The best way to wash your work after finishing?

tcca

This is my method for DMC on linen..

Warm water and dawn dish soap (the blue one, not any of the scented ones) - and soak the piece in it for 10 - 15 minutes and swish it about a bit - you should see the water get amazingly dirty - you don't realize how dirty your piece is until you look at the water when you wash it. Then pour the water out and rinse a few times, then repeat again with warm water and dawn and soak for 10 minutes - to make sure that this time your water is clean. If the water is still dirty, repeat again and again until you get a clean soak water.

Once it is completely clean, lay it flat on a towel, and then roll it up in the towel to soak up as much water as possible. I usually let it sit that way for an hour or more, basically let it sit there and go do something else. Then open it up, lay it face down on a dry towel and lay a piece of cotton or muslin over the back and press it with a hot iron. Do NOT 'iron' it, but press, which means that you put the iron down in one spot, then lift it up and put it down again in a different spot. Do no move the iron around while it is down.  Keep doing this until the fabric is completely wrinkle free - even if it is not completely dry and then STOP. Let it remain laying there until it is completely dry.

It sounds complicated, but it really isn't. And the end result is perfect every time.

As a side note - I use the exact same technique for all my hand knitted items, but I don't iron. Wash by soaking and swishing in dawn, roll in a towel to soak up extra water, then lay flat and shape it to the size it's suppose to be and let it air dry. This will get you the best results with fit, and make your items last a lot longer too!  

Mary.Jane

magenta13 replied at 2013-5-19 08:14

                               
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Be very, very careful!!!!  It depends on the floss you've used.  DMC claim their floss is washable,  ...

Excellent post, magenta13.  I also have had issues with red dyes, even just using a steam iron.  I really hesitate to wash anything, and so am extremely careful to stitch with very clean hands.

tcca

Oh.. one thing I suggest is to NOT use woolite like someone mentioned. It really isn't all that good for your clothes and any residue accidently left over in it, even the slightest bit, could have a very bad effect on your piece in the long term. I don't even use it for my wool items - those depending on what yarn it's made of, I either toss in the washing machine (for hand knit socks made of superwash wool - I am not handwashing my socks!!!) or hand wash in Eucelan, which is made especially for wool and is a soak, rather than a detergent, so you don't have to rinse it all out - it conditions the wool too.

Keiryn

I've always used blue Dawn dish soap and lukewarm water. I let the piece soak for 24 hours, then change the soap/water solution and let it soak for another 24 hours. I then do the same routine to rinse, but with cold water. When that is complete I roll it between a towel, then iron on the wrong side to completely dry it.

I've never had a problem with DMC bleeding.

I've found that when I let the piece soak for such a long period of time the stitches seems to come back to life. They puff up a little bit and the fibers of the thread lay flat.

Jully

Just careful washing in a little warm water with a mild detergent (I use baby shampoo). Problems can only be if there are a lot of red shades in the work - then only cold water.

bluedales

If I have to wash my stitching I use Quilt Soap (Orvus paste) never had any problems.

Sylvana

I wash my work in a little warm water and detergent for fine linnen.

mamounette

un lavage a l'eau tiede avec un savon doux ou autre , un rinçage , puis je la pose sur une serviette eponge que je roule pour l'essorer en douceur , et séchage soit sur un cintre si la dimension convient

DianaC

Я стираю работу в теплой воде с шампунем, у меня специально куплена большая бутылка Пантин, с дозатором. Для меня Пантин, теперь традиционное средство для стирки вышивки.

Chase21500

New to stitching and afraid to wash and ruin my piece.