Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Foiled plans...

Remember my plan to make up a nice swing dress using the vintage blue floral crepe from my stash?  Well, imagine my horror when I discovered two fairly large dark red stains on the fabric that I hadn't seen before:

This is my first time working with crepe.  Should I try and wash this out by hand or take it to the dry cleaners?

There wasn't enough fabric to cut around the spots--so the swing dress will have to wait.  Though I may be able to make a nice blouse from this!  I'll spend some more time with it and see if it comes out.

Have you had any vintage fabric discoveries?  Any sewing plans foiled at the last moment?
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14 comments

  1. oh no! I hope you manage to get it out. I've never worked with crepe before, so can't offer any advice.
    At least there's enough for a blouse :) I've never had vintage fabric, I'll have to browse etsy to see what pretties I can find :)
    Ashley x

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  2. I had some lovely wool jersey that I discovered had random moth holes in it. Luckily it was a large piece and I was able to cut around the holes, but it was touch and go for awhile with the layout. Hope you are able to make something with your fabric...it is very pretty.

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  3. DRY CLEAN. I will NEVER put water to vintage crepe again after shrinking TWO dresses. And not shrink a 1/2"....shrink A LOT.

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  4. I've found mothholes in my wool too - guess we need to keep mothballs in our stashes too, not just in our closets! If I'm trying to work around issues when cutting, I stick pins there as a visual reminder to avoid it. (especially if the spot is small/hard to see)

    Stain removal can be tricky business, especially with vintage fabric (you don't want to use anything harsh that might weaken possibly already weak fabric). I'd try a dunk with gentle detergent, and if that doesn't work, send it to a *trustworthy* cleaners. Hope it works - that fabric's cute!

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  5. Oh no! How disappointing :(
    I truly hope that you get the stains out. It is such beautiful fabric. Finger crossed!

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  6. Cut a 5"x5" square of the fabric from one end, try to wash that yourself. If it goes horribly wrong, then take it to the cleaner. I'd probably try a warm handwash before anything else.

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  7. I found several yellow spots on a piece of feedsack that I wanted to use to make a top last year. Since it was obviously such casual fabric I figured to hell with it, and just tried my best to cut around it, figuring any little mar that ended up in the final item would be "character".

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  8. Aw... so sad! :( I always hate when I get a vintage fabric and am so excited to use it, only to find it has a stain or hole that completely overturns my plans. Here's hoping you can get it out!

    ♥ Casey | blog

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  9. I also use the trick of Steph to see if I can wash a cloth by hand or dry cleaned, it's safe and effective. I feel these little setbacks but they are steps on the road.

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  10. Oh no, hope you manage to get the stains out...that fabric is beautiful!

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  11. I have also shrunk crepe in the past but I think it was cos I washed it in too warm water. I'm sure people back then didn't take all their dresses to the dry cleaner! So I suggest a cool water soak

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  12. Don't depsair - now is the time to experiment. Nothing ventured nothing gained. 1)Wash by hand a small sample in luke warm water. 2) Tackle stains with DREFT. 3) Wash in LUKE warm water. rinsing thoroughly. 4) Dry in open air if poss. 5) When just damp iron on wrong side with very cool iron over a new towel on the ironing board.

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  13. Crepe is sooooo fickle. At least crepe rayon is....I dunno about silk crepe. The issue with crepe rayon is not only water temperature but also agitation (don't agitate the fabric..it does not like it. Apparently there's a biochemical reason for this related to how it affects the cellulose that I don't quite understand). Also, I found some stains on crepe will turn to shred holes if you scrub them while the fabric is wet. I often find what seem like stains on crepe are actually dye-related fade spots or color bleeds that won't come out. If you DO wash the crepe, I agree you should use cold water. Not sure what spot remover to try (oxyclean worked on perspiration stains on one crepe dress I had used, but caused a small hole when used on dirt or grease stains on a diff. dress . Prepare for the texture of the fabric to (temporarily) change when wet--it will go from fluid to sort of raspy and turgid. Lay it flat to dry. When dry, you can sometimes get it to come back to its previous texture and size with the aid of ironing (on the proper rayon setting) the underside of the fabric. This is just some of what I had to learn the hard way via vintage selling. I personally don't think you should get it dry cleaned, but that's my opinion and related to the fact that I have never taken any of my vintage crepe dresses to the dry cleaner's.

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  14. Yes - although my fabric was thrifted, so it's my fault for not checking properly. Your fabric is soo pretty, I hope you find a way to save it!

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I read each and every comment--thank you so much!

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