Thai Silk wedding dress stains...

**peanut** · 08-30-2011, 01:40 PM

I made a white Thai silk wedding dress for my DSIS years ago (about 30), and she has just pulled it out of the closet for her DD#1 to wear for her wedding. Unfortunately it has a couple of "large stains" on it of undetermined origin. I did not preshrink the fabric before sewing this dress, as far as I can remember. I'm thinking we could have a problem here. Any ideas how to get them out? I'm guessing they're on the front of the dress.

I've also been told by my niece that some of the lace overlay on the bodice has yellowed. Any ideas how to handle that? It's a polyester/rayon lace, as I recall.

I suppose as a last ditch effort we could tea dye the dress, BUT the stains and lace would still turn out darker than the rest of the dress. Any ideas people?

**Ramona** · 08-30-2011, 01:50 PM

I Googled: thai silk + stains and got this:

[ame=http://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&channel=s&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1272&bih=770&q=thai+silk+%2B+stains&btnG=Google+Search]thai silk + stains - Google Search[/ame]

I hope one or more of the tips helps!

**Contrary Housewife** · 08-30-2011, 05:40 PM

Not much you can do about yellowing unfortunately.

Silk can be washed with shampoo. I did prewash my dress (more of a soak really) and found it shrunk relatively little, so hopefully getting it wet will not alter the size too much. However, there's no telling with a well-aged stain what will happen.

Iron dry while it is damp and try not to crease it when it is wet, to avoid permanent wrinkles.

**imagine** · 08-30-2011, 06:06 PM

Maybe ask the dry cleaner what they can do? I know my mom takes in her blue silk Sunday dress

Taking things to the dry cleaner always makes me nervous so only go the dry clEsmeralda route if comfortable

**peanut** · 08-31-2011, 04:59 PM

Argh! I found out she stored it in the dry cleaner's plastic for 30 years! I purposely sewed a garment bag out of cotton for her and she doesn't use it! She said the dress was perfectly clean when she put it away. I'm guessing it's off gassing from the plastic then. I wonder if anyone can get that out! I told her to take it to the best dry cleaner in PEI. I think it's going to one in N.B. instead though.

All that work... The fabric's probably been eaten away by the chemicals in the plastic...or got mold on it.