This is a brief post/plea for help.
Helen wanted to reuse her wedding dress. With a view to that, I dry cleaned the fabrics before I made up the dress. I wasn't really sure what she might want, what might suit. I reckoned the main possibilities were dyeing the fabric - maybe green which Helen looks fabulous in - and shortening the skirt.
I don't know yet about the dyeing but Helen would like the dress full length, just without the train. She doesn't like ballerina or tea length and anyway I'm not sure the hugging back would suit that.
Unfortunately there is deep ingrained mud all around the bottom of the dress and lining. Worse, the fabric is damaged in places so that even if I get the mud out there is still a problem.
I decided to detach the skirt lining (silk charmeuse / very fine crepe back satin silk) from the dress and work with that first in terms of stain removing - no success. Any suggestions? There's really nothing to lose now, is there?
I detached the waist stay, unpicked the horsehair braid hem and took out the horsehair and the curtain string weights. The train can be removed at a later date. I hope the dress doesn't shrink too much in length then it's possible I might be able to hem it slightly shorter to cover the abraded fabric into the inside. I'll see. However I won't know until I see if I can even get the stains which are not just at the hem, out.
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| Dismantling |
I haven't done anything in terms of attempted cleaning with the outside dress as yet though Rory did try to remove some of the stains for the display.
I’d welcome any suggestions for heavy duty station removal of mud from damaged ivory sandwashed silk!
I'm hoping the dress might be salvageable in some form!
Thank you
Good luck! I'd be inclined to take it to a dry cleaners and see what they say, they do tend to triple the price for a wedding dress though!!
ReplyDeleteI need luck, thanks! Too late, no joy from dry cleaners. Moving forward, at least I hope it's forward!
DeleteEven if I can't salvage dress, I can remake in a coloured sandwashed silk. Any suggestions as to where I might get that? My vendor had white and ivory only. It needs to be pretty heavy.
Silk does tend to stain badly. Other than a dry cleaner, I have no suggestions. When I sent my silk wedding dress to the dry cleaner, they ruined it trying to get stains out.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sarah Liz. I'm sorry to hear that your wedding dress was ruined. I fear this one is, too, though I can salvage quite a bit of the fabric. I haven't given Helen the bad news yet.
DeleteMy brides have me send their gowns off for preservation with a company in New York. In their brochure they have photos of women using toothbrushes on the hems of dresses but Lord knows what magic concoctions they use to get out mud...the most common problem along with twigs and grass stains. All I know is I use an enzyme solid stick to pre-treat by rubbing and spraying with water and then pressing down with a wash cloth until the stain migrates to the washcloth below. The label is www.spraywash.com
ReplyDeleteThank you. I couldn't reach that site. Could it be www.spraynwash?
DeleteI was anxious about using enzyme stain removers. Tried the brushes! But nothing to lose.
Unfortunately bridal gowns are subject to much abuse, especially the hem. A long white dress doesn't do well being dragged along the ground for hours of partying. Find the best dry cleaner you can and hope for the best. I'm skeptical about dyeing. You mentioned you had the fabrics dry cleaned before construction but any dyeing process will involve submersion in water and hot water at that. Silk can be washed but tends to shrink so any water treatment needs to be done before construction. Dyeing will not cover up stains or damaged fabric; polyester thread will not take dye and cotton reacts differently to dye than silk so your thread might wind up a different color. You created such a lovely, flattering design so why not make it again in another color. What about using the wedding gown to see a christening in a few years?
ReplyDeleteYes. Thank you. I've offered to make the dress again in green sandwashed silk. Helen doesn't want her wedding dress cut up though I haven't raised the possibility of a christening gown; we do have an heirloom silk gown though and her husband's family may do. She would be happy with the train cut off only; otherwise just keep as is for posterity. It may or course have shrunk further with the stain treatments. Dyeing is certainly not possible.
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