100 Details in 100 Days: Day 7

A diversion from the needle and thread to discuss washing fabric. I got a bunch of fabric and trim last week from the very generous Rhonda. I washed most of it, but tried to keep some of the older trims from the water. It was a mistake. I ended up washing everything.

I was surprised by which method worked best for me, so I thought I would share. First, I put all of the fabric and trims into small lingerie/laundry bags before loading the machine. I filled the detergent reservoir with vinegar and set my machine to soak. Then I ran a regular cycle (with extra rinse) using detergent, fabric softener, and a few drops of bleach in the dispenser. Next, I removed everything from the washer and unloaded all of those lingerie/laundry bags and shook out everything to help with the wrinkles. What did not air dry, dried as I ironed it.

Sadly, I was at the ironing board for about four hours last night and I forgot to post anything to my blog. But the good news is that I am finally through washing all of the fabric and trims! Man is it is tedious to iron small, fiddly trims. I used a lot of ironing spray and stacked everything as I finished, giving it a chance to dry completely before putting it away. I usually use my iron in cordless mode, but it was not practical with this much ironing to be done.

It came down to a point where I realized that the only way I was going to be able to use the fabric and trims was to wash it. To my surprise, even the Duchesse Satin came through the washing and ironing in good shape. A few of the trims started to unravel, but the bulk came through the process just fine. The upshot of this rant is, sometimes you just do not have a choice, so just wash it, before it gets any worse.