remove all the stains and smells, it's time to rinse your Cabbie very thoroughly and then gently squeeze out as much h2o as you can.
Drying Your Cabbage Patch Kid Doll After Its Bathroom
There are different schools of thought almost how to dry your dripping wet Cabbie. Here's mine.
And so later on you've squeezed out the excess water, I discover the best way to showtime the drying process is to hang your Cabbie over a coat hanger outside or in the bath and permit it baste-dry out.
A lot of people are willing to tie a towel around its head with a rubber band and throw it in the dryer, but I don't do that. Later on all, xxx+ years is pretty old for a doll.
Once your Kid has stopped dripping completely you tin air dry information technology near (not Likewise near) a heater. The entire process tin can take 2 or 3 days, depending on the temperature and humidity where you live.
Fortunately, my family and friends are used to my house looking like a Cabbie flop-house most weekends.
Removing Stubborn Stains From Cabbage Patch Kid Peel
I do this pace as needed after the Cabbie is all dry. It's just easier to see the extent of the stain in one case they are otherwise make clean. I learned this stain removal technique from my Cabbie collector friends in various Facebook groups and I am grateful to them for their noesis, generosity and dear for Cabbies.
For this yous'll need to buy some acne foam (yeah, I said acne cream). Expect for the active ingredients. You're looking for a generous proportion of Benzoyl Peroxide. There are many good acne creams out in that location so you lot can choose which y'all adopt. I like to use this kind.
Dab information technology fairly generously on the offending stain and so leave the doll outside in straight sunlight for a day or two. Make sure you don't forget information technology and leave it out in the pelting. Been in that location, done that.
You lot'll notice that after a day or two the stain volition have lightened considerably, if non completely disappeared. Information technology's pretty amazing (and scary) how powerful acne cream is.
Rinse off the cream, and if the stain hasn't completely disappeared to your satisfaction, repeat the process. You can see in the pics above that the ink stain came right off the face of the Niggling Angel Apparel Up Girl I made a while ago.
Personally I don't mind leaving some stubborn stains – I just pretend they are normal bruises or scratches that all kids get.
One time I was making a custom Cabbage Patch Buffy The Vampire Slayer and she had some reddish marker stains on her neck that would just not come off. I only left them and pretended they were bite marks!
One time your Cabbie is all clean, dry and stain-free, your next fun task is to restore the hair to its erstwhile celebrity.
Unless a complete disaster has happened this is actually easier than it sounds, and in my adjacent post – How To Fix A Cabbage Patch Doll's Pilus – I'll show you exactly how I do it.
How about y'all? Have you always fixed up an old Cabbage Patch Kid doll? What were some of the challenged you faced? Feel free to post questions in the comments below.
Thanks for stopping by!
Mandy
P.Due south. I should mention that I have tried these cleaning strategies on other dolls also Cabbage Patch Kids, including American Girl, Our Generation, My Life Every bit, Berengeur Babies and more.
P. P.South. I recently discovered this Crawly cleaning production that I ADORE! I will NEVER be without it because I use it to clean spots off vintage habiliment as well as Cabbage Patch dolls. You can find it here.
P.P.P.South. Why not transform your rescued Cabbie into a fabled Sassy Cabbie Mermaid?
P.P.P.P.S. I know y'all know this, but in this mail service there are some affiliate links to products I use, like and trust. Doing that helps me to share my favorite projects with you for free. Enjoy. x0x0x0x0x
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