| Cleaning Your
Needlework
First of all,
always read the labels that come with your threads,
fabric, and embellishments to see if they say they are
washable and if
the manufacturer has included special washing instructions.
Be
especially careful of hand-dyed, hand-painted, or over-dyed
threads or
fabrics as they can tend to run.
Linens and
evenweaves should be washed in mild cleaners. Some common
ones are listed below.
Aida is more
sturdy. If you have stitched a design on Aida for framing,
then use a method similar to those listed below. If
you wish to attach
your stitched Aida to clothing or a baby blanket, etc.,
it can be
machine washed in cold water on gentle cycle and dried
on low as long as
you've used only regular floss, such as DMC or Anchor.
If you wish
to have a lot of reds/purples in the design, you could
test
the floss before hand by unwrapping it and letting it
soak in water to
see if it is truly colorfast. But, in my experience,
I have never had
any DMC floss run when washed this way for clothing
type items.
Needlepoint
experts recommend that you do not wash needlepoint canvases
as the water removes the sizing.
ORVUS
Orvus is an
often recommended cleaner for needlework. It is actually
a
horse cleaner! Yes, that's right and you can find it
in farm/tack supply
stores in larger containers, as well as in many needlework
shops in
smaller containers, sometimes labeled as Quilt Soap.
It can also be
found in Walmart.
HOW TO USE:
Orvus is a
pasty substance that is concentrated so you would
only need about a thimbleful, or about 1/4 teaspoon,
of Orvus per quart
of cold water when washing needlework. Let your needlework
soak for
about a half hour, then rinse thoroughly. Use a large
towel and fold in
half - lay needlework on towel and gently roll up towel
and twist very
gently to remove excess water. Then, lay needlework
flat on another
towel to dry.
FABRI-CARE:
Fabri-Care
is a similar product to Orvus that is sold in needlework
shops. Follow the instructions that come with the product.
DREFT:
Dreft is a
mild cleaner used for baby clothes and fine hand-washables.
It is a dry flake type of cleaner. Follow the directions
on the
container for washing hand-washables.
OXY-CLEAN
Oxy-clean is
recommended by many needlework experts. Nordic Needle
has
experimented with cleaning new and older pieces of needlework
with
Oxy-Clean and they now recommend this product for needlework
cleaning
and sell it through their catalog. Many stitchers swear
by this product.
The only drawback
is that Oxy-clean contains a by-product of soda ash
which may not completely rinse out of your needlework.
DAWN
Dawn dish detergent
has been used successfully by many stitchers. But,
beware, there are some stitchers who have claimed it
left a bit of it's
green color behind. This wouldn't be good.
IVORY
Ivory dish
detergent has been recommended by some stitchers. Since
it is
white in color, you wouldn't have to worry about the
color
WOOLITE
Woolite is
used by some stitchers. The only drawback is that it
may have
a bit of bleach as one of its ingredients. So, use at
your own
discretion.
Things to Avoid:
Avoid the use
of any soaps containing lemon when washing needlework
with metallic threads, as the lemon may tarnish the
metallic threads.
Do not wash
in warm or hot water unless you are absolutely positive
that the threads and fabric will not run or shrink.
Do not dry
clean. Sometimes you may be lucky and dry cleaning will
work out fine, but often times the dry cleaning products
may result in your threads running and ruining your
hard work.
IRONING
When ironing
your needlework, you should have a pressing cloth to
lay
beneath the needlework. A thick towel works well. Lay
your needlework,
face-down on the towel and place another pressing cloth
on top - a
thinner cloth, such as a cloth baby diaper or a dish
towel works well
for this top pressing cloth. Set your iron for the type
of fabric you
are working with and press. By using a thick bottom
pressing cloth, you
give the stitches something to 'sink' into so they won't
be flattened.
You are also protecting your stitching from any left-over
residue that
may be on your ironing board or on the bottom of your
iron.
If the fabric
has stubborn wrinkles that won't come out, you can dampen
the top ironing cloth with plain water and then place
on top of the
stitching and press. Be sure that you have colorfast
threads/fabric
before dampening.
Hand Creams:
UDDER CREAM
Udder Cream
is another farm product! It is glycerin based and can
be used to soften hands when stitching, as it will not
leave any greasy residue on your needlework.
Your needlework
shop may carry Udder Cream and/or other glycerin-based
products for hand-softening while stitching.
Hand creams
can be important when stitching with silk and rayon
threads which tend to catch on dry hands.
Removal of
Stubborn Stains:
First, attempt
to wash the needlework with one of the above-recommended
products. Many stitchers have said that when nothing
else would remove a stubborn stain, that Oxy-Clean worked
wonders. Below are hints I have gathered from other
stitcher's and designer's recommendations.
BLOOD STAINS:
USE SALIVA:
It is often recommended that you can remove a blood
stain by using the saliva of the person that stained
the fabric. Only the saliva of the person who got the
blood on the fabric will work. One person's saliva will
not remove a blood stain from another person.
ICE: Simply
soaking in ice water or rubbing an ice cube on the stain
may work.
SALT &
COLD WATER PASTE: Another recommendation is to soak
in cold water, make a paste of salt and cold water and
spread it on the stain. Let sit for 15 - 30 minutes
then rinse in cold water. Repeat until stain is gone.
HYDROGEN PEROXIDE:
Some nurses & paramedics have recommended that hydrogen
peroxide (the kind you get from the drug store) removes
blood stains. But, use this solution at your own risk,
as it contains some bleaching products and may lighten
the fabric or threads in the area it is used. Dab on
the hydrogen peroxide with one end of a Q-tip, then
dab off the foam with the dry end of the Q-tip as soon
as the stain looks brownish. Repeat this process until
the stain is gone. Then, rinse.
MEAT TENDERIZER:
Another recommendation is the use of unseasoned meat
tenderizer to remove blood stains. The idea behind this
method is that blood is a protein and meat tenderizer
breaks down proteins. Rinse the stain in cold water,
rub meat tenderizer on both sides of the fabric where
the stain is, let sit for 1/2 hour and rinse. The stain
should be gone.
OTHER STAINS:
IVORY:
Some have used
Ivory dish detergent with good results for removing
stains.
SELTZER WATER:
Often, plain
seltzer water will remove stubborn stains.
WHEN ALL ELSE
FAILS!
These recommendations
come from a fellow stitcher who worked in a needlework
shop. He has some very helpful suggestions for when
all else fails and you just can't remove the stain:
Choose a color
floss that matches your fabric and stitch the empty
background of the design. Be sure to wash the fabric
first to remove any grease or residue from the stain
so it won't bleed through the threads in later years.
Although this can be time consuming, it's well worth
it to save a design you've worked so hard on.
Some designs
have wispy sections of colors scattered throughout the
background. You can add more of these wispy sections
in coordinating colors to cover the stain. You can also
use this method even if the design doesn't have this
type of background. Just choose colors to blend with
the design and stitch a few rows here and there throughout
the background, of course one of these will be covering
the stain.
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