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Cleaning 70 year old baby dress

Submitted by jaynjenny1 on Fri, Apr. 22, 2011

My Mom has a dress that she wore when she was a child and now that I have a daughter I would like to have her picture taken in this dress. As you can imagine the dress hasn't been washed in 70 years and I have no idea how to go about cleaning this item. Anybody out there have any ideas?

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Comments (10)

morninglorylf
Sun, May. 15, 2011

I work at a museum and know a

I work at a museum and know a little about textile conservation. However, I'm not a textile conservator. This is who you need to talk to before doing anything, although it won't be cheap. I will tell you the first thing they would probably tell you is that it shouldn't be worn. Wearing the dress can cause unrepairable damage to the fibers.

That said, it's impossible to tell you any more without knowing exactly what the dress is made of. The cleaner of choice in museums is Orvus paste (you can google it for more info). Although, like I said, it would depend on the material and I'm not sure everything can be used with Orvus. I would advise not taking it to the dry cleaner, and whatever, you do, try cleaning a small unnoticeable part of it first to make sure it won't ruin the entire dress.

jlnarron
Sun, May. 15, 2011

Baby garments

I have my grandfather's christening gown. It's so yellow :( I want to have it framed b/c my boys are such big babies, they could never fit into it! I am going to an embroidery/handwork shop that we have here in town to get their opinion b/c I have seen vintage fabrics and other delicate, antique things in their shop. Then, I am going to a dry cleaner to get another opinion on how it should be cleaned. You should definitely speak to someone before doing it yourself - it would break your heart if you ruined it. Good luck!

coral490
Fri, May. 13, 2011

Cleaning 70-year old dress

If you decide to try washing it, you might try soaking it in cold water in a solution of Woolite for delicate fabrics. Then rinse in several changes of warm water, roll in a big towel, and drape over something padded to dry (no hangers). Hope something works!

motherraven
Thu, May. 12, 2011

Cleaning a 70 year old baby dress

It depends, of course, if the fabric is cotton or silk for example and also what the condition of the garment is. Very gentle washing in pure soap is often an option.
But a textile expert should examine the dress before any action is undertaken.

rachiti
Thu, May. 12, 2011

Cleaning 70 year old clothing

My mother had the misfortune of trying to clean fabric/drapes that was very old - the fabric disintegrated when she put it into water!!! For this reason, I would definately look into having someone else (like those suggested in other posts) take a look at the clothing first. It would be a shame to literally lose something irreplaceable because you decided to wash it.

S Talarico
Thu, May. 12, 2011

Vintage clothes

Prior to cleaning, I wd first perform any necessary mending. Even the most gentle cleaning can further exacerbate an existing problem. So make sure that buttons are attached well, all seams are sewn shut and a weakness in any part of the fabric is reinforced. I did this with vintage baby clothes when my sister had her first child. It was truly special.

Jennifer
Thu, May. 12, 2011

Cleaning 70 year old dress

My mom just cleaned a shawl that was about 50 years old and very yellowed (it used to be white)--she soaked it in oxi clean (I don't know if there is another more natural way to do it) and then hung it in the window that gets a lot of sunlight. It did no damage to the fabric and got 99% of the stains out. Hope this helps. I don't know if she has used oxi clean on other colored items but she uses it all the time when restoring antique fabrics.

MichellePar
Thu, May. 12, 2011

If you live near a history

If you live near a history museum, ask to talk to the textiles conservator, and find out how they care for their fabrics and clothing. Some times the museums send them out to a service that is available to the public.

Best of luck!

cherrg1
Thu, May. 12, 2011

Cleaning a 70 year old baby dress?

There may be good connections available via PBS' Antiques Roadshow, for example
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/tips/index.html

Mary
Thu, May. 12, 2011

Cleaning a 70 year old baby dress?

I would recommend that you not do it until and unless you have consulted a archive-aware cleaner. Insure it before you do a thing. It cannot be replaced if someone ruins the thing. Quilters might be a good source for that sort of thing, too, since many people come across antique quilts that are fragile enough that requires careful handling.