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sonicassassin

Prewashing Smart Doll clothes?

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sonicassassin

Hello,

I'm Robert. I am a new Smart Doll owner. Kizuna was my first one and I recently picked up Moment. I have a question about prewashing the doll's clothing to avoid or minimize staining. I have some from CJ and others from various sellers on Etsy (ttya, mommysewingkr, and dollsnshop). I also have the stain prevention leggings from CJ.

I am looking for opinions and advice on what others here usually do. I noticed CJ doesn't recommend washing their clothing. Also, how are you storing your doll's clothing? I usually try to put it back in the original packing, but sometimes it is hard to do. Thank you. It's a really nice forum here.

 

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moerunamida

Any CJ clothing I have I just store in the bags they came in. I really like them and I wish I could just get a bunch of them. I wash stain prevention clothing and jeans to help remove excess dye. Most the rest of it doesn't really need to be washed unless it gets dirty.

I always, always colorfast any type of clothing that is cotton and can stain. A little vinegar, salt, and cold water helps remove any excess dye. I do that a few times until the water runs clear and then I might wash them a few times in with my regular laundry and air dry. Be careful of pinks, reds, and any dark colors. If you have a spare piece of vinyl, you can rub the vinyl against the surface of the fabric quickly. If it can stain, you will see color transferred onto the piece of vinyl.

And welcome to the forum! :)

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 r75s0k.gifCircle (Towa) Yui (MDD) Coralie (MDD) 88 (Kizuna AI) 1rukij4.gif

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Katsudon

I usually just wash doll clothes in cold water with a bit of detergent. Usually a nice long soak, and then dry on the radiator (you can put a towel on it first if your radiator is too hot or you just want to protect the clothes) or outside if it's sunny. I have been lucky enough that nothing so far has leaked dye - but then I mostly make my own stuff so...

Obviously shoes are a bit more tricky 'cos they tend to be dark and not really washable. At least, I wouldn't chance it with the glue etc.

@Deyja's advice for colour fixing sounds better though XD oh, and if you don't have a handwashing tub, you can use old plastic ice cream tubs or big tupperwares (as long as you only use it for washing stuff and not for food)

Edit: I don't have many bjd clothes atm so I just store them in a nice cardboard box. Like a proper one for storage/filing. My Blythe clothes though are stored in a tiny chest of drawers. XD It's so cute I wish I had another one for my bjds

Edited by Katsudon

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Tierparkzone

Welcome to the forum!

 

Personally, I can't say I have too much experience in pre-treating clothes against stains - but here's what I can say.

In my experience, Culture Japan is pretty accurate with their stain risk ratings. I never had any issue with a "low risk" item, even for prolonged periods (weeks). Their jeans "medium risk" also pose no issue for shorter periods (~2 days) or for prolonged periods if you're using stain prevention shorts/leggings.

The TTYA jeans stuff I own has proven a tad more aggressive than the one by CJ and managed to to sneak some light stains through the lacy parts of the stain prevention shorts after prolonged time. Easily removable with Dream Rescue, though.

The above all without prewashing.

 

When I get some darker clothes from other stores, I usually hand wash them (and let them soak) in cold water with a dab of detergent. It's not necessarily the most sophisticated method, but it gets rid of most of the excess dye (if any) and reduces staining risk/rate massively.

 

For storage, I have a few transparent plastic boxes (about 30x20x15cm). They can hold most stuff without the need for excessive folding and allow easy acess.

Further I have a small desktop drawer (intended for stationery) to hold smaller bibs and bobs as well as more filligrane stuff.

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Yumeiro

I wash everything (that isn't too delicate)! It helps me determine what to be extra careful with and sate my germ-phobia.
The Smartdoll jeans release excess dye whenever I wash them, so while they aren't aggressively staining my dolls, I know to be careful with leaving them on for too long.

And then I store them in the plastic bags and slot them into Smartdoll boxes, which I then pile in my wardrobe.
MiSKjT9.jpg

I've seen some use ring-binders with plastic folders to organize their doll clothes.

1 hour ago, Deyja said:

Any CJ clothing I have I just store in the bags they came in. I really like them and I wish I could just get a bunch of them.

You can ask for some extra ones, when ordering from CJ

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Pit

Hi robert. Despite I'm more related with dollfie world than SmD even having Entropy, recommendations with clothes are practically the same. What I do is washing them with cold water, soap and detergent (and sometimes with softener). However, the real issue here is it depends on the kind of clothes. For example, recently I bought jeans with a hard blue color that clearly could stain the doll without protection. In this case I had to repeat the washing process with the same jeans like 5 - 8 times to be sure and I haven't had stain issues with them. Now, with white, peach or light colors clothes, I usually wash them once, and that's all. 

About storage, it depends on the clothes as well. In my case I don't keep lingerie or fluffy stuff inside plastic bags, but I do with tops, skirts or easy wrinkling outfits. 

Btw, welcome!

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sunlightandtea

Welcome! Kizuna was my first doll too, she is suuuuuch a cutie. 💖 Moment is adorable too and I would love to get her someday, you have great taste friend! 😁

I'm able to make my own stain prevention clothing and I use it a lot. (I'm probably a little too paranoid to be honest but, it's what gives me peace of mind) That said, I haven't ever washed anything from CJ nor have I particularly felt the need to because I'm so nuts about stain protection gear. Same deal with things from Volks. In CJ's case, I'm confident that he pre-washes the fabric anyway so I haven't particularly feared stains from his lighter to medium colored stuff.

At one point though I wanted to dye lock a black dress and I found an interesting post detailing a mixture extremely similar to what @Deyja describes, and personally I found that the salt and vinegar mix works well even if you do it by hand.

In the post I found though, between each wash the poster would put the piece of clothing through multiple rounds of testing. If it failed any of them, back to the wash it went. There was one test in particular that was really hardcore. They would spritz the piece with water and set it between two heavy books and two pieces of white cotton and leave it for a day. If any dye transferred to the cotton it was considered a failure. That's a little extreme for me, but it does give you an idea of a test you can perform without vinyl if you don't have any to spare.

As for storage.... Wherever I can find room. I usually keep everything in the original bag it came in or a sandwich sized bag with the silica packets and everything. My drawer is getting a little too full. 😂

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Yumeiro
2 hours ago, sunlightandtea said:

--but it does give you an idea of a test you can perform without vinyl if you don't have any to spare.

That reminds me - might be a bit off-topic, but do they still send vinyl pieces with their dolls?
It could be worth noting that you can ask for scrap-vinyl-pieces, and use to stain test. (wrap the clothes/fabric, that you are worried about, around the piece and tighten and secure with a rubber-band)

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sunlightandtea
6 minutes ago, Yumeiro said:

That reminds me - might be a bit off-topic, but do they still send vinyl pieces with their dolls?
It could be worth noting that you can ask for scrap-vinyl-pieces, and use to stain test. (wrap the clothes/fabric, that you are worried about, around the piece and tighten and secure with a rubber-band)

No. They sold cinnamon chips for a short time for people to view, but there is no spare vinyl sold with the dolls direct from CJ anymore.

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Yumeiro

@sunlightandtea No, I mean, they (used to) SEND them with the dolls by default. And if you ask them, they will (/used to) send some extras, for free, when you place a regular order.

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sonicassassin

Thank you to everyone who posted here and for making me feel welcome. I really like this forum, because it has a lot of information on several brands of dolls. I came from collecting anime figures (mostly figma) and I really liked the 1/3 scale dolls. For some reason the 1/3 scale dolls are really photogenic and come to life in pictures.

Edited by sonicassassin
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sonicassassin
22 hours ago, Deyja said:

"I always, always colorfast any type of clothing that is cotton and can stain. A little vinegar, salt, and cold water helps remove any excess dye. I do that a few times until the water runs clear and then I might wash them a few times in with my regular laundry and air dry. Be careful of pinks, reds, and any dark colors. If you have a spare piece of vinyl, you can rub the vinyl against the surface of the fabric quickly. If it can stain, you will see color transferred onto the piece of vinyl."

Hi Dejya, Great idea. I didn't know you could colorfast doll clothing. Would you happen to know the ratio of vinegar, salt, and water? Would just a little bit of vinegar and salt be fine? Also, would I be able to use regular table salt? Does it cause any fading of the clothing colors? Thank you!

 

Edited by sonicassassin
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sonicassassin
20 hours ago, Pit said:

"Hi robert. Despite I'm more related with dollfie world than SmD even having Entropy, recommendations with clothes are practically the same. What I do is washing them with cold water, soap and detergent (and sometimes with softener). However, the real issue here is it depends on the kind of clothes. For example, recently I bought jeans with a hard blue color that clearly could stain the doll without protection. In this case I had to repeat the washing process with the same jeans like 5 - 8 times to be sure and I haven't had stain issues with them. Now, with white, peach or light colors clothes, I usually wash them once, and that's all." 

Hi Pit, I am so tempted to collect Dollfie and Azone International. I think the jeans from ttya will staining problems, so I will try multiple washings and see. Those jeans are a really dark blue. 

 

Edited by sonicassassin
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sonicassassin
18 hours ago, sunlightandtea said:

"Welcome! Kizuna was my first doll too, she is suuuuuch a cutie. 💖 Moment is adorable too and I would love to get her someday, you have great taste friend! 😁

I'm able to make my own stain prevention clothing and I use it a lot. (I'm probably a little too paranoid to be honest but, it's what gives me peace of mind) That said, I haven't ever washed anything from CJ nor have I particularly felt the need to because I'm so nuts about stain protection gear. Same deal with things from Volks. In CJ's case, I'm confident that he pre-washes the fabric anyway so I haven't particularly feared stains from his lighter to medium colored stuff."

Hi sunlightandtea, I had a hard time on deciding which one to get. I spent days trying to decide. I finally thought if I could only have one who would it be. Kizuna caught me eye and I would always go back to her, so now she brightens up my home and she has a sister too.

How are the clothing from Volks? Do they stain a lot? I just picked up the Hanamusubi Miko outfit, so hopefully it fits or I may have an excuse to have a dollfie in my collection.

 

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sonicassassin

I have a question about air drying the clothing during the cooler weather. Would the smaller size of the clothes not be a problem? I know it is not recommended to put them in a dryer. Would warming the room with a heater be alright? Thank you so much!

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sunlightandtea

@sonicassassin Fine girls they are! They go very well together.

On the volks clothing, I think it depends. Obviously the darker stuff poses more of a risk. I use their stain protection bodysuit a lot and haven't had any issues so far. The stain bodysuit from volks is a much thicker material than I expected, so I don't expect any staining while using it. Some dollfie clothing fits smart dolls although I haven't tried any on a smart doll. I do know that one of the torso measurement for smart dolls is closer to a DDdy though.

As for drying, I only air dry. I imagine during the cooler months you could put the clothes near a vent or something, maybe even under a hairdryer for a bit.

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moerunamida
3 hours ago, sonicassassin said:

 

I got my info from PullipsandJunk. Pour 1/4 cup of vinegar and 1tsp of salt into a bowl with approx 4 cups water. Drop in the articles of doll clothing. Swish ’em around a little bit until they are thoroughly saturated with the mix and let them sit for about 30 mins.
Take them out, rinse them with water and a little bit of soap (hand soap will do) in the sink. Let air dry.

I've also never had any issues with clothes shrinking after being air dried. They won't be  as fluffy soft as something dried in the dryer, but I wouldn't dare attempt it. And yes, just regular table salt. I've had some fading with denim fabrics, but that's only because excess dye gets removed. It's nothing that noticeable if there is any fading occuring, but I've only used the salt and vinegar method.

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 r75s0k.gifCircle (Towa) Yui (MDD) Coralie (MDD) 88 (Kizuna AI) 1rukij4.gif

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Katsudon
9 hours ago, sonicassassin said:

I have a question about air drying the clothing during the cooler weather. Would the smaller size of the clothes not be a problem? I know it is not recommended to put them in a dryer. Would warming the room with a heater be alright? Thank you so much!

I put mine on a towel to help them dry, if that's useful. Usually carefully balanced on a radiator. If you can't put anything on your heater, just put them on a towel next/near to it*, and hope you don't have pets which like stealing things XD

*You know your heater best! Just be as careful as you would with your own clothes. One time I almost melted my Doc Martens because my feet were cold XD but the fireplace was warm (I was a teenager)

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sonicassassin
On 9/1/2020 at 8:38 AM, Deyja said:

I got my info from PullipsandJunk. Pour 1/4 cup of vinegar and 1tsp of salt into a bowl with approx 4 cups water. Drop in the articles of doll clothing. Swish ’em around a little bit until they are thoroughly saturated with the mix and let them sit for about 30 mins.
Take them out, rinse them with water and a little bit of soap (hand soap will do) in the sink. Let air dry.

I've also never had any issues with clothes shrinking after being air dried. They won't be  as fluffy soft as something dried in the dryer, but I wouldn't dare attempt it. And yes, just regular table salt. I've had some fading with denim fabrics, but that's only because excess dye gets removed. It's nothing that noticeable if there is any fading occuring, but I've only used the salt and vinegar method.

Thank you for the information on this. I will try it over the weekend on some jeans from ttya. Is it safe to assume if I do not see any excess dye in the solution the clothes will be safe for the doll to wear?

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sonicassassin
On 9/1/2020 at 2:26 PM, Katsudon said:

I put mine on a towel to help them dry, if that's useful. Usually carefully balanced on a radiator. If you can't put anything on your heater, just put them on a towel next/near to it*, and hope you don't have pets which like stealing things XD

*You know your heater best! Just be as careful as you would with your own clothes. One time I almost melted my Doc Martens because my feet were cold XD but the fireplace was warm (I was a teenager)

I understand. My heater has vents so I will try your idea about having them placed on a towel nearby and just check on them frequently. Hmm...would you like to share any stories about pets stealing things? 😁

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moerunamida
50 minutes ago, sonicassassin said:

Thank you for the information on this. I will try it over the weekend on some jeans from ttya. Is it safe to assume if I do not see any excess dye in the solution the clothes will be safe for the doll to wear?

Should be. I'd recommend getting a spare piece of vinyl or maybe a bust that you can stain test fabrics with. I've left clothes touching it and discovered some things stained that I wasn't expecting.

 


 r75s0k.gifCircle (Towa) Yui (MDD) Coralie (MDD) 88 (Kizuna AI) 1rukij4.gif

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Katsudon
13 hours ago, sonicassassin said:

I understand. My heater has vents so I will try your idea about having them placed on a towel nearby and just check on them frequently. Hmm...would you like to share any stories about pets stealing things? 😁

Haha I am lucky that my dog hasn't stolen any of my doll stuff... yet! XD I dry it in the bathroom, and she's a bit scared of there, because it's the room where baths happen (dog's worst nightmare). She does steal my post though, and the inner cardboard bits of toilet rolls, which is hilarious because it looks like she's smoking the chunkiest cigar XDDD anyway...

Some people have posted run ins with pets and dolls here 😄

 

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