Thread: My silk veils feel funky...

So I've been storing my silk veils in plastic bags (not with all the air pushed out) for a while now, and the silk feels different. It's not as soft as it used to be and one of them almost feels a bit plastic-y. Has this happened to anyone else? Should I store them a different way? Am I imagining things?

Thanks!

Not sure, but could the plastic have degraded?

I once stored a bedspread in a green plastic bag, where ever the plastic touched the fabric...it turned it dark greyish, green.
Thankfully it was on the bedspread's underside.

(I won't do that again!)

I hope someone here know's a way for you to restore your veils.

not sure if you can restore the veils, but I recommend rolling veils in acid free tissue paper (archival quality- you can get it at the dress/wedding shop) or using an acid free poster tube. added benefit of the tube- less ironing needed! Either that or I hang it with a slacks hanger. I've had all kinds of discoloration & such even with clear ziploc.

Oops! Was equals 'once'.
W
Finally able to correct post (couldn't from BlackBerry)

Yikes the problem here is, the wrong action could ruin the veil.
Dry cleaning at a professional cleaner is probably the safest thing. Take along the bag it was stored in. They've probably seen this before.
Slightly more risky is using a home dry clean product like Dryell, or even just a fabric softener sheet.
Some silk can be washed in cold water, some bleed and run when wet. If it's washable, then a gentle hand wash in cold water with a tiny bit of detergent & fabric softener might help. But, if the silk bleeds when wet, this could also ruin it!!

No clue how to fix this particular problem aside from washing it with gentle detergent if the silk is washable.

However, I do have a suggestion for storage. I store all my belly dance stuff in pillowcases. I know there are also some allergen reducing pillow coverings that have zippers on them. The cotton pillowcase allows the fabric or costume to breathe and it doesn't really "melt".

Another option is to store your belly dance stuff in a shoebox. I use my husband's because they are bigger. Everything stores easily and is stackable. Plus you can easily label the shoeboxes.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by nitewindz

Yikes the problem here is, the wrong action could ruin the veil.
Dry cleaning at a professional cleaner is probably the safest thing. Take along the bag it was stored in. They've probably seen this before.
Slightly more risky is using a home dry clean product like Dryell, or even just a fabric softener sheet.
Some silk can be washed in cold water, some bleed and run when wet. If it's washable, then a gentle hand wash in cold water with a tiny bit of detergent & fabric softener might help. But, if the silk bleeds when wet, this could also ruin it!!

fabric softener sheets can stain silk.