G1 Plush ponys!

Merryweather

Teeny Tiny Baby Pony
Joined
Jan 15, 2020
Messages
5
Hi! New here!
I've recently started cleaning and restoring my childhood ponies (those that were left anyway) and i got talking to a friend who also has her childhood collection in the loft...
She has an original Cotton Candy plush, whos body is in good condition but the hair has seen better days. I'm wondering if anyone has ever had any experience of rerooting a plush pony? Is it possible?
I havent seen it in a while so i cant remember what sort of state its in, so i cant judge if restoring is even an option, but my friend specifically mentioned rerooting so im gonna guess its beyond help. Any help would be much appreciated!
 
Rerouting a plush would be extremely involved (probably more than most would be willing to go through). I’d imagine doing a reroot on a plush would require disassembling it carefully at the seams, removing the original hair and replacing it (I believe it’s sewn right into the fabric.

She’d probably have a lot better luck working out the knots in her hair and then conditioning it. Best way I have found to restore plush hair is to brush & comb out (I use those small dollar store brushes that usually have characters on them) all the tangles. Then in very hot water wash with shampoo, then use coconut oil on the hair. Leave it on the hair for several hours (overnight best for really bad hair). Rinse is out in hotwater. Then shampoo, rinse and condition with normal conditioner. This should completely take care of the knots and help relax the frizz. If there’s still frizz she can use a flat iron (hair straightener) at its lowest setting and run it over hair quickly, don’t allow it to stay because it can still melt the hair.

hopefully that’s helpful!!!
 
Hi there, welcome to the MLPTP! :)

There are definitely ways to replace the hair, though it may require a bit of research as it has not been commonly done even among collectors. I have a friend who made me a giant plush Firefly with brushable hair, and she had a lot of tricks for sewing the hair in with an extremely strong hold. She used the pattern that was sold by Rosesare back in 2006-2007:


If I remember correctly for what my friend did, she separated the brushable hair into 1" wide sections and glued the bottom inch or so together. She then carefully ladder-stitched the sections end to end up against one another in the open neck seam, anchoring them securely that way.

Keep in mind, if you're talking about the UK Cotton Candy Pyjama case plush, and not the more common US plush Cotton Candy, the UK one is a very rare and sought after item and I would NOT replace the hair unless the hair was mostly gone or 100% unsalvageable. ;)
 
As far as smoothing out the hair, I have had success with the following:

1) Wet the hair with conditioner, carefully comb out the tangles. It can be very labor-intensive. Be patient.
2) Work in small sections at a time--pull the combed sections through a flat iron for hair on a medium-low setting (start low, if no effect, turn it up a little) with conditioner still in the hair. It will steam and pop a little.
3) Rinse with hot water once the desired effect is achieved, let dry thoroughly. Do not put plush through the dryer.

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Thank you so much for your replies everyone! They've been massively helpful!
My friend has sent me some images of the plush (definitely the US plush and not the PJ case) and although its very very matted, its not as bad as we initially thought and i do now think brushing it out miiiight be possible. I'd certainly prefer that to attempting a reroot in any case. I'm getting my hands on her next week, so I'll let you know how i get on. With a bit of luck I'll have asked about plush reroots for nothing.
 
If hair conditioner doesn't do the trick, I've had luck with fabric softener. Just use it as you would the conditioner, just a dab to start and more if needed. Best of luck to you!
 
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So yesterday i spent all day with the plush, washing and tidying her up. Shes spent the last 20 years in the attic, and these pictures dont show even half of the dust on her. She was much more grey irl.
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Her mane was incredibly matted. It took a long time to comb through, but we got there in the end! I gave her an oxy soak and a thorough condition... not really expecting miracles. Her hooves in particular were absolutely black with dirt. You can see how gross the water was...
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Anyway, after her soak and rinse, she went for a spin in the washing machine to get rid of access water and had another condition on the mane and tail. Then i attacked it with a straightening iron. The tail reacted perfectly and ended lovely and smooth. Her mane was too badly damaged to take much heat though... one pass with the straightners smoothed it a bit, but two had it frizzling up, even though it was on its lowest setting and i let the hair cool down between passes.
Even so, its turned out better than we hoped!

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Even her hooves are lovely and clean compared to how she was! I was sure they had stained. My friend is over the moon that we were able to get her back into such good condition and I'm sure cotton candy will be around for another 30+ years.
 
She looks much happier now. Congratulations on your first plush restoration. :xmashug:

(Also I have to say, good to see another Hufflepuff and Stitch fan here ;) )
Thank you so much! It was a lot of fun and the results were way above what i expected!

(Haha! Thats my friend/Cotton Candy's owner in the background. I keep trying to convince her to join too! ;) I'm a slytherin but i do love Stitch.)
 
Great job! I'm so happy you were able to restore her. <3
 
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