Well, the dress experiment with the Orvus soap has been carried out according to the instructions. On the bright side, I did not ruin the dress, and it is cleaner and fresher overall.
The Orvus soap concentrate was ordered from the Lindley General Store in Meaford, Ontario. The instructions said to use one tablespoon of the highly concentrated liquid soap, in a bath tub full of water. I used a bit more than that, probably two tablespoons. I considered soaking the dress for hours, but thought I better just follow the instructions on the bottle.
Overall, the dress tolerated the wet wash very well. It is too bad it was not washed by the original owner after wearing it to a wedding. But hindsight does not work that well on something that is over seventy years old. The dress had been hemmed, but definitely looks better as a longer dress, than it did when it was hemmed. The mannequin is over six feet tall, so on a shorter person, this dress would be a full maxi length.
Conclusion – Never one to give up easily, I think it might work to try a longer soak using the anionic soap. The dress did tolerate the first wash very well. It stands to reason that it could take several hours to permeate the fibres and lift out stains, considering the age of the dress.
From what I have read about this type of soap, it has the chemical properties to get deep into the fabric. It also makes sense that seven to ten minutes of soaking, would not be enough time to penetrate the fabric.
Interesting to note, Orvus soap is used by quilters, and for cleaning antique quilts. It is also used for cleaning and preserving certain antique linens and textiles. However, the initial and most widespread use was for washing horses. No wonder race horses have such beautiful manes and coats!
The dress looks good though, and has a beautifully designed waist band and skirt. We’re almost there. I am thinking positive – for now anyway!
The before and after pictures:
Before Orvus soap treatment. The hem had been turned up and was let down to the original length before washingBefore the Orvus soap treatmentThis photo was taken after the Orvus soap wash and letting the hem downThe underarm marks are still visible
Studying a beautiful garden party dress worn to a wedding in 1949, I have been trying to decide how to clean and restore it to its original beauty. It has been a bit of a dilemma. I certainly do not want to ruin the dress. But, it needs deep cleaning due to underarm stains. In addition, on the underside of the skirt, you can see where it was hemmed, due to dirt on the original hem.
To begin with, this dress was full length, since the hem is large, measuring eight and a half inches. I think it would be ideal to restore it to the full length. So the folded part of the skirt and hemline would have to come clean as well. My intuition tells me it is better to avoid dry cleaning chemicals on this one. It seems to need a full soak.
There are very few vintage dresses I would immerse in water. I usually do not buy anything that is not clean, and take things for a light dry cleaning when the item sells. Many vintage fabrics cannot be washed. If the dress has lining, it is even riskier because the lining or the exterior might shrink or discolour.
The only vintage items that can be washed are things with a certain kind of fabric, like cotton and some rayons. You cannot wash most luxury items to include things with lining, pleats, ruching, beadwork, laidwork, sequins, pin-tucking, etc. Nor can you wash most designer silk scarves.
Just as a word of caution, to avoid giving the wrong idea that a gentle soap with accolades for restoration of vintage textiles, does not mean its use applies to all vintage textiles.
I spot washed and soaked the under arms, and the fabric seems strong enough to take getting wet. The dress is fairly heavy overall. The fabric has woven pink flowers throughout. It is a unique style for the era, as it has a drop waist with a big bow at the back.
Since the fabric seems okay to get wet, and the dress has underarm stains that did fade with some spot washing, I decided this dress is a candidate for Orvus soap. It is the anionic and gentle properties of this soap that actually permeate and penetrate the fabric.
To share my own educational experience, I will post a before and after picture, hoping to bring this beautiful dress to a full state of restoration. Then it just might be ready to go dancing at another wedding party in 2021!
