I believe the textile conservation solution is to very gently soak
the gown in warm-cool water with Stergene in it, keeping it as flat
as possible and as little agitated as possible, sort of like really
delicate wool or silk. But give it a good long soak. The yellowing is
most likely to be from old starch or improperly rinsed soap, so rinse
it very, very well - with delicacy - or the same thing could happen
later on. I've seen early 19th century white muslin dresses in museum
collections that haven't, and have been wet cleaned, and the
difference is basically yellowy brown muslin or the pure white muslin
of fashion plates.
(Disclaimer - I work with conservators but aren't one. If there is
any way to consult a real one, do!)
Best of luck.
On 8 Jan 2008, at 7.03 pm, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
So, ideas for me to tell them about how to get the fabric back to
white,
does anybody have ideas for me to tell them? I told them that I
don't think
there is much you can do, but i do remember this list having threads
on this
topic, i just am not finding them right away.
Sometimes the color change is permanent, as it is caused by an actual
chemical change in the fibers. However, soaking in an oxygen bleach
solution might
help.
Ann Wass
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