Cleaning Cross Stitch
The method you use to clean needlework depends on the type of
dirt or stain to be removed, and on the fabrics and threads used.
Before you clean any type of needlework, be sure that
it really does need cleaning. If you were careful when you
stitched,
it might be fine as it is.
CAUTION: Needlepoint should NOT be washed in soap and
water. Much of this page is for cross stitch, not
needlepoint. If you have a needlepoint that needs to be cleaned,
commercial dry cleaning may be your best choice.
Needlepoint canvas has a water soluble sizing that gives it body;
washing in soap and water will remove the sizing.
A needlework store in your area can probably recommend a good dry
cleaner to take your piece to. I would suggest
asking the dry cleaner to clean the piece, but not press it. The
needlepoint will come back wrinkled, but this will
come out when the piece is finished. Again, be sure you really need
to have it cleaned.
Cross stitch can usually be hand washed in soap and
water. Yarn Tree packages Orvus (a Procter and Gamble
trademarked product) in 8 oz. jars under the name FabriCare that we
recommend for detergent. You can find more
information on this product in our catalog by searching for FabriCare
above. The advantage of FabriCare (Orvus)
is that it does not contain any additives (which are usually oils),
and it dries to a powder (most detergents do not).
Before you use water to clean your cross stitch, make
sure that 100% of the materials you used are water safe.
The fabric and cotton floss are probably fine, although bright red
floss can sometimes bleed (see below). Be
sure to check things like embellishments, unusual threads, and so on.
Color bleeding when washing. Color 'bleeding' or
'running' is when the dye moves off of where it should
be, and attaches itself onto another area. It is usually red dye
bleeding onto light colored fabric. Fortunately,
it does not happen often, but you have to watch for it. The cause is
usually excess dye that was not completely
washed out of the threads in the dying process. This is why it is
recommended that you prewash red threads before
you stitch, but in practice very few people do this. What you do want
to do is watch carefully for any signs of
bleeding when you are hand washing. If you see any signs of bleeding,
stop washing, and start rinsing under running
cold water right away. Rinse for several minutes and then let it soak
in cold water while you decide how to
proceed. Do not let the stain dry.
Before you do anything, make sure that what you see is
really color bleeding. Often it is not bleeding, it is just
the thread on the back of the fabric. When the fabric is wet, it
becomes more transparent and any loose
threads on the back can make it look like the colors have run.
The longer a stain remains, the harder it is to remove;
so if you do have colors bleeding, it is better to decide how
you want to proceed soon. Still, take a few minutes to think about
what you want to do. You have two choices.
First, is there any way to cover the area that the the red dye bled
into? This sounds funny, but give it some
thought. Maybe it was a red flower that ran; maybe all you need to do
is stitch some more leaves and cover
it up. Maybe add a charm or embellishment. If you can do it, covering
up the stain is the best choice. If this
isn't an option, you need to try washing the red out. Usually this
requires some pretty aggressive scrubbing and
you need to balance removing the stain with damaging the fabric.
How to wash cross stitch
Use only cold water for the wash and rinse. Tap water
is fine unless you have very hard water, then you
will want to use distilled water. Make sure the sink and any
containers you will use are clean.
Pre-rinse the piece under cold, running water.
Place in a soapy cold water and gently wash. Do not
scrub. For detergent I recommend Yarn Tree's FabriCare,
but other products are available. Avoid soaps that have additives
such as fragrances, softeners, etc. Use
only a small amount of detergent.
If needed, rinse and wash a second time. DO NOT WRING
the water out; this is not necessary and can pull the stitches.
Rinse three times in cold water.
As you work, check carefully for any sign of color
bleeding, 'hoop marks' or other stains.
Remove the piece from the final rinse. Let the water
drain out of the fabric, but DO NOT WRING.
Place the cross stitch on a dry bath towel, and roll up
the towel (with the cross stitch still on the towel).
Unroll the towel and repeat on a dry section of the
towel (or another towel). Gently pressing on the rolled up
towel will remove all the water you need to remove. Repeat as
necessary.
Unroll the towel. Lay the cross stitch face up on a dry
section of the towel. If necessary, let the piece
air dry until it is just damp but not dripping wet.
Once again, check for any stains or marks. Once you
iron the piece, it will be even more difficult to remove any
stains.
Place the cross stitch FACE DOWN on a DRY BATH TOWEL.
Use an iron set to a low or medium temperature
and lightly press the BACK of the cross stitch. If you have beads,
special threads, etc. you want to be extra
careful with this step. Keep the iron constantly moving. If you have
not used that iron in a while, practice
on a scrap piece of cross stitch fabric. Make sure the steam setting
is 'off', and the iron is not 'spitting' steam.
For the temperature setting, keep in mind the types of materials you
used in the cross stitch; if there
is any question, use a lower temperature.
The cross stitch will still be slightly damp. Lay it
face up on the towel and allow to air dry.
Stain Removal
Below is a reprint of an article from the Smithsonian
Museum Conservation Institute. It has some very good
information on removing tough stains from needlework and textiles.
This information is for spot removal
of stains, not general cleaning.
Stains disfigure clothes and home furnishings, and it
is desirable to remove them, especially if the stains stiffen
or corrode the fabric beneath them. However, the removal of stains
can be hazardous to the fabric - and to
the person attempting to get the stain off. To be successful, care
and caution must be exercised.
Old Stains
There is often the effect of time upon a stain: the
older the stain, the harder it is to remove. Drycleaners
who are trained in stain removal prefer to work on fresh stains which
have not had time to "set" or react
with the fabric, dyes, finish, or atmosphere. Generally, a stain less
than two months old can be treated; a
stain one-day-old is easier than one that is two-weeks-old, etc.
Perhaps the most distressing example of ageing is the
soda or cola beverage stain which does not appear to stain
but left untreated turns brown because the sugar syrup caramelizes
(oxidizes) with time or heat.
Type of Stain
There are two fundamental types of stains: those that
are water-based and those that are oil-based.
Coffee or tea exemplify water-based stains. Paint, lipstick, adhesive
stains are classified as solvent-based
stains, so are latex type paints or Elmer's glue, which contain water
initially, and harden to a different,
non-aqueous compound. Water-based stains, including most food stains,
are acidic and will require an
acid mixture to remove them. Oil type stains will need non-aqueous or
"dry" chemicals (hence the term
"dry-cleaning") in most instances. Many stains, like sebum ("ring
around the collar"), and smoke
damage, are complex mixtures of oily-type components with water-based
salts, acids or bases and particulate
matter (carbon, dirt). Inks, especially ball-point and felt-tip pens,
contain complex mixtures, along
with pigments (colored particles) and dyes (water soluble, fiber
absorbed colorants). Perspiration may be
acidic or basic depending on the person. The residue is complicated
by the composition of the deodorant
or perfume used. Pet stains are also variable and complex. Vomit
mixes bile from the digestive process
with the foodstuffs themselves. Cat urine is not comparable to human
urea, as it contains a sulfur molecule.
Each is broken down and removed by enzymatic actions specific to the
molecular structures.
Other types of stains that require special chemical reagents are:
dried aged blood, and food colorings like Kool-Aid?.
Condition of the Fabric
Water swells natural fibers but not polyester or
acrylic, so a water-based stain will go deeper into a natural
fiber unless a special hydrophobic (water repellent) finish has been
recently applied. Polyester or acrylic,
in contrast, will repel water-based stains but absorb oily ones
unless a special finish has been fixed on
those fibers. Consequently, the success of a stain removal method
depends upon the fiber type and finish.
Some dyes and finishes are set on the fibers in the
same manner the stain is: with salts, with acids,
with warm temperatures, and with time. The chemical compounds that
give color to food can be
very similar - even identical - to those colors found in shirts,
blouses, or oriental carpets. Older fabrics
loose their resistance to tearing, to stretching, and to rubbing.
Removing a fresh stain from an old
textile may require too much stress on the fabric and leave a rip
where there was only discoloration
before. Thus, many drycleaners and conservators are reluctant to risk
this additional damage to an old textile.
Stain Removal Supplies
100% cotton swabs, absorbent paper or cloth toweling, a
clean non-porous working surface (a formica
or glass table top), deionized water (for steaming iron), bright
lighting, peace and quiet, patience.
Stain removal requires an appropriate work area and
appropriate supplies. Generally, it is better to set aside
a problem for a quiet morning than to attempt to correct it in the
midst of a party or dinner, beyond
soaking up excess liquid or dabbing up excess solids (in the case of
ketchup, mustard, vomit, mud).
Any treatment should be applied by tamping (up and
down) with a small cube of sponge or cotton
ball or by rolling with a cotton swab across the stained area. The
stain should never be rubbed because
this can abrade or rip the fabric. Stain removal is sequential and
repetitive, because removal involves
taking off a percentage of a stain with each application. It is
important to confirm the stain or discoloration
by limiting the amount of reagent liquid to a small area, flushing
that small area clean onto a disposable,
absorbent toweling, and then reapplying the reaction liquid. To
remove 100% of the stain, even with
an effective reaction liquid, five to seven reapplications of the
same sequence may be needed because
of the chemical reactions to the stain in the fiber can be complex
and time dependent. As long as a portion
of the stain is being removed, the reaction sequence should be
repeated. If you haven't the knack for such work,
lack the space, time or quiet, you can ask a dry-cleaner to treat the
stain without his washing
or dry-cleaning the entire textile afterwards.
Stain removal can involve solvency (dissolving the
stain), detergency (putting the stain into suspension),
saponification (using the stain to make a water soluble soap),
bleaching reaction (oxidizing or reducing
the stain to decolorize it), breaking the molecule apart with
specific enzymes.
Water-based Stains (Coffee, Tea, Fruit Juice,
Fruit)
If the condition of the fabric - fiber, weave, dyes,
finish - is good, then these water-based stains can be
removed, if the stain is fresh. These liquids contain tannin and
other acids. A small amount of
diluted shampoo (no conditioner, no perfume) or dishwashing liquid
can be alternated with applications
of white vinegar, a mild acid. Here you are using "like to dissolve
like" and detergency to carry away
an acidic foodstuff. Be sure to rinse well with the deionized water,
to blot and to dry the area.
Cola, Wine, Beer, Liquors
...contain alcohol, sugars, tannins, in water.
Glycerine (a water soluble glycol) can lubricate (solvent action)
the stain, especially red wines like Burgundies. Glycerine should be
rinsed out with water and the
tannin/acid portion of the stain removed with application of white
vinegar and dilute shampoo (see water-based stains above).
Egg, Ice Cream, Milk, Vomit
... contain proteins and complex chemical compounds.
Allow the stain to dry and then brush the solids gently
off as much as possible. This will reduce the amount to be treated.
Generally, enzymatic action is used to
break down this type of stain. Some success may be found by using a
dilute shampoo followed by dilute
ammonia (an alkali). Silk and wool themselves are protein fibers and
can be damaged by protein enzymes or alkali.
Salad Dressing, Gravy, Grease
The oily part can be dissolved by dry-cleaning solvent
(perchloroethylene; 1,1,1 trichloroethane). After these solvents
have evaporated, the residue can be removed with mild shampoo
(detergent action), followed if necessary by
dilute shampoo with dilute ammonia. Alternatively, the oil can be
reacted with a poultice of washing soda
(sodium carbonate) and warm water. This poultice saponifies the oil
into a soluble soap which can be
rinsed off. If the oily stain has oxidized (turned yellow), this
method will not work.
Inks
... are best treated first with solvents and then with
water-based reagents. Effective solvents may be acetone, ethanol,
or dry-cleaning spotting agents. When these have each been used
separately and sequentially, (i.e. each
evaporated off before the next is employed), then water-based
treatment can follow, using a mild shampoo and
white vinegar lubricated with a little glycerine. Because of the
amount of work time involved and the number of
reagents, it may be wise to consult a dry-cleaner.
Paint, Plastic Resins
... require dry-cleaning solvents preceded by reagents
soluble in these solvents. because of the special ventilation
and safety requirements, it is preferable to consult a drycleaner.
Cat Urine
Do not use ammonia. Porous absorbent surfaces like
fabrics can be treated with enzymes available at the
veterinary; dyes or finishes of the fabrics may be affected by either
the urine or by its removal agents.
CAUTION
Acetone and amyl acetate (nail polish remover) are
effective in removing lipstick, nail polish, by
dissolving the lubricant carrying the pigmented color. However, these
will dissolve cellulose triacetate fabrics
(including the linings of ties) into a plastic pulp.
Ammonia or Alkali will react with acidic foods to make
a permanent salt (i.e. a permanent stain).
Chlorine Bleach ("Clorox?") will dissolve silk or wool
- these fabrics will disappear. Cotton or linen will be
bleached initially; with time, the fabrics will yellow slightly,
weaken. More damaging than hydrogen peroxide.
Hot Water will set stain, but has been used to "push
out" a stain by swelling the fiber by pouring boiling water
from a height onto fruit stained cotton fabric (not a recommended
method).
Club soda contains salt and carbonic acid (Seltzer
water); the salt may set the stain (see below).
Hydrogen Peroxide is an oxidizing bleach with a limited
action time. Used with sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)
as a poultice; may decolorize some dyes; will slightly weaken fibers.
Lemon Juice is acidic but cannot be left in. Remove it
with white vinegar.
Oxalic Acid (rhubarb leaves, etc.) will act slowly on
oxidized iron stains (rust) but can damage cotton, linen.
More effective but more hazardous (to people) methods are used by
dry-cleaners in controlled circumstances.
Perborate ("Clorox II?") becomes activated at higher
temperatures and releases hydrogen peroxide (see above).
Salt is sodium chloride; it will set tannin stains
(wine, coffee, juice).
Water will weaken silk or wool. These fibers will
stretch more easily, tear more readily in water. Cotton or linen
will be stronger in water, but if they are aged or already damaged,
they can be torn also.
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