Penneys 1950s mens shirt w/staining need advice.

Lark Aspen

Registered Guest
I have an extremely handsome button up mens Penneys brand shirt from the 50s/early 60s but it has some intense speckled staining on one arm. This shirt is such a gorgeous gem and I want to figure out a way to make it look wonderful again. The problem is it is an acetate/nylon blend (sounds odd but it has that sweet silk/gab look to it). It has a loop collar and is a pinkish color. I really wanted to dye it and bought an expensive dye w/out reading the fact that acetate/nylon can not be dyed. I have both procion cold water dye and some higher end Dylon dye. Can I use either of these even to just give it a bit of color and help cover the light spotting on the arm? Any other ideas of something I could do to snazzy this shirt up? Would patching with a cool fabric look ridiculous? Because of the fabric blend will I risk shrinking putting it into water? Besides the staining the fabric is in good sturdy condition. I have been selling/collecting and working with vintage clothing since I was a teen and am now in my late 30s so I have decent hand sewing and other skills. I am open to any ideas anyone may have and really need advice about the fabric situation as I am not familiar with how water may affect this shirt. I know one option is to make this a short sleeve shirt but I would just hate to ruin the over all look and hope this will be a last resort.
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Hi, I can't see the staining you describe can you get some photos of it in daylight?
I would not attempt to dye it, given the dyes state they will not take to this fabric you may find the thread is cotton and will be the only part to take the dye, leading to a very contrasting look. In addition to this you may get an irregular colour 'wash' over the fabric where the dye sat when it could not go into the fabric that would ruin it.
 
There are specialist dyes for synthetic fabrics like nylon but as Melanie states, the thread is likely to be pure cotton and so you will get a difference of shade. Another alternative is to see if you can get rid of it via stain removal. You've probably already exhausted the possibilities there, and synthetic fabrics tend to hold onto stains.
 
Hi, I can't see the staining you describe can you get some photos of it in daylight?
I would not attempt to dye it, given the dyes state they will not take to this fabric you may find the thread is cotton and will be the only part to take the dye, leading to a very contrasting look. In addition to this you may get an irregular colour 'wash' over the fabric where the dye sat when it could not go into the fabric that would ruin it.
Thank you so much for the response. It is greatly appreciated. The very last photo shows some of the staining which looks like small yellowish brown spots the size of a pencils eraser.
 
speckled staining makes me immediately think of foxing. i can't tell by your photo if it is foxing or not, but if it is, folex will remove it. it's a carpet/upholstery cleaner sold in many grocery stores in the u.s., or hardware stores.
 
Cat Books- Thanks so much for the tip. I am going to try it tonight after I hit the grocery store. Also: Thanks for the responses to my question Circa and Pinkcoke! These Fashion Guild Forums are magical! I am so thrilled to have found them. I actually did not try any stain removers because I was not sure of the effect that water would have on this fabric but I am ready to try now so any other advice about that would be great as well. Hopefully the Folex works.
 
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