Doll Laundry Tips and Clothing Care

Doll clothes get dirty from play, age, and with vintage articles, they were often exposed to cigarette smoke. I often wish I could simply throw them in with my own laundry, but their small size and delicate nature can make them a little delicate and easily lost even for a delicates cycle in a lingerie bag. On this page I will share a few tips for hand washing vintage doll clothes from my own processes.

Assess A Garments Materials and Construction

Not all doll clothes were made equal! Some are much more delicate than others and some can handle being exposed to the moisture of washing while others should only ever be kept dry due to dyes bleeding. Red, bright pink, dark blue, and black are all colors that often bleed when dampened. A garment that is a solid color that bleeds may be able to be washed on it own if kept away from contact with anything it could stain, but a white garment with a bleeding red trim may be unwashable without dying the whole thing pink in the process. Carefully access the risk vs reward before attempting to launder an item of doll clothing.

Laundering Tips

Most Rock Flower clothes are made from synthetic fabrics, but not all of them, and while synthetics often are less likely to have dye that bleeds, it's still possible. The neon colors in particular can transfor to other surfaces they stay in contact with for prolonged periods. The basic synthetic knit that a majority of the Rock Flower clothing is made out of is fairly safe to wash without much issue. Many of the outfits use coated fabrics, a plain fabric coated in a sealant sort of material giving it a plastic feeling. Many of the metallic finished pieces as well as the neon orange top on Heather's outfit are coated materials. These can generally be laundered without issue, but you will want to be careful not to scrub at the finish as it can be washed off and to be gentle with the edges as these items are often not hemmed and can fray. These coated materials should also be washed with warm to cool temperature water, as hot water can lead to the coating lifting off of the fabric.

My favorite way to wash most doll clothes is to soak them for a while in a container of warm or cool water with a denture cleaner tablet. The ingredients in denture cleaner have a lot of stain fighting properties that gently lift stains without much aggitation needed. Some include a feature called "blueing" which is present in many laundry detergents as a way to brighten whites with very mild blue dye. Check ingredients and avoid heavy scents, flavors (some are minty), and dyes. Blueing can be handy on occasion but be thoughtful with its use and be sure to use enough water that it is properly dilluted.

After a soak, thoroughly rinse clothing with cool water and lay flat to dry on a towel to dry. Be sure articles are completely dry before putting away to avoid mildew and mold.