Care of Lady Dawn
We do want her to be happy, really!
We do want her to be happy, really!
Okay, dare we say the word ... those B collectors have the jump on us! They do rerooting (is it worth the trouble?), repainting, and all sorts of crazy things to their dolls! Odd though their obsessions may be, there are things we can learn from their experience! And one extremely nice collector who also collects Dawn (she is actually the Headmistress of Dawn!) sent me these tips on how to fix Denise's 'do (and a little tip on Dinah):
Re: Dawn hair -- I have had excellent success restoring Dawn hairstyles in the same manner that I restore B*s. I have even re-rooted a couple Dawns! A friend just sent me 7 Dawn heads with cut hair that I plan to re-root & play with. And if you would like me to restore your dolls' hair to its original style, I would be happy to! (If you want to contact her, visit her Insanity Inc. website.)
Dinah's hair is a real challenge, but it works much better if you keep it damp while you are braiding! Denise's hair is a snap to restore! Get some dental rubber bands & put her hair on top her head, then roll it around bobby pins, securing them with a straight pin thru her head (be careful the holes don't show!) and put her head in boiling water.
Well, you don't really put the hair in actively boiling water -- sorry to mislead! What you do is put the hair in a cup or small bowl, and pour boiling water over it (enough to cover all the styled hair) and let it sit until the water is room temperature. Then take the doll out, & let it air dry. If possible, keep the boiling water off her eyelashes, but it won't hurt facepaint.
You should see some of the things I do to keep their eyelashes out of the water!!! I have strung them up by their feet with crochet thread attached to cabinet doors -- propped them up on Coke bottles -- sometimes my kitchen is a real 'House of Horrors"!!! :-) And if you need to wash their hair before styling it, use mild dish or laundry detergent to wash it & rinse with fabric softener. Do not use shampoo & creme rinse on doll 'hair'-- dolls do not have 'hair' -- they have synthetic, man made fibers & laundry detergent & fabric softeners are made for just that! When the water cools, take the head out, air dry it, & unroll the hair. You can comb it gently & it will look just like new!
Here is a limited menu of Dawn care tips.
Hair: well, the above kind of says it all!
Body: spray with 409 and wash with a washcloth. Or use Windex.
Body (ink stains): nail polish remover ON HARD PARTS OF BODY ONLY NOT LEGS OR FACE. Of couse, some stains just won't come out at all.
Clothes: reattach broken parts with invisible fabric glue.
Dirty clothes: wash in sink with Woolite.
The above tips were provided by Dawn Princesses Melanie (aka Melodrama, Ebay Warrior Princess) of Vancouver and Andrea.
Janet021 (no further info available!) also recommends cleaning any more stubborn body stains with rubbing alcohol. She says she will occasionally go for a facial stain with rubbing alcohol on a Q-tip, being very careful to avoid the makeup.
Janet also recommends storing recently rescued (from a musty basement or attic) Dawns, dresses, and pamphlets in a baggie with a Bounce drier sheet to get rid of that rank odor.
Someone else has recommended using THIN ELASTIC THREAD to fix damaged pearl button closures. (No tips on button replacement yet.)
More care tips, courtesy of members of the alt.collecting.topper-dawn group:
Julie Boyle recommends the doll clothes cleaner from Twin Pines of Maine. It's called Perk.
They also have an additive called Boost that you can use with the Perk if
the garment is really dirty.
Sandy notes:
I use good old dish soap, or a gentle laundry detergent.
The pinks and reds will run. And I do not wash anything that has fringe, like the dancing dresses and vests. The other outfits I do a quick
dip first real fast to make sure it will not run. And I wash
one piece at a time! The gold and silver outfits I just dip
real fast just to get the dust off and the surface dirt.
Simple Green was also recommended for Dawn body cleaning, but you should keep it away from hair and makeup.
Sandy says:
I first spay Dawn dolls down with a product very much like simple
green, "mean green." It works even better the simple green and it
is only 2.00 for a huge bottle! I just rinse the doll off under
warm water. For the real deep down dirt, I then use car wax!!
I tested the wax first on a doll that had real bad chews all
over her body and it pulled all the dirt out of the holes!!
I have also used car wax on the dolls' faces and it is safe, as it
does not remove the make up. The name of the wax I use is Liquid
Luster. I would not use any type of car wax with out testing it
first. I did try another brand and it did not look right.
For her hair I use dish soap, or a natural hand soap.
And conditioner if she needs it.
Well, that may be more Dawn care tips than you have ever seen before, but it's only the tip of the Dawn questions! I have lots of maintenance issues that just have not received answers!
Current questions:
If you have any more tips (or even questions!), please e-mail me, Tonnvane.