Ragged Raggedy Ann
Ragged Girl
I am sure that sometimes a beloved old doll has a story, but you just don’t know what it is. Luckily for me this Raggedy Ann belonged to a friend who told me all about her. Eva was born in Norway, and immigrated to the United States in the 1920’s as a little girl. One of her cousins, a slightly older little girl made and dressed this doll for her as a welcome present.
Eva and I were good friends, she died a few years ago (aged in her nineties). Last year her children gave me this Raggedy Ann and another one of Eva’s dolls. I was so happy to give the doll a home, for the memory of Eva, and because she is obviously completely infused with love. Below is a gallery of pictures showing the process of mending Raggedy’s eye and dress. Click on any image and navigate forward and back using the arrows at the sides of the image.
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- Ragged Girl, with a missing eye, and worn off smile
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- The eye socket patch of new fabric was dyed to a murky brown colour.
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- The patch was inserted into the gap where her eye was torn off.
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- Tiny threads are pulled from a scrap of fine polyester.
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- The patch was stitched in place with the fine drawn threads, using stab stitches and couching stitches and a #10 Japanese quilting needle.
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- The patch is secured in place.
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- Polyester sewing thread is used for stitching into the original stitch holes recreate her charming smile
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- Binocular vision at last! The shoe-button eye was sewn down into the place indicated by a remnant of rust on the original face. If you think the eyes are little uneven, you are right, don’t forget this was made by a child!
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- The dress is a pretty shape, very 1920’s 0r 30’s. It has a strange chunk taken out of the right shoulder.
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- The hole, the patch and the thread, seen from the back
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- Pinned beneath the hole, the edges are coaxed under and stitched with tiny stitches.
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- Herringbone stitches around the edges on the inside taking up one or two threads.
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- Happy Raggedy Ann, with an unventilated dress
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- The Patch from the back
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- She has new eyes, eye lashes, smile, and mended dress and apron, but the thing that makes Raggedy Ann happiest is that she is sitting with friends
sitting with friends
Raggedy Ann is all fixed…and I am happy to have helped this dear old doll have the chance to be loved gently again!!
Quimper Hittys 
Is this what is called Life after life? Sure is worth looking forward to!!! Bravo on a wonderful piece of work, done with lots of love. This Raggedy Ann is set for another round of joy! Thanks for sharing!!!!
It seemed as if that this doll was so filled with love that it was easy to fix her up!
Restoration par excellence. How kind of you to take us step by step through your process. It is a moving story of revived and renewed life. Thank you.
It was a very satisfying project, and the best thing is that Raggedy Ann is ready to be loved again!
A truly wonderful dolly story! You are to be commended for your thoughtful, thorough and loving restoration of the very loved doll!
Thanks 😊 it was very satisfying to bring this dolly back into the light!
It’s so wonderful to see how your skills and expertise as a textile conservator have been used to restore and renew this dear old dolly!
It is a nice feeling to be able to do a nice job for this Raggedy, she deserved it!
She is so precious! Thank you for bringing her back to life! ❤
How lovely to see this beloved doll rescued and again loved. Your story reminded me of something nice that happened for me. My own beloved (and very bedraggled) baby doll from about 1957…the love of my young life
much cherished and then stored away. Many years later my grandmother secretly took the doll and dressed it in a wonderful hand made baby dress complete with undergarments , sweater, bonnet, booties and mittens (to cover her hands with missing fingers) and presented this to me the day I graduated from college. Your story brought all this back to me and made me remember how much love that doll represents to me. Thank you…
What a lovely thing for your grandmother to do! Thanks for the story, it is very inspiring, and now I know where you inherited some of your niceness from!
Also…what a great tutorial on a careful restoration of a vintage doll. Thanks!
😊 thank you!
I think one of the many reasons that I am so captivated by your QH’s and your stories is the kindness and innocence they exude. I am hopeful that heaven is cupboard like.
This cherished sweet Raggedy Ann’s happiness is event in her beautifully restored face and impeccably perfect new blue dress. She will have a wonderful life with her new Quimper Hitty family. I have no doubt that your dear friend Eva is smiling down on you from heaven and is as touched by your loving spirit as am I.
I think if we can take care of people (and dolls) that we love, the world will be a little saner, and more heavenly. Thank you for your very kind words, and encouragement, I am glad you are one of my Hitty friends!
such sweet memories stuffed with love and comfort.
Stuffed! Completely! That describes it perfectly!
Wonderful! One of my most cherished dolls is a Raggedy Ann … she would be envious of the makeover! Truly, an amazing job and very beautiful.
I bet your old doll glad she is in your cupboard, and will be there when or if you decide to freshen her up!
Ah, but she has a Place of Honor out of the cupboard. In fact, she’s too tall for a cupboard … I wore her dress as my kindergarten Halloween costume. 🙂 I have had her since I was about two years old, and she shows every year of it. She sits in my husband’s childhood rocking chair in the place of honor in my bedroom. I wouldn’t have it any other way! I just need to apply my improved Hitty sewing skills to some of the holes and patches, come to think of it … and she will be very grateful to you for nudging me to do so!
I am so glad she came to you. What a sweet story and excellent look into restoration. I imagine that you have written her provenance down so she can keep it in a pocket or something. What a treasure she is.
Treasure indeed, I just love her, and her “wear consistent with use”. Her story is written down, yes – it would be a shame to lose the background tale.