Nicotine stains on needlework

I recently received a stamped cross-stitch that my grandmother did many,
many years ago (at least 40). It had been professionally framed under glass;
however, she had been a very heavy smoker, and the protective covering on
the back has been torn. I don't know if it was torn while it was hanging in
her home or after my ex-SIL got it, but there are definite nicotine stains
on the fabric. I would like to clean it and then reframe it in the original
frame. Any ideas? Use the Oxy product? Will the threads be colorfast? This
needlework is in pictures I have that were taken before I was born, so it is
at least 38+ years old. Thanks for your help!

Carolyn

"Carolyn Wagner" ) writes:
I recently received a stamped cross-stitch that my grandmother did many,
many years ago (at least 40). It had been professionally framed under glass;
however, she had been a very heavy smoker, and the protective covering on
the back has been torn. I don't know if it was torn while it was hanging in
her home or after my ex-SIL got it, but there are definite nicotine stains
on the fabric. I would like to clean it and then reframe it in the original
frame. Any ideas? Use the Oxy product? Will the threads be colorfast? This
needlework is in pictures I have that were taken before I was born, so it is
at least 38+ years old. Thanks for your help!

Carolyn

Personally I would use the "softly, softly, catchee monkey" approach.
That is, start with the gentlest cleaners, and if they dont work, go to
more and more harsh ones. So start of with things like the horse shampoo
(I am having a senior's moment. I cannot remember the name). Then if the
stains dont go, move to Tide. If you think you need a bleach, I would use
hydrogen peroxide first. If none of these work, then go on to Oxyclean,
chlorine bleach etc. But I suggest you take your time. Its been stained
for a long time, so a few days or weeks trying to clean it should be no
big deal. Dont be afraid to soak it in cleansers for days, put it out in
the sun, etc.etc. HTH.

--
Jim Cripwell.
The gods do not subtract from the allotted span of one's life, any
time that is spent in stitching.
Adapted from a sign on The Cobb, Lyme Regis, England.

More than likely - because of different environmental rules at the time
- the threads are more colorfast than they are today. I trust my very
old threads over the newer ones.

Ammonia is great at removing the residue from smokers. Don't hesitate
to use it. A nice soak with regular dish detergent will clean them
away. I've used ammonia on silk, linen, cotton, blends without any
harm. I actually dab it on with a clean wash cloth as a spot cleaner
for lipstick, face powder (dry and liquid), masquera and other oily
stains. It works quickly and rarely water spots.

After the soak, you can wash it normally. If the stains are "age"
related, oxy clean or Clorox2 will then be the next line of denfese.
But be sure to throughly rinse the piece if you soaked it in ammonia
first. What I do is a soak, wash, repeat (sometimes) wash, rinse,
rinse, rinse, then do what else needs to be done. The time honored
approach to all this is rinse pieces as often as it takes so that you
would drink the water. grin Depending upon your water supply, that
might be ten times.

Dianne

Carolyn Wagner wrote:

I recently received a stamped cross-stitch that my grandmother did many,
many years ago (at least 40). It had been professionally framed under glass;
however, she had been a very heavy smoker, and the protective covering on
the back has been torn. I don't know if it was torn while it was hanging in
her home or after my ex-SIL got it, but there are definite nicotine stains
on the fabric. I would like to clean it and then reframe it in the original
frame. Any ideas? Use the Oxy product? Will the threads be colorfast? This
needlework is in pictures I have that were taken before I was born, so it is
at least 38+ years old. Thanks for your help!

Carolyn

On Fri, 14 Nov 2003 10:45:35 -0500, Carolyn Wagner wrote:
I recently received a stamped cross-stitch that my grandmother did many,
many years ago (at least 40). It had been professionally framed under glass;
however, she had been a very heavy smoker, and the protective covering on

If you're willing to risk water damage (running dye, etc. [unlikely, but
possible]), I'd try plain lukewarm water with a drop of detergent; soak
and rinse, soak and rinse, until the water quits looking yucky. Then
rinse (several more changes) in distilled water, block and dry. That's
all I needed to do to get the cigarette smoke out of my great aunt's
needlework -- I think it took perhaps 3 days soaking total and 10-15
changes of water.

If the piece was fragile, I'd support it on nylon screening stretched
over some sort of support -- given what I've got on hand, I'd probably
make an oversize frame of 1/2" pvc pipe and lace the nylon (or fiberglas)
screen to the frame.

If the piece were something that I couldn't bear to see further damaged,
I'd get in touch with a professional textile conservator.

Kay Lancaster
keeper of the family textiles... keepsakes, not museum pieces.

From: Kay Lancaster


If the piece was fragile, I'd support it on nylon screening stretched
over some sort of support -- given what I've got on hand, I'd probably
make an oversize frame of 1/2" pvc pipe and lace the nylon (or fiberglas)
screen to the frame.

First thing that comes to mind is to just use a Q-Snap with several layers
of netting attached. Many of us already have the Q-Snap in our stash, the
water won't hurt it and they come in some pretty big sizes for quilters!
CiaoMeow ^;;^
..
PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ Queen of Kitties
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their
WHISKERS!!
Nothing is complete without a few cat hairs!

I recently received a stamped cross-stitch that my grandmother did many, many
years ago (at least 40). It had been professionally framed under glass; (snip)

If you're willing to risk water damage (running dye, etc. [unlikely, but
possible]), I'd try plain lukewarm water with a drop of detergent; (snip)

If the piece were something that I couldn't bear to see further damaged, I'd
get in touch with a professional textile conservator. (snip)

Oh, c'mon, people. OK, it depends on the ground fabric, BUT.........I have a
bunch of tablecloths and placemats hand embroidered in cotton floss on linen or
cotton base. I got two dozen of these as wedding presents from various
relatives and friends more than 30 years ago. I also have some even older
which my mother passed down when she moved into a small place and stopped
entertaining. About 15 years ago, I decided to use them every day. These
things all go into the washing machine on a regular basis, and occasionally get
a dose of bleach if they got red wine or something spilled on them. They are
all still in good condition except for one which was fraying at the outer edges
so I did a quick blanket stitch around the perimeter in order to keep on using
it. In my house, a tablecloth rarely lasts more than 3 or 4 days without a
messy spill (DH is good at slopping gravy!) so most of them get washed and
ironed at least once every couple of months as they come into the rotation, and
I haven't had any disasters yet.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

Olwynmary wrote:
Oh, c'mon, people. OK, it depends on the ground fabric, BUT.........I have a
bunch of tablecloths and placemats hand embroidered in cotton floss on linen or
cotton base. I got two dozen of these as wedding presents from various
relatives and friends more than 30 years ago. I also have some even older
which my mother passed down when she moved into a small place and stopped
entertaining. About 15 years ago, I decided to use them every day. These
things all go into the washing machine on a regular basis, and occasionally get
a dose of bleach if they got red wine or something spilled on them. They are
all still in good condition except for one which was fraying at the outer edges
so I did a quick blanket stitch around the perimeter in order to keep on using
it. In my house, a tablecloth rarely lasts more than 3 or 4 days without a
messy spill (DH is good at slopping gravy!) so most of them get washed and
ironed at least once every couple of months as they come into the rotation, and
I haven't had any disasters yet.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

What a delightful, refreshing approach. As you note, it depends upon
ground and threads. Don't try bleach with silk. grin I have a
tablecloth that is cross stitched - 1940's - it is still going strong
and has seen its days in bleach. It even has metallic thread which is
just now beginning to frey . . . but hasn't lost its luster.

A piece that has been behind glass for most of its life should be as
fresh as new. And for "smoke" damage, you can't beat ammonia. I've even
used that on silk, but not silk threads.

Dianne

Yup, I agree. Many of my embroidered pieces are a lot older than 30 years
annd I wash and iron them regularly with no ill effects. I use SA8 and LOC
in my wash but that's a personal preference. I do my whole wash with them
because they're bio-degradeable and neutral.
"Olwynmary" wrote in message
...
I recently received a stamped cross-stitch that my grandmother did many,
many
years ago (at least 40). It had been professionally framed under glass;
(snip)

If you're willing to risk water damage (running dye, etc. [unlikely, but
possible]), I'd try plain lukewarm water with a drop of detergent; (snip)

If the piece were something that I couldn't bear to see further damaged,
I'd
get in touch with a professional textile conservator. (snip)

Oh, c'mon, people. OK, it depends on the ground fabric, BUT.........I
have a
bunch of tablecloths and placemats hand embroidered in cotton floss on
linen or
cotton base. I got two dozen of these as wedding presents from various
relatives and friends more than 30 years ago. I also have some even older
which my mother passed down when she moved into a small place and stopped
entertaining. About 15 years ago, I decided to use them every day. These
things all go into the washing machine on a regular basis, and
occasionally get
a dose of bleach if they got red wine or something spilled on them. They
are
all still in good condition except for one which was fraying at the outer
edges
so I did a quick blanket stitch around the perimeter in order to keep on
using
it. In my house, a tablecloth rarely lasts more than 3 or 4 days without
a
messy spill (DH is good at slopping gravy!) so most of them get washed and
ironed at least once every couple of months as they come into the
rotation, and
I haven't had any disasters yet.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

What a delightful, refreshing approach. As you note, it depends upon ground
and threads. (snip)

Dianne

I dunno about refreshing - I grew up in England and this is how my mother, all
my adult female relatives and their friends handled these things. They were
meant to be used!!!!

I will admit that when I re-framed my great, great, great-grandmothers sampler
(done in 1857 in wool on linen) and DH's great-grandmother's sampler done
likewise but in 1846, I washed them carefully by hand in a quilt wash product,
rolled them in towels, then pressed them, mounted and framed them, but washing
did no harm and a great deal of good.

BTW, I save all my old, worn out (and ripped) 100% cotton sheets, and use the
good parts of them for mounting. I put two layers of this over the acid-free
mounting board, lace it in the back, then lightly and gently baste the
needlework to it. All I can say is - it works for me!

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.