Washing Dry Clean Only Fabrics

[absenceofcolour]

I just got a new job (overtime and benefits and late start shifts, it's so great!) and I need "professional" clothes. Naturally, I want to make them, because A.) all the clothes in the stores that's marketed toward working women is either frumpy or skanky and B.) because sewing your own clothes just rocks.

My problem is that a lot of the fabrics I'm looking at claim to be dry clean only. I actually bought a Poly/Nylon blend because it was too beautiful to pass up. If I absolutely must dry clean the shirt, I will, but I'd rather spend my money at the fabric store than at the cleaners.

So, I'm wondering if anybody can say for sure if I *need* to take the shirt to the cleaners when I'm done or if I can hand wash it. Also, has anybody given those home dry cleaning kits a try? I think it's called Dryel or something like that?

When my camera is working again I'll post a picture of the shirt(s) and skirt(s) because I'm so in love with them all. One of the skirts is silk (it's actually home dec fabric, but you'd never know it) and it turned out absolutely lovely. I can't wait 'till it warms up so I can actually wear it to work.

[SabZero]

How about you experiment with small pieces of the fabric you have? Splash with cold water, warm water, then hot water. Then wash cold with detergent, warm, hot etc.

You'll find out quick what the fabric will tolerate and what not. If it shrinks the first time around, repeat the process to see how far it goes (might still be usable).

[tsuyako]

If you need something fast you can always go to Express, they have some very nice working clothes that don't look grumpy or slutty.

Some dry-clean only fabrics can be washed but not dried. so you could send it through the washer but no the dryer, just hang dry it. Like written above, test the fabric first. Wash two swatches and send one through the dryer and hang dry the other. Compare them and see if their still usable.

[LadyAnubis]

The dryel stuff works well. Also remember, unless you actually get something on it, you can wear uniforms more than once, so that can save you a little money on cleaning.

[magicaltuffie]

well you should be prewashing most fabrics before cutting anyway, so if it's dry clean, measure a small part the clean it as normal. then check if it's changed. if not, try it again, then prewash the other one. if you test it enough you'll either find out it changes a lot, a little... but make sure you test before you make it or with scraps first!

[SanguisVitae]

I watched a consumer test on home dry-cleaning products like Dryel once, they only freshen the garment but don't really cause it to become really deep clean. They can be good for extending the times between dry-cleaning visits, but sooner or later it will need to be cleaned. I have quite a lot of dry-clean only clothes. Hand washing would ruin some of them that I know, (though PVC has to be hand washed the dry-cleaning fluid will destroy it I've been warned). I have this skin tight sports under armour I often wear under my dry-clean clothes that is washable, so they don't get very worn when being worn if that makes sense. xp Maybe you could get a sort of "mock" of the cloth you like that is washable, though true it never looks quite the same most of the time. sad

[thatreevesgirl]

Aaaaa! NO!

Actually I just read an article on this in an old issue of Threads magazine. Funny how fate works like that. It was all about experimenting with washing non-washable fabrics such as silk and wools and other expensive dry clean only fabrics.

The one thing the article said after showing all the really cool examples of what happens to these fabrics when washed was "NEVER WASH SEWN GARMENTS, ONLY YARDAGE."

Why is this? Once a garment is sewn, the shrinkage and changes that occur in the fabrics will be different depending on the weft and the warp (the lengthwise and crosswise grains). The warp almost always shrinks less because of the extra lengths of the over/under weave. You will most definitely end up with some funky skirts if they are of any decent quality of silk.

You should only wash unwashable yardard if it has not been sewn yet. You can try it if you want, but I guarantee after 4 or 5 washing you are going to have some strange looking outfits. Dryers also have some bad effects. Water alone can change silk, so handwashing could be disasterou too.

I have used Dryel, and I have gotten good results, but SanguisVitae is right, they don't deep clean well. But I think that if you alternate Dryel with the occassional trip to the Dry Cleaners you might save some money.

[Kaypendragon]

Poly/Nylon shouldn't be dryclean only. Definatley try washing it first.

[spacekitten]

The Dryel kits work really well. I recamend it for dryclean only items, unless you actually get a nasty stain on it. Dryel gets rid of smells and wrinkles, but not so much stains.

I agree with the other people who've posted. Use Dryel to extend dryclean visits, especially b/c excessive drycleaning can deteriorate fabrics.

[00gillettl]

I'd test your fabric first before you do anythign to completely ruin your lovely fabric. If it comes down to it, you'll just have to try your hardest to keep it clean