Can I hand wash 100% rayon?
Keith G.
wait to have it dry cleaned or spend the money. What will be the result
if I hand wash it gently? It is a little too big on me, so a little
shrinkage wouldn't be terrible, but I don't want to distort the binding
which is around the front and neckline. Any advice?
I need to know as soon as possible, so please e-mail me
directly...Thanks!
Tarla
c...@inmind.com
Christian & Loretta Schuler
It will shrink- alot. Plus it will shrink around the binding while the
binding itself will not shrink. Basically, handwashing will do
everything that you don't want to happen. Sorry.
Lori
--
Christian & Lori Schuler
Bedford, IN USA
email: csch...@tima.com
WWW: http://www.tima.com/~cschuler
Lois Frankel
>
> It will shrink- alot. Plus it will shrink around the binding while the
> binding itself will not shrink. Basically, handwashing will do
> everything that you don't want to happen. Sorry.
I've handwashed rayon fairly often, in cool water, with no problems.
--------------------
Lois Frankel (lfra...@pluto.njcc.com)
All ideas in this message are mine, and any resemblance to ideas of
anyone else--real, imaginary, living, dead, employer, coworker, friend,
enemy, neighbor, spouse, pet, family member, insect, microorganism,
or potted plant--is purely coincidental, not to mention highly unlikely.
Roxanne Dunstan
>
>I have a nice 100% rayon outfit and it needs cleaned. I don't want to
>wait to have it dry cleaned or spend the money. What will be the
result
>if I hand wash it gently? It is a little too big on me, so a little
>shrinkage wouldn't be terrible, but I don't want to distort the
binding
>which is around the front and neckline. Any advice?
>I need to know as soon as possible, so please e-mail me
>directly...Thanks!
>
>Tarla
>c...@inmind.com
Hi Tarla,
This is what I do, which may or may not be acceptable to you. I
wash my rayon outfits in a large mesh bag on the gentle cycle, cold
water, only agitate 4 minutes. Then I put it in the dryer for 4
minutes just to get wrinkles out, then air dry for 4 more minutes, and
hang to dry. So far this has worked for me, no problems.
Rox :-)
DDuperault
>>I have a nice 100% rayon outfit and it needs cleaned. I don't want to
>>wait to have it dry cleaned or spend the money. What will be the
>>result if I hand wash it gently?
It will probably be fine. I have several 100% rayon blouses that say
to hand wash cold. I have to admit I throw them in the washer with the
rest of my dark clothing (they're dark blouses) in the regular cotton wash
cycle. They've gone through 5 years of wear with no adverse effects from
this treatment. The bleach I spilled on the navy blouse, however, made
permanent spots. I don't generally use bleach in the dark wash, though. :)
Dawn
Batgirl was a Librarian, too.
http:\\www.he.net\~dduperal\
Brenda and Larry Clough
to iron it. The only flaw in a perfectly lovely fiber.
Brenda
cindy foster
a lot. My mom taught me to hang them so that the weight of the waistband
helps knock out wrinkle. I'd probably try hanging a jacket from the hem
to see if that helped with the wrinkling.
Also, TEST THE DYE first. I had a great rayon print that someone
accidently spilt water on while I was wearing it and I had black dye
running down my leg -- it was awesome. If something like that happens,
send it to the cleaners one or two times to set the dye and then test
again to if you can wash it.
In fact, I started washing rayon (I do it in the tub, just agitate
briefly and then let it soak there) after reading about doing it here in
this group. I've saved a bundle of money.
Mirabelle Severn & Thames
In article <qnvexwri/BhE0...@pluto.njcc.com>,
>> It will shrink- alot. Plus it will shrink around the binding while the
>> binding itself will not shrink. Basically, handwashing will do
>> everything that you don't want to happen. Sorry.
>I've handwashed rayon fairly often, in cool water, with no problems.
>Lois Frankel (lfra...@pluto.njcc.com)
I hand-washed a rayon open-work dress for years - no problem,
no shrinking, no running. Its tag *said* "hand wash".
So I decided I could wash a rayon blouse & skirt set, even
though the tag said "dry clean only".
Someday, I'll get around to resetting the zipper in the skirt,
where the rayon shrunk and puckered all around it, and turning
the formerly long sleeves, with button cuffs, into short sleeves,
since I can't button the cuffs where they now fall on my forearms.
Oh, and I need to re-hem the skirt, because it's flared, and the
bias edges shrunk a lot more than the on-grain edges.
I'm just glad the blouse was full enough that it will still fit
around my chest.
You have been warned.
Naomi Brokaw
from California's central coast
rob...@net.ice.au
> >
> > I have a nice 100% rayon outfit and it needs cleaned. I don't want to
> > wait to have it dry cleaned or spend the money. What will be the result
> > shrinkage wouldn't be terrible, but I don't want to distort the binding
> > which is around the front and neckline. Any advice?
> > I need to know as soon as possible, so please e-mail me
> > directly...Thanks!
> >
> > Tarla
> > c...@inmind.com
Yes, if it was not shrunk prior to making up, it will shrink in the wash
now.
Di
Hobart, Tasmania
Smedwards
problem. I don't ever dry thoroughly in the dryer but about 1/2 way dry
and then hang to dry. From reading other posts, I guess I'm lucky. If I
have to dryclean everything - ugh - it's not worth it to me. I only do
that to jackets and something very special. Diann
Lisa Teichmann
> >wait to have it dry cleaned or spend the money. What will be the
> result
> >if I hand wash it gently? It is a little too big on me, so a little
> >shrinkage wouldn't be terrible, but I don't want to distort the
> binding
> >which is around the front and neckline. Any advice?
> >I need to know as soon as possible, so please e-mail me
> >directly...Thanks!
> >
> >Tarla
> >c...@inmind.com
>
> This is what I do, which may or may not be acceptable to you. I
> wash my rayon outfits in a large mesh bag on the gentle cycle, cold
> water, only agitate 4 minutes. Then I put it in the dryer for 4
> minutes just to get wrinkles out, then air dry for 4 more minutes, and
> hang to dry. So far this has worked for me, no problems.
>
> Rox :-)
I guess I'm just really cheap, but I have a lot of rayon outfits for
work that I just dump in the washing machine on delicate, and then throw
in the dryer. With a few of my skirts, if it's nice out I dry them on
the line (this reduces a lot of the wrinkles if it is very windy out).
It costs $6.50 to dry clean a dress here and that's just too much dough!
Lisa
Alison Meyer
<clo...@erols.com> wrote:
> However you wash the rayon, it's sure as God made apples that you'll have
> to iron it. The only flaw in a perfectly lovely fiber.
That's for certain. I'm making a number of rayon challis shells for a
friend (for money, too. What a good relationship!) and it's the first
time I've really used it. Besides the wonderful feel and drape, it's so
cooperative! I brought home the fabric, threw it in the machine in a cold
wash/cold rinse gentle cycle, hung it on the line to dry. . .and then
spent hours ironing. But even there it cooperated. Unlike cottons that
require lots of heat and pressure and steam and still look a bit wrinkly,
the rayon went smooth with very little effort at all. I've got some more
challis in my stash, and 10 pounds from now, I'm making myself a bunch of
new clothes!
laurie prendergast
fabric was treated by the manufacturer during garment construction. As
with all fabrics, if it was already pre-shrunk, it will be fine. However,
if it says dry clean only you have no way of knowing whether it was
preshrunk to the max prior to sewing up; it could shrink alot, or just a
little.
Times like these, I think that you are just going to have to gamble; if
it's something that will just upset you if it shrinks, don't do it. It's
cheaper to do the dry cleaning than to buy another outfit.
Julie Heynssens
I always give it a good prewash test. If it survives the first wash, the
shrinkage will be minimal from then on. I've found that especially with rayon
quality matters. The cheap stuff is never the same after washing while the
good stuff you can wash over and over again with no problem.
Have Fun,
Julie
Sharon Beach
dresses on sale at a store in Toronto, without first reading the "dry
clean only" labels in them. I couldn't afford that so I took the chance
and washed them, but I ended up with rags.
The rayon of the '90's seems to be much more resilient. I bought some
rayon challis from Fabricland (3 metres for the price of one!) a few
years ago, and made a lightweight loose-fitting jumper/sleeveless dress,
perfect for the whole year. I've worn it at least 2-3 times a month over
about 2 years, washing it after each wearing. I hang it after it tumbles
about halfway dry, and I don't even have to iron it anymore; it's as if
it has a memory of the first few times I ironed it!
Since then I've bought 4 more 3-metre pieces from similar Fabricland
sales, and maybe one day I'll find the time to make up the last 3 of them
I have left...maybe even in the '90's.
Sharon B.
Rina Abzug
Hey all.
There are lots of nice comments on Rayon, and I love the fabric myself.
Nevertheless, the prints I find in the fabric stores are U-G-L-Y. (and
way expensive, too.) Does anyone know a suitable *cheap* place to buy
this stuff?
Much obbliged,
Rina
*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*
---Of course my views are my own!!!
rab...@gl.umbc.edu Rina Abzug
---*---*---VOTE FOR III IN THE SGA ELECTIONS---*---*---*--*
APRIL 24 AND 25
Alice
Alison Meyer (ali...@datalife.com) wrote:
: cooperative! I brought home the fabric, threw it in the machine in a cold
: wash/cold rinse gentle cycle, hung it on the line to dry. . .and then
: spent hours ironing. But even there it cooperated. Unlike cottons that
: require lots of heat and pressure and steam and still look a bit wrinkly,
: the rayon went smooth with very little effort at all. I've got some more
Alison, rayon is cooperative to a degree, but be careful to not stretch
it.
Alice
mud...@halcyon.com
Alice
laurie prendergast (lau...@mcet.edu) wrote:
: Times like these, I think that you are just going to have to gamble; if
: it's something that will just upset you if it shrinks, don't do it. It's
: cheaper to do the dry cleaning than to buy another outfit.
I have found that a rayon/acetate mixture is far more likely to have
shrinkage problems then rayon by itself.
Alice
mud...@halcyon.com
Ngai Kwan
The one thing that hasn't been mentioned is that rayon dye is not always
colorfast. I handwashed a dryclean only rayon pant. They came out fine
except that the dye ran unevenly. It's got a woodgrain design on it now.
Test a corner of your garment before you try to handwash it.
--
ngai
(now only 6 garments and 6 weeks to go!!)
Carolyn
>However you wash the rayon, it's sure as God made apples that you'll have
>to iron it. The only flaw in a perfectly lovely fiber.
I wash rayon in cold water, then line dry. It often looks wrinkled when
it comes out of the washer, but the wrinkles disappear when it's dry.
This has worked for me with challis, the linen-looks and wovens.
--
car...@teleport.com
Carol Morgan
I do it all the time. BUT - eventually shrinkage will occur in SOME
rayons. I can get about 2 years out of a garment tho. Wash it in cool
water with gentle soap - QUICKLY. I'm convinced minimizing the time in
water is very helpful. I line dry, then iron while damp.
Robin Colleen Moore
>Alice
>mud...@halcyon.com
I think it all depends on the particular outfit, type of rayon fabric,
etc.--challis usually seems to be the most cooperative as far as being
washable, in my experience. If I want to make something out of rayon, I
always prewash & dry the fabric first (challis goes in the washer & dryer)--if
it's going to shrink, it generally does it then and gets it over with.
As far as ready-to-wear, though, my suggestion would be to fill your sink
w/the appropriate proportions of cold water & Woolite, find a small
inconspicuous corner of the item in question, and dunk, rinse, and let it dry.
If that part of it does OK, then you stand a decent chance of being able to
hand wash the entire garment. BTW, I've had a couple of rayon outfits that
bleed every single time they're washed, but so far the color is holding
up--the biggest offender is a rayon-acetate jumper that shrank down just
enough so that I didn't have to take it in. Has anyone tried the overnight
soaking in cold salt water routine to set the colors on rayons, and does it
work?
One more question: Is it true that rayons frequently have a tendency to smell
really nasty when wet? I bought 1/2 a yard of rayon crepe to use as a trial
run for a dress I'd like to do--the label says dry clean only, so I thought
I'd test washing & drying it to see if it held up or not. So far, I've
handwashed it, and it doesn't seem to have shrunk, *but* it smelled horribly
of dyes & chemicals, and I can still smell it on the fabric even now that it's
washed & dried. My roommate swears this is common, and that's one of the
reasons for the dry clean only label, but I can't help but think that using
chemicals to clean something like this would only make it worse. (Also, it's
red fabric, and it bled like hell...<sigh>) I really like the material, and
the price would be right for a dress (just over $3/yd.), as it's on the sale
table...although I'm starting to think I know why no one ever bought it!
Suggestions? Advice?
Robin the mad photographer (who *hates* drycleaning)
ro...@mindspring.com--Beware of photographers bearing brownies...
Mama Hen/Net Goddess/Mad Photographer/Mighty Morphin Power Yenta
"What do you *mean*, I can't be a queen? It's *undemocratic*!"
E-mail me for info on the Reznor heater/alt.music.nin t-shirts!
AuntDodo3
This very same thing happened to me when I bought a generic type of Polar
Fleece. I've washed it several times and still can't get the smell out. :(
Alison Meyer
In article <4lrnc7$j...@news1.halcyon.com>, mud...@coho.halcyon.com (Alice
) wrote:
>
> Alison, rayon is cooperative to a degree, but be careful to not stretch
> it.
It gave me a bit of trouble sliding while I was trying to line it up for
cutting, but for the most part it didn't get out of shape at all. I don't
know if there will be trouble with stretching now that it's a garment, but
I think that gentle washing and drip drying should be fine, right?
carolyn...@gmail.com
I will never hand wash a 100% rayon item that says dry clean on the label again. I just dry cleaned my favorite dress of all time, and noticed that the cleaners didn't get the sweat stains out like they said they would. So, I asked if there was anything I could do to get the stains out. One of the guys working there said it depends on the fabric, he looked at the garment, and recommended soaking the stained part in water with oxyclean in a sink if I didn't have a top loading washer.
I just did this and shrunk my most favorite dress!!!!! I can't believe the guy at the cleaners gave me completely WRONG, WRONG, WRONG advise. The rayon got hard as soon as it touched the water, and when I pulled the dress out, it looked like it shrunk 2 to 3 sizes. I am so incredibly upset, especially since I had just dry cleaned it, and gotten the wrong advise from guy at the cleaners! He didn't look at the label, and I think he must have thought it was polyester. Anyway, don't hand wash it if you don't want it to shrink alot! This was not a cheap dress.
ItsJoanNotJoann
>
> I will never hand wash a 100% rayon item that says dry clean on the label again.
>
>
Joy Beeson
<itsjoan...@webtv.net> wrote:
> Good grief. Another squirrel reviving an 18 year old thread.
responses to old posts.
--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net
ItsJoanNotJoann
> On Mon, 10 Nov 2014 18:16:10 -0800 (PST), ItsJoanNotJoann
> <itsjoan...@webtv.net> wrote:
>
>
> > Good grief. Another squirrel reviving an 18 year old thread.
>
> I'm getting really, really bored with your excited responses to
> responses to old posts.
>
>
Joy Beeson
BEI Design
without first reading it?
David Scheidt
--
sig 29
BEI Design
before determining whether or not the sender is kill-file worthy.
Certainly, using one's kill-file will eliminate the horror of
reading any future missives from a particular writer.
ItsJoanNotJoann
BEI Design
Perhaps Joy will regale us with one of her "I make underwear out of
linen" posts. <g>
Fran Farmer
was going on in this thread. I couldn't figure out how you knew the
post was so old since no information appears on my screen that gave any
date other than the date of the post to which you responded. Then you
mentioned it was 18 years old (a post from 1996) but the person who
posted has a sig of carolynwang2007. 1996 as opposed to a sig that has a
year of 2007 didn't make any sense to me.
I've now found out that I can use my program to open the post online and
see the whole thread. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I now
understand bit more about this non intuitive program I use for
newsgroups and I wouldn't have discovered that info if your comments
hadn't piqued my interest.