WHAT WENT WRONG
Great quality in cleaning wedding gowns
Wedding dress cleaning commands a significant premium over everyday garments. This is because it demands considerably more work and skill to produce a result that will delight the bride, say Roger Cawood and Richard Neale
ith the right techniques and methodologies, it is possible to produce a bright and stain- free product, but without knowledge and care, wedding dress cleaning can become a cleaner’s nightmare.
W
Skilful cleaning of a wedding dress calls on every aspect of the cleaner’s craft, from fibre identification through stain pre-treatment, spotting and finishing. Most wedding dresses are better wetcleaned rather than drycleaned, especially if they are heavily stained or soiled with food and drink. If colour change, shrinkage and fabric damage are to be avoided, wetcleaning demands an in depth understanding of textile properties and highly developed finishing skills, significantly above those required for drycleaning, but it usually produces a superb result if the appropriate precautions
are taken. Most wedding day soiling and staining is water-based and therefore a water-based process is usually chosen by most cleaners. This also helps to maintain the brightness of white gowns over and above drycleaning. This normally gives excellent results with polyester and nylon, but with silk and acetate very careful evaluation of the garment, including the extent and nature of the soiling and stains is required. Polyester fabric is generally designed for wetcleaning or washing, and staining often comes away easily in water. A good detergent may be needed to treat oily staining. Conversely, some silk and acetate fabrics are at risk in washing, creating irremovable cracked- ice or basket-weave creasing with associated shrinkage. If a water-based process is required, to minimise problems a specific, gentle wetcleaning process is
RUCHE JOB: The cleaner tried unsuccessfully to replicate the original soft folds
20 LCN | October 2024
Ruching defeats the presser Fault: after successful drycleaning, the operative was uncertain how to finish the layered ruching to the front of the bodice. Steaming did not produce much effect and gentle ironing resulted in creases in all the wrong places! Technical cause: the ruching to the bodice should be ironed flat using a narrow iron, taking care not to set any creases at all. It might be necessary to snip some of the tacking stitches used to secure the ruching at this point. Once the fabric is crease- free, the ruched folds should be laid up by hand, working either on a steam-air former or using the air blower on a professional finishing table. Once the ruched folds are positioned correctly, they can be very lightly set with a puff of steam or brief vacuum. The secret is to use as little of these as possible consistent with achieving a good result. Then finally any tacking stiches may need to be restored. Responsibility: the cleaner is responsible for correctly finishing the gown. Skills at Guild Advanced Level Garment Finishing are required. If these are not available, it is better to turn away or subcontract a ruched garment, because there is no real alternative and a justified claim is highly likely. provided incorrect creases have not been heavily set in, then re- cleaning and correct re-finishing using the method described is usually possible.
recommended. There are standard fibre- identification test techniques available (See Guild of Cleaners Stain Removal Notes) and these are essential if damage is to be avoided - a damaged wedding gown can lead to a very high claim! The actual methodologies involved should be varied
Fabric disintegrates under arm Fault: after stain pre-treatment and drycleaning of this natural silk garment, the fabric at the under-arms was found to be disintegrating. Technical cause: Untreated perspiration at the under-arms tends to become either acidic or alkaline with time, causing steady weakening of the yarns particularly if these contain silk. The damaged fibres are flushed away to produce the result seen here. Responsibility: for the fabric damage lies with the user because it stems from staining in wear and the delay in getting the garment cleaned. However, the cleaner is responsible for giving realistic expectations at reception and should always ask the date of the wedding and then lower the customers’ expectations appropriately. The fabric damage cannot be improved and may get worse if the garment needs re-cleaning after re- treatment.
ROTTED FABRIC: The weft threads have been rotted by the breakdown of perspiration and flushed out by the cleaning solvent
www.laundryandcleaningnews.com
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