6 Essential Tips for Maintaining Your BJD Clothes!

Caring about your BJD doesn’t end when you’re done with the customization process and put the clothes on. In fact, ball-jointed dolls need some procedures to maintain their feel, look, and quality.

In this article, you’ll get all the information you need about maintenance and care for BJD clothes.

Let’s see what you should do to maintain the perfect look of your BJD clothing.

But first, let’s take a look at the types of clothes BJDs can wear.

Key Takeaway	Summary
Everyday BJD Clothing	Choose practical fabrics like cotton or polycotton for easy care and washing.
Display BJD Clothing	Use any type of fabric for luxurious display dolls, but choose lightweight options.
Staining	Dark clothing can stain resin, so take precautions and monitor clothing dye quality.
Scratching	Be cautious of accessories with metal components that can scratch the doll’s surface.
Tips for BJD Clothes	Follow tips like soaking clothing in vinegar, using body stockings, and rotating clothes.
Care & Maintenance for BJD Clothes	Wash clothes separately by hand or in a washing machine, avoiding the dryer.

Types of Clothes BJDs Can Wear

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When it comes to clothing your BJD, the sky’s the limit. However, there are some things you should take into consideration before choosing any type of clothing.

The very first thing you need to analyze is whether the BJD you’re creating is for everyday use or for display purposes. BJD clothes get dirty and you can feel the tear and wear when you touch it often or when you bring them with you to different places like meet-ups. On the other hand, specialized dolls that are usually modeled off of characters or limited edition dolls usually with most collectors are more of showcase pieces and aren’t often touched or exposed to dirt.

And while some clothing materials are more dirt-resistant than others, it’s important to pick the right type of clothes for your BJDs.

Let’s review each case separately:

Every Day BJD Clothing

When customizing a BJD for every day use, you’ll need to pick a practical fabric, meaning the one that you can easily wash. Clothing that’s made out of cotton or polycotton fabric is the best to maintain in the long run.

But if you’re looking for a fancier-looking doll, you should look out for fabrics like silk, satin, or taffeta. These materials look much more luxurious than cotton clothes and don’t require much effort from you to maintain their appearance because they stand up the wear and tear pretty well.

my dolls at a convention chilling on a table

Some other things to consider are having a going out outfit. If you do plan on going to a BJD convention or a local meet-up, you probably are going to want to bring clothes that you don’t mind getting exposed to outside factors. These outside factors can be the various elements (rain, dirt, wind) if it is an outdoor venue, or surfaces that you might not notice aren’t cleaned all the way if it is a indoor venue (Restaurant or hotel).

It is better to be safe than sorry with your clothes so pack for the occasion.

Display BJD Clothing

On the flip side, display BJDs are stored in a showcase or left on a shelf. Most of the time they are rarely touched and they’re less likely to get dirty. Some collectors spend up to hundreds and even into the thousands for special collaboration dolls or limited edition dolls and prefer to preserve them as they are.

For others it might not be a collaboration doll at all but the clothes themselves that are limited edition or special.

When collectors own BJDs for display purposes, the care process is a little different – you can customize your doll with any type of clothes made of any kind of material but I will give you a word of caution. Depending on dyes and colors you are going to want to periodically check these dolls and make sure that they are not getting any stains from the clothing. We will talk more on this in a bit.

Dolls with display clothing also tend to need a stand so you can display them so invest in a good quality stand. Some owners prefer the saddle/straddle style stands and other like the traditional doll stands.

Wear & Tear Clothes Have on BJDs

As BJD collectors, we all try to choose the perfect outfit for our dolls. But as beginners, little do we know about the types of damage cute clothing may cause.

However, don’t worry, I’m here to warn you about the damage clothing can cause BJD and how to prevent it.

Staining

Keep in mind that some clothing can stain or discolorate resin. While most stains will come off, it’s still tricky to remove them if your doll is sealed or blushed, because it may damage the customization.

Clothes usually stain the dolls because of their dye quality.

Dark-toned clothing especially tends to leave stains on the resin. So be careful of dark clothing, including blacks, navy blues, and mahogany. Some dark clothing is safe, however, but if the company didn’t take care of choosing the right fabric or didn’t treat them to not leave stains, you may risk your doll’s resin.

Moreover, vinyl dolls get stained much easier than resin dolls. Because they are made of vinyl, any stain absorbs into it pretty quickly, sometimes even making it impossible to remove.

Scratching

Be aware that some accessories like glasses, belts, or even articles of clothing that have metal on them may scratch your BJD’s surface.

One way to protect your doll from scratching, especially the face, is to remove the head when putting on shirts. Hands can also be removed if it is hard to put them through sleeves.

Alternatively, it’s a good idea to put on sunglasses or other accessories only when you’re taking your doll to a photoshoot or other events.

Tips for BJD Clothes

I know, it’s not nice hearing that your favorite clothes may harm your BJDs. Luckily, I have some tips to prevent any of that from happening that I want to share with you.

Tip #1: To prevent staining resin with dark-toned clothing, I’d highly recommend soaking the clothing in vinegar. Simply mix about 3 parts water and 1 part white vinegar. Then, after a few minutes, take the clothing item out and rinse it in water until the water turns clear.

This procedure will remove dye from clothing and eliminate the chances of leaving stains on your beautiful BJD. However, there’s no guarantee that the clothes won’t stain the doll even after a good rinse.

Tip #2: Buy natural toned body stockings from Volks or Obitsu that prevent clothes from staining the doll’s surface. The stocking is made of very fine, natural tone mesh, so it doesn’t interfere with the look of the doll at all.

Tip #3: Only leave your BJD dressed in dark clothing for short periods of time. For example, when you’re taking it for a photo shoot or to events. Other times, try to change the clothes and leave them in lighter colored fabric, that you know won’t harm your doll.

Tip #4: Wash clothes at least once to prevent excess dye leakage.

Tip #5: Rotate clothes often to make sure that the clothes don’t stain the surface of your BJD.

Tip #6: Note that shoes also cause discoloration and staining. That’s why it’s recommended to put on some socks underneath the shoes.

But what can you do if your BJD is already stained?

Obviously, if your doll is already stained, you probably want to remove it. Magic eraser is the best at removing stains on BJDs. In addition to a magic eraser, you can also use some rubbing alcohol. Note that the more you scrub away at your doll or use the rubbing alcohol, might mean you will need to reseal parts of your dolls body with sealant.

Care & Maintenance for BJD Clothes

*how to clean the clothes etc.

When it comes to BJD clothes, one of the biggest concerns is staining them with food. Wait what? Food?

I have gone to doll meets before that we hold at bubble tea shops or restaurants. Mistakes have been made and I have placed my doll on a dirty table unknowingly before.

That’s why I’d highly recommend you keep your BJDs safe and even consider bringing a small towel or something for them to sit on. These suggestions also apply to when you are at home with your BJDs. Try to keep them away from the kitchen area or dinner table unless you know you have a safe place set up for them.

However, don’t worry much if your BJD clothes got dirty for some reason, because you can easily wash them.

You can either throw BJD clothes into the washing machine together with your own stuff or wash them by hand. But here’s the tricky part. Most doll clothes don’t have labels specifying their materials. So little do you know what you’re working with. Generally, if the material looks and feels like something you own and wash regularly, you can wash it as well.

While washing machines are safe to use, the dryer will melt or warp the BJD clothing. So keep in mind to never put your doll’s clothes into a dryer.

If you prefer washing BJD clothes by hand, here’s the step-by-step guide to doing it properly:

Separate clothes based on color, because blacks, blues, and reds tend to run the dye and may damage each others’ colors, especially white fabrics.
Take a container or basin to do the main washing in.
Wash your BJD clothes with a detergent or a dish soap.
If the fabric has discoloration, stains, or dirt, you can also do the bleaching. But you gotta be careful. Only use bleach on cotton or cotton blend clothing with a high amount of cotton. As long as the doll clothing feels like your own cotton shirt does, it should be fine. Remember to never try bleach on polyester, because bleach can eat this material.
A great alternative to bleach is hydrogen peroxide because it’s less corrosive. Unlike bleach, hydrogen peroxide will remove stains without damaging colored fabric.
After you’re done soaking and washing your BJD clothes, closely rinse them with cold water until you make sure it doesn’t feel slippery and know that all the detergent is removed.
Use a towel to dry the clothes and put them to air-dry.

Also, take a look at the surroundings and remove anything that might snag or pull delicate knits or laces.

Some outfits also get ruined because the doll was left sitting and the clothes got creased. Like I mentioned earlier, in order to maintain the outfit at its best, you might want to consider buying a stand. But buying a stand for every doll would be expensive. That’s why you could store your dolls in inexpensive, sturdy clothes (or even store them nude) and only put your favorite outfit on when you’re playing, taking them to a photoshoot, or other events.

What clothes do your dollies wear?

Do your dolls wear more casual clothes or do you own more collectors type dolls with limited edition outfits? Do you have any tips for us on maintaining BJD clothes? Let us know in the comments section down below!

6 Essential Tips for Maintaining and Caring for Your BJD Clothes: Keep your dolls looking flawless!