My satin (white) wedding dress has some lace on it. I want to clean it at home so that I can cup it up and make a quilt for my daughter. What is the best procedure to get the gown clean?
Whatever method you choose - make sure to do a spot check to prevent a full blown mess! There is a very mild and natural made from soda and citrus. The brand is called FOREVER NEW and I use it for my bras. Forever New can be found at most high end lingerie stores.
Hope this helps.
blessings,
Stacy
That sounds like a nice idea. I own a bridal boutique and we clean some of our sample gowns ourselves from time to time. When you say "satin" that could mean a few different things. There is such a think as Silk-Satin, but most Satin these days is made from acetate, nylon or other poly blend materials. If your dress is a poly material you can generally clean it yourself by washing it on delicate with a delicate soap such as Woolite or you can hand wash it with some (white) Ivory dish soap even. we use that for spot and other dress cleaning. Then let it hang dry or dry flat. You'll need to steam it after wards. This recommendation is only for poly satin. If it is a true silk you'll have to have it dry cleaned. If it has stains or yellowing, that may not come out but if it's just for a general cleaning it should do fine.
Best of luck!
My mom & I cleaned my grandmother's wedding dress in the bathtub so I could wear it - yes, it was 50+ years old, true satin, and dirty from years of storage. No commercial cleaners would touch it, even the "specialty" ones. It wasn't a pure white gown to begin with (more an eggshell) but we got tons of dust/dirt out, and no stains. It looked great! totally vintage.
Fill half the bathtub (or container you use) with lukewarm water and small amount of mild detergent, just enough to make a few suds. (The previous post suggests oxiclean - works great on my laundry, but I would make sure the oxiclean granules are totally dissolved in the water before putting the dress in!) Soak your dress and agitate by hand a few times. Drain tub & rinse in clear water... repeat if needed. Hang to dry.
Just a note, keep in mind that you (or your daughter) will eventually want to wash the finished quilt also sometimes. Great idea!!
Got my info from a lady who buys/sells vintage clothing so I figured its pretty accurate. I did the process with a blouse with a stain and it worked!
Watch for 2-3 days of nice weather. Take a sheet/blanket and lay it outside and just spray the dress with WATER. Let it dry flat in the sun. It may take 2-3 times to get stains out and you may have to change sides of the dress in the sun.
Soap breaks up the fabric and is hard to rinse it all out. The sun works on the stains.
It is time consuming but did work and will better preserve your lace.
