This past summer we held a very successful exhibit at our museum in Kentville Nova Scotia on wedding dresses over the years that came from our textile collection. This exhibit lead to many questions about how to conserve them and other textiles. There are a few simple steps you can
take to preserve a wedding dress and other textiles over a long period of time in your
home or community museum. Consider your home environment to be very much similar to
community museums where there are usually no specialized equipment to
monitor humidity and temperature, insect infestation or mould
outbreaks as would normally be found in a national or privately
funded museum.Refer to a separate document in this blog outlining
environmental considerations for community museums that is applicable
to the home environment as well. Rest assured, there are a few
simple things you can do to keep your dress in good condition. Here
are some of them:
Keep in mind that these suggestions are applicable to many other textiles as well. The text uses wedding dresses but you can substitute all kinds of textiles in its place. Just be cautious with anything that is very old and fragile. Handle it as little as possible and when in doubt consult with a conservator first. Always, always be sure of what fabric it is. There are different concerns for different fabrics although these general suggestions are applicable to most fabrics.
1) have your wedding dress
professionally cleaned shortly after the wedding
to remove stains such as mud or red wine before they
become firmly embedded. White wine, champagne are problematic but
may not be visible. If you wish to do it at a later date consider
engaging a professional preservation company with a good reputation
to do the cleanup. Dresses that have not been cleaned and have sat
for many decades may be better off to leave alone due to fragility of
material. Make sure to ask lots of questions about cleaning methods,
understanding fabrics, cleaning material used and risks involved
before agreeing to proceed.
2) don’t wrap your dress in
plastic. Some plastics produce off-gassing vapours which
combined with high humidity produce a very mild acid that over a
lengthy period of time will break down the fabric. Also, trapping
moisture may invite mould or mildew.
3) don’t hang your dress on a
wood or wire hanger. Use a padded hanger instead. Wood or
wire hangers can stretch or distort the weave of the fabric due to
the weight of the dress.
4) don’t try to clean the
stains yourself. You risk setting them in and/or creating
additional problems.
5) keep your dress in a cool,
dark, dry environment with a constant relative humidity of
50% and a constant comfortable temperature. Avoid direct sunlight,
it can cause yellowing. Avoid moisture due to introducing mould or
mildew. You can store it with silica desiccant packets for humidity
control.
6) for longer term storage wrap
the dress in pre-washed, unbleached muslin and place it in a
sturdy box. Or wrapped in acid free paper (stuff the sleeves to
preserve the shape) and an acid free box for even longer storage.
Make sure the box seals properly to avoid insect infestation. You
can use cloth or tyvek bags for short term protection. Avoid using paper, ordinary or
coloured paper may cause staining.
7) when storing minimize folding.
If storing in a box consider using a box that is the same size as
your dress. Each time you fold your dress you introduce the
possibility of breaking the fibres in your fabric and over time
introducing tears or breaks. This is particularly true for silk and
linen.
8) don’t store other objects
with your dress. Other objects may be incompatible over time
causing staining, odours, or introducing other non-desirable
complications.
9) do take your dress out from
time to time to inspect it. Besides showing it to others and
discussing family history, it is suggested that you look it over
annually to make sure there are no problems.
10) use white, cotton gloves when
handling.
Of course, wash your hands thoroughly beforehand. Thus, avoiding
staining from natural oils on your skin.
