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Dollstalgia: Restoring a 1969 CRISSY The Doll With Hair That Grows

February 6, 2017 by Carolyn Wainscott 5 Comments

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Here’s a guest post from Carolyn Wainscott on the restoration of 1969’s much beloved Crissy doll. Please share your own Crissy doll memories with us in the comments!

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Melinda, my youngest, was five in 1969 and there was only one thing she wanted for Christmas – Crissy, the doll with hair that grows. She watched Crissy commercials as little girls brushed her hair that grew all the way to her feet time after time during her cartoons after school and on Saturday mornings.

She watched Crissy’s hair grow as we sat eating popcorn watching “Rudolph”, “Frosty The Snowman” and “Charlie Brown” in the weeks before Christmas and when Melinda sets her head for something, that’s it. Nothing else would do. Can you see what intrigued that little 5 year old in this commercial I found on YouTube:

I scoured toy stores for weeks before Christmas for Crissy but there was none to be found.  Word went out to everyone that we desperately needed a Crissy doll but when Christmas Eve came there was still no doll with hair that grows for Melinda. That afternoon my sister-in-law, Delores called to ask if I still needed a Crissy doll. She had found one hidden behind some things in the store – should she pick that up? So, Melinda got her beloved doll that year.

Melinda is a grandmother now but she is still my baby girl.

We both love dolls and I pick one up from time to time for her – just because. On occasion Crissy runs through my mind and a few weeks ago I ran across one in a antique mall in one of the vendor’s booths. She was hanging on a back wall. The manager retrieved her for me and sure enough it was Crissy doll with hair that grows. Her condition wasn’t too bad, The surface was okay, both eyelashes were there, her eyes needed redoing, she didn’t have her original clothing but I thought I could get the hair whipped into shape so she came home with me.

Here she is with the home made clothes she was wearing removed-see, condition not too bad

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The button for the hair that grows works!

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She was surface washed, her hair rinsed being careful not to let the water get into the inside of her head, the pigtail wasn’t washed. It was fairly nicely styled that I was going to try and work around.

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Liquid fabric softener was rubbed into her hair, it took hours to comb and brush through, you can see the eyes need painting but they still open and close.

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After brushing, Crissy’s hair was kind of pin curled and held in place with my little clips for days to help tame that mane

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Now, what was Crissy going to do for clothes? I couldn’t put that blue dress back on her. I didn’t have any orange lace to make the dress and she would need shoes I had seen in a photo search. My great, grandson, Blake [age 9] suggested looking online for the clothing. We went to Ebay not thinking we could actually find her authentic clothing.

There were pages of Chrissy clothing, boots, shoes and dolls with original clothing with their boxes. I watched a pair of boots and a pair of shoes for a couple of days until they went over my price.  I would still have to make the dress but that would be okay. Then a complete outfit of orange lace dress with matching shoes was posted and it was put on my watch list until a few minutes before the close of the auction. I don’t ever bid until just a few minutes before the close – don’t want to tip my hand and drive the price up too early. My bid was placed a couple of minutes before the close and I won.

Out of curiosity, there are several items in my Ebay Crissy watch list to see how high the bids go. I want to make sure I have gotten the best deal I guess-it’s all a game. So far purchasing Melinda’s Crissy in the antique mall [$18], restoring her condition then searching for her authentic clothing [$12.50] has been the best choice.

Here she is with hair styled, touched up makeup and her new outfit ready for Melinda almost 50 years after her first one.

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This has been a new adventure for me but I enjoyed it a great deal and I hope Crissy brings Melinda joy.

Happy crafting

Carolyn Wainscott

www.carolynscanvas.blogspot.com

Did you ever have a Crissy doll?

  • About
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Carolyn Wainscott

Blogger at Carolyn's Canvas
I am a 75 year old widow of 3 years after 55 years of marriage whose main focus in life has been my family and homemaking. I love designing, creating, and re-purposing. I was very involved with my children and their activities, then my grandchildren, and now with my great, grandchildren. My first love in crafting is in textiles, mainly quilting. The first quilt I designed was for my grandson over 30 years ago and that pattern will soon be available online. I am loving the internet world where I can market my designs, publish tutorials and talk with crafters all over the world from my own little corner of the world even though never having a lesson on the computer or internet networking I do have to call on my grandchildren at times for help. They still think I rode in on a dinosaur but that's ok, I'm having a great time. I have enjoyed a great deal being able to share my love of crafting on FaveCrafts and FaveQuilts.

Latest posts by Carolyn Wainscott (see all)

  • My Granddaughter Hannah’s DIY Duct Tape Mannequin for Sewing Projects - May 11, 2017
  • Turn One Yard of Fleece into a Hat, Scarf, and Mittens - March 31, 2017
  • Dollstalgia: Restoring a 1969 CRISSY The Doll With Hair That Grows - February 6, 2017
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Filed Under: Crafts Tagged With: Carolyn Wainscott, Doll Clothes, nostalgia, Recycled Crafts

Comments

  1. Angela says

    February 24, 2017 at 4:36 am

    I still have my Crissy doll from the late 70’s, early 80’s. Mine is a much larger “toddler-sized” doll. She’s in fairly good condition, except for the hair. It’s a giant, ratted mess. Her hair worked with a string. Pull the string it gets shorter, pull her at the top and it gets longer. I don’t think it will work all of the way, because of the tangles. I may have to see if I can work those out. I’ve never heard of using fabric softener before.

    Reply
    • Carolyn Wainscott says

      April 1, 2017 at 10:52 am

      Hi Angela, I don’t think I ever saw a toddler size Chrissy doll. My daughter’s was from the first year they came out in late 60’s. If you try the softener come back and let us know how it worked for you. I think it helped a lot on Chrissy. I got the idea from working with American Girl dolls.
      Thanks for joining us here. Come back often
      Carolyn

      Reply
  2. Anita says

    March 29, 2017 at 8:52 pm

    I remember having a Chrissy doll. I loved that her hair grew. Many years before having a Chrissy doll I had a Chatty Cathy doll but I cut her hair. The point being I liked dolls that had hair and that you could hope to style it. Which was a mistake with the Chatty Cathy. But since Chris sys hair could be shirt or long that was great!

    Reply
    • CheapEatsThriftyCrafts says

      March 27, 2017 at 9:33 am

      Aww, thanks for sharing the memory!

      Reply
  3. Anita says

    March 29, 2017 at 8:53 pm

    Short or long. Sometimes I hate spellcheck.

    Reply

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