How to preserve/restore 50's dress (child size)

Robin of Frocksley

Robin of Frocksley

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This piece has great sentimental value for me and my mom. It's a sweet dress from the 50's that she loved to wear as a child. She recently gave me the dress and a 1957 portrait of her in the dress. I'd love to clean and repair the dress if it's possible to do so without damaging it. Normally I would gently soak and hand wash/line dry a piece like this, but ? There is a built-in net crinoline (one layer of netting) if that makes a difference. Also, there is a small tear that I would like to stop from spreading. Any help or ideas on washing and mending would be great! Thanks so much.
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If the built in netting is nylon there is no problem, if its starched cotton, it will become limp and misshapen as it dries. ALWAYS do the repairs to tears first before laundering or you will risk making it worse. Back the tear with some cotton (I would use something closest as possible to the colour of the dress) and spot stitch it in place.
 
Hi Robin! I suspect it will be just fine to wash it. After all, children's clothes were intended to be cleaned, and it's probably been washed many times. As Jonathan says, repair it before you wash it so the tear doesn't get larger.

Turn it inside out, and take a small piece of prewashed fabric of the same type and weight (cotton) and just stitch it in place behind the hole. You can use a bit of the dress's own fabric to make the patch. Take it from an interior seam allowance or from the hem.

I'd hand wash with a gentle detergent and hang or lay flat to dry. Then press or steam it. And that's that.

To store it, don't wrap it in tissue paper, put it in a box, or set it on a wooden shelf -- all three will destroy it over time unless you feel like investing in expensive archival items. There's no need. You can store old textiles flat or gently rolled (not folded) in an old, clean (without fabric softener) all-cotton pillow case or laundry bag. If you want to hang it in the closet, use plastic hangers, not metal or wood.
 
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