Washing hand painted skirt

N

Nbake

Registered Guest
Hi,

I just purchased a beautiful hand-painted Mexican circle skirt, black pattern on what appears to be white cotton. Can anyone tell me the best way to clean it? Is dry cleaning safe (it does not have any sequins)? Also, it has a few stains small stains that I would like to remove, but they are not very noticeable and would rather leave them than ruin the skirt. A few sites recommend hand-washing and using Oxyclean for the stains, but I am nervous about the hand-painted aspect of the skirt. Will the paint wash off or run?

Thanks much!
 
My only experience was horrific! I had a beautiful hand painted Japanese shirt a while back and tried to "gently" rinse some set in dust out~ instead rinsed out some of the paint and it settled in other areas. :damnit:

There may be ways around it, but my motto is when in doubt, DON"T!
 
Thanks for the responses. It occurred to me that hand-painted Mexican circle skirts are kind of a vintage staple and I have never seen one for sale with "damage due to washing" disclosed. Also, they were made for the tourist trade in large numbers on sturdy cotton so they are probably washable.

I was able to cut a 1/4" wide strip of fabric from an interior seam. I washed this strip in the manner that I want to wash the skirt (Oxyclean and Woolite in a cold water bath) and it came out just fine. I am going to proceed with washing the skirt. Fingers crossed.

I'll post an update with the result.
 
If it is washable (colour fast) it will say so on the label - look for something like 'lavable'.

If you can't find that then I would send it to a dry cleaner. Some of the Mexican skirts were not such high quality as others and the colour runs. You would be left with unsightly bleeding, which you will never eradicate.
 
What you did, taking a strip from an inseam and testing, is excellent! Good luck, and do let us know!
 
Hi,

Here is a pic of the skirt. Not being a big fan of bright colors and sequins, I usually pass over these skirts, but I fell in love with this one.

Her label does not indicate that she is washable and a quick internet search of the label (Creaciones Naitan) brought up an example of the label for a skirt that is washable. So, even though the test wash turned out well I think that I will have it dry cleaned after all. I just have to find a good cleaner. I am new to this area (Seattle) and have not found one yet.

Thanks so much to everyone who offered advise on this. I really appreciate it!
 
gosh, that is so cool!! love love love the black and white, it's so dramatic!!

we've got some west coasters here, maybe someone can toss out some good dry cleaners for you :)
 
Are You selling it -on an auction/ Does It really need dry cleanning? If It is for you & a personal goodie, I would air it outand try to max the wearing life a little longer before cleaning. After that I would still not Dry Clean . I would wash it in cold if there are stains by hand if no stains , Air out , I would spray the painted area with scotch guard and soak in a luke-warm bath of water with Woolight. Hang to dry out of the Sun!! Steam and if Iron is nessasary, do that inside out. Not dirrectly on the painted area. Again, Please only was the skirt if it is an unwerable soil. Otherwise, know that it is a treasure from the past and should be treated with Great care!
Dry Cleaning Is The Devil!!!
 
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