My First Waif

This is "Waif A". I want to give her a name beginning with A because she is my first restoration project. I have some ideas but please suggest more names, bearing in mind that she will be put up for adoption.


I received A today, which was good timing because, being Friday night, I've had the time to get started on her. Her condition wasn't too bad. Her face was grubby, she had a spotty (mildew?) stain on one leg, and another stain that might be blood on one hand. Her head is a bit wobbly. But most of the things collectors look for, like the sticker on her bum, a serial number, and no haircuts, are accounted for.

She had a wash, a mould treatment (mould is very common on these dolls, even if you can't see it, it's under the skin and shows up if they get wet), and a hair condition. She came up nice and clean although a lot of the stain on her hand is still there; I will work more on that later.


When her hair was wet I found it was very soft and easily combed, and that she has a centre part and a fringe. Separating the fringe is a pain because it starts with the front row of short hair, second row of short and some long, and third row of long with some short. I had to weave the long hairs back and the short hairs forwards in each row. Then I rewove the centre part in the correct My Child criss-cross pattern, and put her hair up and curled it. Here she is drying under the bathroom heater:


I took her curlers out and reapplied her make-up. It's best to do this while she's still damp because I use watercolour pencils. She is looking much more awake now! She still needs to dry properly and find some clothes and ribbons. While depilling her skin I noticed a small hole in her non-stained hand; I don't know whether to fix it or not.


I won't describe all my MC doll rescues in this much detail, just the first one! I will try to sell her when I've finished but she has my favourite eye colour of all the MC dolls!

Don't forget to suggest girls' names starting with A!