Help I just shrunk a dress!!!

[mysterygal]

I hope the rest of the day gets better!

 

[decodoll]

Thanks for the tips!
I probably have got some dresses made of this fabric, so the only way to wash it is to have it dry cleaned??
What did they do in the 30's and 40's surely they didn't just have everything drycleaned??

I got to spend some time with my gramma over the weekend and so I asked her about the drycleaning. According to her, they had one, maybe two nice dresses, and they wore them only for very special occasions once or twice a year. The rest of the time what they wore would have been out of fabrics that were washable. Mostly cotton she said. Doesn't sound like the average person in the 1930's and 1940's spent a lot of time at the drycleaners. One of the reasons we probably get the idea such a large percentage of the clothes were out of dry clean only fabrics is because they didn't wear those all the time and that's why they are still around. And of course what we see people wearing in movies wasn't what the average person would have worn most of the time.

I also got a chance to look through all her old photo albums again. My gramma is very neat, so all the albums are marked as to time period and each picture labeled as to who it is. She was also a huge movie fan so she has albums full of clippings of movie stars of the time.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

I hand wash crepe all the time--yes it does shrink, but the trick is to steam iron it after it dries. This will stretch it back out to its original size--and even add a bit of size to it as well! I flipped the first time I washed a crepe dress, but have yet to lose one to washing! Now, I have lost clothing to dry rot and fabric shredding...

 

[decodoll]

You're braver than I! Even my vintage Montgomery Wards catalogue says to dry clean all of the rayon crepe dresses.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

The main things you have to test for first are if the dyes are color fast, and if the buttons are fabric-covered metal. I did get rust spots on a dress (which I was able to remove with lemon juice and salt paste) by soaking a dress with metal buttons.

But really, crepe stretches right back! I learned this when working in the bridal industry, and steaming a variety of dress materials (the only fabric you don't want to steam is taffeta.)

Like I said earlier, I washed the first dress, flipped when I thought I had ruined it (it was a lovely deep purple crepe studded with nail heads), and figured, what the heck--if it's already ruined, I might as well see what happens if I iron it! I still have the dress, and I have worn it several times since

 

[jitterbugdoll]

I should also point out that, at least today, clothing companies are required to list only one form of care for a garment, be it dry cleaning, hand washing, etc. That's why so many will list dry cleaning, when a garment can be hand washed, or...Perhaps this held true back then as well, though it may not have been regulated in the same way...

 

[maisie]

I've washed a quite a few vinatge dresses, including nylon 1940s dresses (one which I'm wearing to a dance this weekend and needs a quick wash as it stinks!! ) But I always use luke warm water and soap suds and dry things outside, but make sure (espicially when they are black!!) to turn them inside out!!

 

[maisie]

Ohh, and another thing, I 've got a load of 40's dresses that are heavy beaded/ decorated and my local dry clean won't even touch them!!

But I do recommend if you are going to wash something with buttons on, particulary if you think they might be metal button underneath the fabric covering, TAKE THEM OFF!! After a while the rust will come through the fabric covering!!:rage:

 

[jitterbugdoll]

Yes, vintage nylon and jersey fabrics wash up wonderfully!

And I've not had any trouble with metal buttons, unless I soaked them for a while...I learned that lesson in one try!

To remove rust spots, try this trick: Make a paste of lemon juice and salt (or cream or tartar), spread it thickly on the spot, and set the garment in the sun. Let it dry, and then rinse well. Repeat if necessary. This usually works very well!

Also be careful if washing a garment made of multi-colored fabric, as the colors can bleed and run. That's about the only time I will take an item to the dry cleaners…

 

[Caledonia]

Oh well at least I saved the buttons!!!!!:eusa_doh:

Hi. Taken a while to spot this thread but I can add a couple of disasters if it helps. In total I have bought 4 rayon items, all 40s. On the first one, a blouse, I did what you did Maisie and very gently washed it. It disintegrated in front of my eyes- but I did save the buttons! The second was a dress, treated the same way and it shrank two sizes and started to peel apart at the seams. The third was a rayon lined, suede 30s purse. The suede was great, the rayon disintegrated on inspection. The fourth was another dress, and yippee I've still got it. I decided to test it before washing by giving it a good yank! Sounds basic, but having been burned before I decided experimentation might save a lot of money. I had kept the remaining blouse material and compared them. The dress resisted all yanking attempts and held strong, the blouse material while dry felt strong, then ripped. I think it's age and how many times the original owners washed it. If in doubt, before buying, yank it gently. If it feels fragile, forget it. Having said that, the good dress still shrank about an inch in every direction. It started as 2 inches, but a gentle stretch, like you do with woollens, brought it back by 1 and it hasn't shrunk anymore since. I just use the gentlest wool wash liquids I can find.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

Silk will disintegrate over time--this is why silk tulle veils from the 20s-30s are so delicate and generally do not survive very well. The head pieces (if not wax flowers) hold up great, but the veil is usually torn and very worn with age.

1940s rayon is a very, very sturdy fabric. But, certain weaves do seem to become dry with age, especially depending on care—I have certain crepe dresses that I reserve for light wearings for this reason. I finding that garments tend to shred under the arms regardless of washing or dry cleaning, because sweat saturated the fibers and sat there for 50+ years, and the fabric just weakens with age.

Now, I have been told that you can use the product Zout to bring life back to dry fabric. I have no idea if this works and have yet to get around to trying it on a damaged dress of mine, but the person who told me is a collector and was insistent that it would save one of my dresses. I will let you know if it works!

 

[catsmeow]

I am not having a good day today, just had to cancel a stolen credit card and cheque book. I did however get a lovely new dress through the post which I have stupidly just completely ruined:cry: :cry: :cry:

Now I had no idea that rayon shrunk so much, I thought I would give it a hand wash to brighten it up........now it is at leat 33% smaller and well and truly for the rubbish...

I am relatively new to vintage clothing and I think I may have just commited a cardinal sin.

Please can anyone tell me a few guide lines for the care of vintage rayon dresses!!!!!

Many (very sad) thanks

I so know how you feel. I bought a 1940's top which was in need of a revamp(wash and dye). I think its like a rayon/crepe? not even sure. Due to it being in slight bad condition with stains, bad faded lavender colour, I decided to hand wash it in cold soapy water. It just went stiff and lost some shape around buttons which ment it shrunk on me. I was so annoyed. I eventually stuck it in the clothing dye because I thought what have I got to lose. It turned out a darker purple(which is okay), and eventually it dried completely, it seems to have slightly gone back to what is was,but definately tighter around the hips. What material could that have been if it shrinks in just cold water?? weird.

My question is how do you dye vintage stuff if it shrinks in just plain water?
"Allabouteve" I hope you will be able to restore the dress somehow. Good luck..

 

[jitterbugdoll]

Have you tried steaming the top? From my personal experience, 40s crepe will stetch right back to its orignal size if you steam it after it's washed and dried. I've yet to lose an item because it shrank when washed.

Also, I have a crepe cocktail dress that has dried out on the shoulders--I plan on trying the Zout trick that my friend told me about and I will report back on its effectiveness.

 

[Rosie]

Have you tried steaming the top? From my personal experience, 40s crepe will stetch right back to its orignal size if you steam it after it's washed and dried. I've yet to lose an item because it shrank when washed.

Also, I have a crepe cocktail dress that has dried out on the shoulders--I plan on trying the Zout trick that my friend told me about and I will report back on its effectiveness.

Jitterbugdoll, what are you using to steam the material? One of those hand held steamers? I just got a nos dress today and I'm kind of scared after reading this thread. It does have a tiny rust stain on it so I will try the salt/lemon juice combo you mentioned earlier.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

Rosie, I used to work in a bridal shop and I would use their industrial strength handheld steamer, which worked great (if you use a steamer, cover the head with a white cloth--a washcloth secured with a rubber band works great--to prevent any sputters which can leave watermarks on a garment.) However, a regular iron set on steam works well, too. I just ironed a black crepe 40s skirt that had shrunk somewhat in size and length, and so I ironed it, gently pulling as I went along. It fit perfectly after I was done

 

[AllaboutEve]

Have you tried steaming the top? From my personal experience, 40s crepe will stetch right back to its orignal size if you steam it after it's washed and dried. I've yet to lose an item because it shrank when washed.

Also, I have a crepe cocktail dress that has dried out on the shoulders--I plan on trying the Zout trick that my friend told me about and I will report back on its effectiveness.

I had no idea about the steaming thing, sounds like a good idea! I think my dress was a bit of a non-starter anyway as the back was very badly stained as if it had been worn in a heat wave and put away in the wardrobe with not so much as a rinse! It just started to come apart in my hands.
I ended up throwing it away as there was practically nothing left.....bar the buttons.
I have since got hold of another rayon crepe that will be going to the dry cleaners as it is fairly plain and I don't think I could bring myself to try the hand washing thing again just yet. I only have the one crepe you see!

Sorry to hear that Caledonia had a similar experience, I think I will trying checking the fabric more carefully in future, the one that got away was an internet purchase so I knew I was taking a bit of a gamble.

 

[Rosie]

Thanks JBD!

 

[Barbara]

There is a cleaner local to me that specializes in vintage clothing. They do Victorian, everything. I take anything nice to them. East Anglia, is that in London? You might check with some of the bigger vintage stores there, find out where they get things cleaned. I had bad luck with cleaners in London back when I lived there, so never cleaned anything. Any museums that dispaly vintage clothing would know where to go with vintage goods. I had a friend who threw a rayon dress in the wash (that I gave to her) and ruined it.

 

[DancingSweetie]

I have a white rayon dress that says dry clean only that I was contemplating dying another color. I guess that would be out of the question?

 

[jitterbugdoll]

I have a white rayon dress that says dry clean only that I was contemplating dying another color. I guess that would be out of the question?

No, not necessarily. As I mentioned before, manufacturers are required to put only one method for cleaning on the clothing label. So, they may pick dry cleaning, but other options are perfectly safe--they just chose not to list them. I actually think dry cleaning is almost harsher than a gentle hand washing. It does depend on the piece, but I have had a dry cleaner shrink a perfectly good sweater, making it unwearable.