BBC The Repair Shop star admits 'I'm worried' over 'one of a kind' restoration
A Repair Shop star admitted, "I'm worried", over a "one of a kind" restoration on Wednesday (July 9).
In the latest episode of Favourite Fixes, broadcast on BBC One, Vanessa Budd entered the barn with a World War II keepsake for toy restorers Julie Tatchell and Amanda Middleditch to examine.
Vanessa presented her mother Zoe's Land Army doll, Jill, which she suspected was handcrafted after her mum joined the civilian group at the age of 18.
"We think she made this doll within the first couple of years because this is the Land Army hat. But she joined the Timber Corps in 1942," Vanessa detailed.
"I think of her not just as a doll, but a symbol of what so many women did during the Second World War," reports the Express.
(Image: BBC)
Vanessa was eager for the specialists to refurbish the doll's attire and was curious about what they might discover beneath the clothes, having never been permitted to undress the doll in her youth.
"I'm a little bit worried about her wobbly head, but you can see the wartime sort of hairstyle, can't you? Yeah, it's very sweet," Amanda remarked upon initial inspection, with Julie concurring: "It'll be an honour then. We'll be the first people to have looked [underneath the clothes]."
Julie then proceeded to carefully undo the doll's blazer, trousers, and shoes, which had been securely sewn onto the body.
"We've definitely never worked on one of these before. Until we've removed all these clothes, we don't actually know what work we've got to do," she admitted.
(Image: BBC)
Once the clothes were off, Amanda could better examine the doll's condition, whilst Julie tackled the "time-consuming" task of mending the garment's tears.
"It was so important to keep this original jumper," Julie remarked.
"It's not something that we would have been able to replace. It's definitely a one of a kind, and I think for that reason I was able to persevere with all this darning."
Amanda then proceeded to remove each of the doll's ringlet curls, meticulously crafting each lock before reattaching them individually.
"It's been a complete adventure, amazing," she expressed as they approached the end of the restoration.
(Image: BBC)
Vanessa was then left utterly gobsmacked upon viewing her mum's refurbished doll, which ready for service once more.
"Oh, she's lovely! She's absolutely gorgeous. My mum would have been so proud. I just wish she was here today cause she would have been 100 this year. What a birthday present," she exclaimed.
Reflecting on the unique challenge of the project, Amanda shared: "It's been like an exploration of trying to get into the mindset of your mum making it because it's not like anything we've seen before."
Wrapping up, the expert said: "She's a really fitting tribute to that era."
The Repair Shop is available to stream on BBC iPlayer
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