How To Clean American Girl Doll Legs

Some of our American Girl dolls are 12 years old. With play and time, the elastic that holds the legs gives way and the leg is loose or falls off. While my daughter is grown, my wife nevertheless sets upwardly a seasonal table with the girls.

American Daughter provides a repair service and will re-adhere arms and legs for a fee. There are doll hospitals in nearly large cities and individuals in smaller towns that provide doll repair. If y'all wish to try it yourself, here is one fashion to practice information technology.

Undress the doll if desired. This will avert soil and gum issues. When I examined the doll patient, I noted that the detached leg had a ball-joint that mated with a socket sewn into the cloth body. An elastic cord is retained in the ball and holds the two parts together. The leg appears to be one piece with a hole molded in the hip-articulation. In that location is what could exist a mold-parting-line but I theorized that it was glued or sonicly welded at assembly time. I marked a small alphabetize mark on the inside of the thigh at the line with a Sharpie and advisedly cut off the pinnacle of the leg with and X-acto pocketknife. Similarly, I marked the trunk-to-socket joint and cut the threads where the socket is stitched in. Within the leg there was a plastic cup loose and a slice of elastic with an eyelet squished onto it as a retainer. In the stuffing in the torso, was a similar cup and slice of elastic. I believe that the cups are to make the rubberband long enough so that it can be tensioned merely notwithstanding stretch far enough that the leg tin can be worked on. In 1 of the dolls, at that place were washers between the cup and the openings in the leg or socket. Additional strain relief? Smoother operation? Abrasion protection?

Picture of assembled hip joint. — Fig ii.

The rubberband is heavy-duty stupor string about 4mm (1/viii inch) diameter. I did not have whatever like it but had some flat dress-makers elastic almost x mm (3/8 inch) wide. I doubled a piece of elastic about seventy mm long (ii 1/2 inches) and slipped on an eyelet with the flange away from the biting cease, drew information technology close and squashed the eyelet with a pliers to make a "knot". I pushed the elastic through one of the cups then it came out the cup side. Delight note that the cup in the picture Fig two is oriented BACKWARD. The cup should face the other way. The through the large hole in the severed leg-elevation. Adjacent through the big hole in the socket, through the other loving cup and out the bottom. Last another eyelet is slipped on. Using another leg, estimate the tension required and pull the elastic up until the brawl-to-socket tension is similar to a good joint. Mash the second eyelet to complete the assembly.

Put a small corporeality of cyanoacrylate glue (super gum) on the leg meridian where information technology was cutting. Carefully replace the leg top matching the index y'all marked before cutting. Concord until ready. The mucilage I was using remained sticky where it had squeezed out afterwards associates. A small corporeality of ammonia or a weak baking soda solution will cause this to gear up instantly.

Picture of hip socket being stitched in — Fig iii

Pull the leg-joint autonomously and to the side to give you room to work. Place the socket in the trunk with the alignment right. Use hemostats or other small nosed clamps to concord the border of the fabric aligned with the border of the socket. The original socket was machine stitched but I used a glover's needle and an overhand stitch to rejoin the socket and torso. A pair of pliers may be required to strength the needle through the existing holes and draw it out the other side.

When the stiching is complete around the circumference, permit the leg slip into the socket and check for fit. Re-dress the doll and the task is washed.

American Girl Addie with repaired leg — Fig 4

Update on Leg Repair: In ane of the joints I repaired, at that place were a couple of washers strung on the elastic, I think possibly to go on the cord centered or reduce abrasion. They do not seem to be essential and found only in joint out of 3. Perchance part of the original blueprint but later dropped.
There is as well a process for Arm Repair.