Doll Update

I received Meg (in lavender gingham, bottom photo) and Josephine (largest doll in white in center photo) dolls this week. Empress Josephine, not Little Women Jo. I suspected they might be in worse shape than described as they were cheap--and because I won the bid. :-)
Meg was described as Excellent but needing her apron washed. Josephine was described as missing her arms and needing her dress washed. A stain all over the front of that dress was evident in the photos but Meg looked clean and with her hair down over her shoulders. Hmm.
Meg arrived very dirty and when I first looked at the eyes I was upset enough to think of sending her back. They were quite dirty and looked cloudy as well. Her hair was in a net and still fairly well set so I don't see how the listed photo could match up. Josephine, as expected, had no arms and had a stained dress but otherwise was beautiful.
The first step was to put the clothes in a bowl to soak. Then I rinsed Meg's hair with water alone. I didn't want to use Windex as I've never done that with a Madame Alexander and wanted to start with the least treatment necessary. I washed her with a mild cleaner and wiped the face and eyes. The eyes looked so bad that I actually spritzed them with an antibacterial cleaner and wiped with a cloth sprayed with Windex, then rinsed. I set her to dry with a fan blowing on her face and hoped for the best.
Josephine was cleaned more vigorously as she had body stains. Her hair, face, and eyes, however, were very nice. Her headdress and her rhinestone necklace were cleaned in jewelry cleaner.
Josephine's dress came clean right away. Sadly, however the upper layer of the front had two places where the fabric had been rubbed and threads broken. The back had several such areas. And the under layer of the dress was full of holes. So, the hope of finding arm parts at a good price (lots of parts on ebay but there is usually lots of bid action) became almost moot. I may try to replace the under part of the dress and reweave the hole in the upper layer. Or, keep for parts...
Meg's apron, in back, had the worst stain, although it was faint. I think I got most of it out, finally. Her netted petticoat had about a one inch area where the lace was torn in half. That was mended, although it can't look as new as some was missing. I also had to reweave a small area of the cloth. Bummer.
The wonderful thing is that Meg's eyes, after another treatment with Windex and a fan blowing towards her for days, look quite nice now!
Also, here's a photo of the small curio cabinet I got for $5 at a yard sale. Caroline Kennedy is on the bottom shelf. I'm searching for an appropriate wig and body parts but may have to make a cloth body.