Gail Wolfenden-Steib Phonenix AZ
Free Lance Painter/Dyer &
Costume Technician
Get your dirty costume or get your costume dirty…..
Get a plastic tub (bigger the better—you want room to suspend the costume) of room temp water with mild detergent (ivory snow or something without bleach) or synthropol (my favorite—it traps dye particles)
Get a towel(s) you don’t care about
The Bra Top
• If the cup is made of buckram (white meshy looking stuff)….
• Spot clean the interior with soap and water or a bit of stain stick using an old wash cloth (test for color fastness first!)
• Swish it quickly in the tub of water/soap. You can let the straps linger a bit longer in the water. Rinse in room temp tap water (not hot, not cold)
• Pat it dry with the towel. You may or may not have color bleed so don’t use your best towel for this number.
• Find a surface you can pin a wet bra to that will not hate you afterwards and is reasonably stiff. Homosote board with plastic cover, bulletin board with plastic, sofa pillow with plastic—you get the idea…
• Pin the bra flat and taught on the board. Stuff the cups to shape. If you don’t, you’ll have fun funky shapes when they dry. This is bad. If you are in a wet place (I’m not—deserts have perks) put a fan on it so it has help drying.
• Repeat process as needed. It’s better to wash the item a couple of times than to leave it soak until you have an idea of how it behaves in water. Be sure to change out the water when it gets yucky with dye or dirt.
The Belts
• Spot clean the interior with soap and water or a bit of stain stick using an old wash cloth (test for color fastness first!)
• I do not recommend submerging these unless they are really foul. Most belts are made on the buckram base and long exposure to water is a bad idea. If you do have to clean one, it’s a quick swish in the soapy tub and fast rinse. Be sure to pin back into shape as they dry.
The Skirts
• Most fabrics from the mid east run like no tomorrow. It’s very important to test for color fastness before attempting to wash.
• Synthropol is highly recommended for this part!
• If it’s suitably color fast, swish in the tub for about 30 seconds then rinse.
• Lay it onto a thick towel and roll it to get the water out. Do NOT wring. Repeat as necessary, changing towels in between if there is a lot of color transfer. Be sure to fold the towel up so the skirt isn’t rolling onto itself.
• Lay flat to dry on a towel. Once it’s just damp you can drape it over a clothes line or hang it to finish drying. In some wet climates you’ll never get it to dry on the towel.
• Repeat process as needed. It’s better to wash the item a couple of times than to leave it soak until you have an idea of how it behaves in water. Be sure to change out the water when it gets yucky with dye or dirt.
Ombre dyed tribal skirts
These big layered skirts can be washed but you can only wash one color at a time. Follow the steps for the basic skirt on each half. You will have dye transferring on these so use big old towels. Lay flat to dry. Once it’s mostly dry/damp you can hang it to finish drying. The reason you dry them flat is to prevent and more bias dip on the hem. They never are even and if you hang it wet it’ll only make it worse.
Metal Beads
A quick tip on the care of those pesky plastic beads that lose their silver, gold or general color—buy paint pens from your local hobby shop and recolor them. My brand of choice is Testors. You can find a variety of colors nowadays. Sometimes they are by the scrapbooking supplies.
Removing Pen Marks
Hairspray will remove pen marks on most fabric. I hate it when beading either comes loose or you alter a garment to find they drew the design on in ink pen. Spray hairspray on the offending mark so it pools and let it sit (over a jar is always good if at all possible so the spray has a place to drip into)—blot with clean towel. Repeat as needed. As always check for color fastness on an out of the way area.
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