Cleaning early 1900s printed polished cotton?

[DaisyandStella]

Hi!
I have a gorgeous 2pc dress set I believe to be early 1900s in a lovely lilac bow print polished cotton with lace trim and a cotton lined petticoat.

The skirt hem has some staining and I’d love any advice on cleaning. I’ve cleaned antique cotton before but never a print on polished cotton or cotton sateen. Any issues you can foresee if I were to gently soak the skirt in lukewarm water with orvus? Not sure if I should attempt to treat the stained portion?

I’d appreciate any advice.

Thank you!
Brooke

 

[Jonathan]

The rule of thumb I use is always start with the least and work your way up, so a long soak in cold water (for a few hours) to see what happens is a good place to start...

 

[DaisyandStella]

The rule of thumb I use is always start with the least and work your way up, so a long soak in cold water (for a few hours) to see what happens is a good place to start...

Thank you Jonathan!

 

[Rue_de_la_Paix]

I have washed this type of fabric before with mixed results. Often it does lose a bit of the "hand" of the fabric, getting softer but that is a reasonable price to pay to remove stains and dirt. I hope I am wrong, but that may be staining from mold or mildew which probably means the dyes have been permanently changed and will not return to the purple shade. It looks to be a very pretty garment so I wish you good luck!

 

[DaisyandStella]

I have washed this type of fabric before with mixed results. Often it does lose a bit of the "hand" of the fabric, getting softer but that is a reasonable price to pay to remove stains and dirt. I hope I am wrong, but that may be staining from mold or mildew which probably means the dyes have been permanently changed and will not return to the purple shade. It looks to be a very pretty garment so I wish you good luck!

Thank you Barbara! I never considered it could possibly be mold or mildew as it appears more like rust / blood? I will start the cleaning process tomorrow so I hope to see some results! Do you think I could put retayne in the water to make sure there is no dye bleed?

 

[anothertimevintageapparel]

Have you ever used Restoration? I always had good results with this product on antique garments, white and colored.
It may lift the staining slightly with many soaks.

 

[DaisyandStella]

Have you ever used Restoration? I always had good results with this product on antique garments, white and colored.
It may lift the staining slightly with many soaks.

I haven't tried that yet. Can you point me in the right direction to where I can find it to buy?

 

[MagsRags]

Amazon carries it - please consider using our Amazon link in the upper toolbar - the VFG will make a small commission. Search for Restoration fabric cleaner.

ETA, it's actually one of the recommended products in the VFG Amazon Shop, which is at the top of the Amazon links, in the Care and Cleaning Products
https://www.amazon.com/shop/vintage...UM0Y40DWOC?ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_s_ofs_mixed_d

 

[DaisyandStella]

Amazon carries it - please consider using our Amazon link in the upper toolbar - the VFG will make a small commission. Search for Restoration fabric cleaner.

ETA, it's actually one of the recommended products in the VFG Amazon Shop, which is at the top of the Amazon links, in the Care and Cleaning Products
https://www.amazon.com/shop/vintage...UM0Y40DWOC?ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_s_ofs_mixed_d

Thank you!