OK everybody I would like all of your opinions out there. My neighbor’s daughter bought a silk dress cut on the bias in a light lavendar (very pricey designer prom gown) and had the shop where she bought it do some alterations. When she got the dress back there were several “water marks” on the back of the dress. When she called the shop owner about the dress she was told to bring it back in and she would have the dry cleaners, clean and press the dress in hopes of getting the marks out. Well when she got the dress back the marks were still there and there was a third mark as well. And then the seams started coming apart. Do you think this was a knock off dress or was the work room just really sloppy? I will mention that the shop owner did refund the total cost of the dress but just curious what happened here. Also was there a way to save the dress after the water marks happened?
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Replies
We know that silk satin is very delicate but I still think the seams were not sewn with adequate seam allowance and the seams must not have been finished very well. Another big factor is the bias cut--you know the "chenille" made from several layers of cloth that is cut requires it be cut on bias to allow the most fraying to form the chenille. I've sewn mostly the dupioni and it frays really bad so I serge with a shorter stitch to help combat that. Since the dress is ruined anyway I wish the owner would hand wash it in warm water and baby shampoo to just see if the spots come out and then let us all know the outcome. I recently had a customer with a satin chiffon multi-layer skirt that had wedding bubbles spts on it and the cleaners said it would not come out. I spotted a scrap of the fabric with bubbles, dried it (spots looked horrible) and washed it as above. It drip dried and looked just like it was on the bolt!
I have never heard of using baby shampoo before - what a great idea! I do know that Woolite is a big no - no.
Baby shampoo makes perfect sense....both hair and silk are protein fibres. Guess you could use it on wool as well.
I have sprayed spray fabric finish (spray sizing) on a variety of fabrics, including silk, to remove water spots. Just lightly spray a 4-5 inch area over spot, press with a press cloth, and frequently the spot disappears. I have no idea why this works. Also, the idea to wash it is one I frequently use. I tell myself "if it's ruined now, washing won't ruin it".
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