I got a hello kitty build a bear in october as an early birthday present (i have loved hello kitty since i was a kid) and i promised myself to keep this one nice and neat and in a great condition.
today i accidentally spilt a drink on her and my other build a bear from when i was a kid and it was too deep to just hand wash so i put them in the washing machine – on the softest most gentle setting to make sure nothing happened but her bow has lost its holographic silver printing as it rubbed off whilst getting washed. i am so upset about this, not because i love hello kitty but because my mum got me this and it cost a lot of money and because i now failed to keep it in a great condition. Is there a way i can fix it or readd it??? the bow is sewn into her head by the way so replacing it is not an option.
4 comments
i’m sorry if this post is really stupid and i sound childish but it was so expensive and i just feel like such an idiot for ruining something so nice
If the foil has come off, there’s no way of putting it back on. Your best bet is to either keep the bow as it is or take it off and replace it with something similar. Build A Bear might have some, or look online. You could also go into the store and see what they suggest.
Edit: looking online, Etsy has plenty of bow replacements so it is doable.
Could you replace the head along with the bow?
/r/invisiblemending and /r/visiblemending may be able to give you better advice (I’m sure there’s probably a plushie/cuddly toy sub out there too?).
If the holographic printing has come off in the wash, it’s probably not possible to put it back on – Textile foil looks quite fiddly to use, and would most likely involve removing the bow (it’s not something I’ve done before, but looks like most methods involve ironing or laminating it to flat fabric).
I’m guessing she looks like the first one to come up when googling “build a bear hello kitty” – Bow made from stuffed shiny fabric rather than a ribbon?
A bow (or “cover” for the bow?) that is sewn onto and/or goes over the existing bow may be an option – like a “glove” for it made out of new shiny fabric, especially if you’re against trying to remove the original bow.
Removing and replacing the bow entirely could still be doable (but if you don’t sew/don’t feel confident doing a bit of “surgery” – some people online offer their services as “teddy bear doctors” and they’d be able to do it, but I suspect it wouldn’t be cheap).