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Member since 6/26/06
Posts: 1311
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Posted on: 7/20/10 8:34 AM ET
I live near a really nice fabric store and stopped by there last week. They had lots of sales going on and in the bargain bin I found a nice cut of silk dupioni. It had been there a while - I could tell because both selvedges were absolutely filthy. It's probably 60 inches wide and I can work around the selvedge but I didn't want a nasty surprise once I cut and sewed up a dress from it so I thought I'd risk putting it in the washer. I washed it in cold water on a hand wash cycle and it got out the surface dirt but there is still a lot of dirt left, too. Not only that but when I hung it up to dry it smelled like toxic waste. It's dry now and the smell has subsided somewhat but not completely. Has anyone else had this happen? Any advice as to how to get the rest of the grime out and now the smell, too?

Any suggestions are welcome.

Thank you!

JT
  
Member since 1/25/04
Posts: 507
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Posted on: 7/20/10 9:10 AM ET
It is the resin (not sure the correct word) left in the silk which gives it it's body. I have a silk suit that gets that same smell when wet. This type of silk is better dry cleaned then washed.
  
Member since 6/26/06
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Posted on: 7/20/10 9:42 AM ET
In reply to koo104
I agree. Normally I would have made my dress and proceeded to have it dry cleaned when necessary. But, since both edges were really dirty and I couldn't see the dry cleaners pre-spotting the edges along both sides and I didn't pay a fortune for it I took the risk. I'm just wondering if I can actually do anything about it now. I wonder if I should still have it dry cleaned to see if they can actually get what looks like grease out of the edges but I've heard that you shouldn't dry clean after washing in water. But I'm not sure if that is rumour or actually has merit.

JT

Edited because I seem to want to spell phonetically these days...

-- Edited on 7/20/10 9:57 AM --
  
Member since 8/24/02
Posts: 453
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Posted on: 7/20/10 11:21 AM ET
In reply to Jatman
You can wash dupioni several times to get the Sericin, or silk gum out. It will lose some of the luster and soften up quite a bit. Pam Erny has done this for clients in her custom shirt business. This was the only post I could find on her blog, but I think there are others: Second post

A word of warning, if the silk is of a deep or highly saturated color you are likely to lose some of the color. But since it was not a lot of $$, I say go for it and see what you get
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Member since 1/8/10
Posts: 1500
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Posted on: 7/20/10 11:35 AM ET
How much of a bargain was it, and what kind of dress are you planning on making with it? I thought the reason for dry-cleaning dupioni was just because it changes the texture, so if you don't mind it losing the stiff drape, you may even want to wash it. Did you wash it in only water? You could try washing a small bit of it with mild detergent and see if you like the way it comes out. It don't sound like you're likely to get the smell and grime out without washing out the crispness.
Just my $.02..
  
Member since 10/27/05
Posts: 114
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Posted on: 7/20/10 12:10 PM ET
the natural smell of silk is one thing... but if it smells like"toxic waste" it maybe from the dyes they used. Some of the inexpensive silk I've bought had a really powerful petroleum smell. It's very hard to get rid of and took alot of time soaking in baking soda to get rid of the smell, which in turn changed the hand , color, and texture of the silk. It is now in my stash...not to be used for anything important. So beware of super stinky fabrics....
  
Member since 6/26/06
Posts: 1311
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Posted on: 7/20/10 12:28 PM ET
Thank you all for your replies. It was nice silk to begin with although not ridiculously expensive ($25/USD per yard). Then it got marked down to $6/USD. So, less expensive but not really cheap either. It has a print on it so dye probably is part of the smell. I was going to make a sheath dress but I may utilize more of the fabric and make a fuller skirted dress from it. I probably have nothing to lose at this point by washing it again. The first time I used just a tiny bit of Tide. This time maybe I'll use baking soda or more Tide. I don't care if it softens up or even fades. It's a pretty floral that will look nice either way. But the problem is it's on a cream background that was probably kicked around the fabric store for a long time picking up lots of dirt along the way. It was stored on a tube so each end where people have pulled it out to look at is it just dirty. I think I'm glad it wasn't folded and put on a piece of cardboard or it would be really dirty on the selvedges and the center!

OK, I'll give it another wash in warmer, soapier water and see if that helps. Thank you everyone!

JT
  
Member since 11/10/06
Posts: 1121
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Posted on: 7/20/10 5:35 PM ET
I've machine washed ("mixed" cycle, the one I use for most of my clothes) and tumble dryed a silk dupion top by accident. It came out fine -- it's much softer and more drapy now, and doesn't have the same lustre, but it's just as nice as it was before.
  
Member since 1/20/10
Posts: 3195
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Posted on: 7/20/10 5:44 PM ET
I've washed silk dupioni (both cheaper & more expensive stuff) - yes it loses some of the lustre, but I would rather wash whatever I can than dry clean it, so I'll often risk it.

I'm curious about your comment regarding not dry cleaning something after water washing it - really? What does this apply to, & what's the reasoning? Since I'm so clueless about dry cleaning, I would definitely like to know about this, since I actually do have a couple of items that have been partially washed before sewing & will now be dry cleaned. (I mixed fabrics in an item - some of the fabric had been washed, some really was dry clean only - the garment wasn't planned out beforehand)
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Member since 6/26/06
Posts: 1311
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Posted on: 7/20/10 5:56 PM ET
Thank you both for your replies! I have other things up on the line right now so I will wait until I have room to hang it up to dry. So, maybe tomorrow I will wash it again.

Regarding the dry cleaning/washing - I've always heard that once you wash silk you shouldn't then dry clean it and also the other way around. Supposedly it damages the silk but I really don't know that it's true. I worked at a dry cleaner's way back in high school and I'm sure that's where I heard it. I'd love to know if anyone else ever heard this or if it was an excuse the dry cleaner used when something got ruined!

JT
  
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