Embroidery Handkerchief
Sunday, September 26th, 2010How to clean old, yellowed lace?
I just received some cotton and lace handkerchiefs from my grandmother, originally owned by my late great-grandmother. When I received them this evening, Most were yellow and dingy, with darker yellow and brown spots (on the cotton, the embroidery, and the lace).
I've tried handwashing them in Oxi-Clean, and it seems to have lightened the dinginess, however most of the spots on the cotton and the yellowness of the lace remain.
Is there any home remedy to cleanse these handkerchiefs? I've done some research, and I'm really not looking to dry clean them, at least, at this point. and I'm not willing to try bleach on them.
If anyone has any suggestions, they'd be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
I've struggled with stains on vintage linen things for years as my mother & grandmother had a rather large amount of them stashed away. Peroxide works on some stains, lemon juice on others, I've used Shout with some decent success but the best overall is plain old sunshine. Might take several days hanging in the sun, maybe even a week but it does work!
Good Housekeeping had an article recently that gave you some ideas and that link is below.