they just need a bath and new stuffing.
First, open up their seams with a seam ripper (or tiny scissors).
2. Shake out the old stuffing. Polyster foam breaks down into nasty, dusty stuff---wear a dust mask when shaking out:
You'll probably need to turn inside-out to remove all the sticky stuff.
I think bears look neat inside-out.
3. Soak in the kitchen sink, using mild soap (Ivory, or the like, not the stripping kind like Dawn). I left them inside out because their polyester fur is brittle and breaks off easily.
NOTE: This old petroleum-based fabric doesn't look immensely cleaner after washing (unlike some old natural fabrics)--if it's yellowed, it mostly stays that way––but it smells and feels a ton better!
4. Lie bears on a towel to air dry.
When dry (or almost) put in drier on the no-heat cycle for a few minutes, to fluff up their fur.
You can also vacuum their coats, but this old fur breaks easily.
5. Restuff. For very old bears, I use natural kapok stuffing--the fluff of a seed pod >>>
from a tropical ceiba tree.
It's soft to handle, but packs bears solid.
[A couple posts about my kapok-stuffed mohair bears.]
These more modern bears want to be squishy, so I use Pellon Perfect Loft.
Its structure (little puffs of fluff) allows the bears to be flexible.
6. Restitch back seams. Use the ladder stitch for invisible seams, or don't worry about it--original seams were usually visible.
A tutorial on the ladder stitch (it's super easy)--you go in and out on the inside of the seam:
7. That's it! Return bears to the wild.
