Scarves Cleaning and Caring for Hermès Scarves

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#331
CowPrincess said:
Yeah, I know :faint: Using boiling water on silk goes against everything I ever learned about silk. The scarf I used for practice was very thin silk, and I didn't get a hole in it, NOR did the texture of the fabric change.

How old is your scarf, what design is it? What colors?

I have NOT used boiling water on any of the following scarves, but HAVE washed them.

Grand Apparat from the 1970s, (I think) white background with black and gold and soft yellow and some gray
Voitures a transformation from the ???? (pretty old scarf, 1960s I suspect) white background, black, beiges
Poste et Cavalarie from 1980s, white background with black, gold red, wine -- this one was a TOTAL mess when I got it, black smears and crud and smell, and old makeup stains (including lipstick, I suspect) and it came out great, with no bleeding
Romantique, quite old, white background with blue, yellow, pink Dies et Hores/Astrologie -- newish issue, black with some white and gold

I use cold water and (I can't believe I'm going to admit this in public :laugh: ) CLEAR dish soap. A gentle dish soap, like the Clear Dove or Clear Ivory.

Ultimately the decision is going to be yours, to wash or to dry clean. For me, I don't have a huge investment in any of my scarves (estate sales, thrift shops, ebay) and none of them has sentimental value. So .... for me washing is the better choice. Only you can decide about your scarf.
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My very very dirty one with red dye run is LA PROMENADE DE LONGCHAMPS. Judging by the level of dirt it is prob from 1965!
I do hear the dish soap is good for getting the oily stuff off fabric. So I think you did good! I am just too afraid to see MORE red transfer after the wash.
 
#332
BTW, I have posted a Hermes logo and a question about my new-old 1974 Profile here: http://forum.purseblog.com/authenti...arf-rtw-please-read-rules-use-412023-451.html (post 6763). Profile is a very rare print that it is imporrible for me find benchmark to verify its authenticity. I am sure some of you are Hermes Historians given how much you love this brand. Would you please help with my need to authenticate that scarf? Thank you!
 
#333
Lidiarubi said:
I agree that handwashing with mild solution of woolite is the best for the scarves. The color may fade a little but the chemical of dry cleanning will weaken the silk in the long run.
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I seem to recall that Woolite was a no-no or is that just for cashmere?
 
#334
RoseUSA said:
My very very dirty one with red dye run is LA PROMENADE DE LONGCHAMPS. Judging by the level of dirt it is prob from 1965!
I do hear the dish soap is good for getting the oily stuff off fabric. So I think you did good! I am just too afraid to see MORE red transfer after the wash.
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I went and looked on ebay and found a Promenade de Longchamps. To me it looks like there is a LOT of pattern/design. I can understand being hesitant!
 
#335
CowPrincess said:
I went and looked on ebay and found a Promenade de Longchamps. To me it looks like there is a LOT of pattern/design. I can understand being hesitant!
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Oh I forgot to follow-up with you.... I ended up bringing it in to Hermes recommended dry cleaner, after $26 the result was OK. Much better in some area but not all was cleaned. I am happy though.

On a seperate note, I have a long run in one of my hermes scarf and I was just wondering what to do with it?
 
#337
Dear Thread!
Does anyone have experience and/or a helpful tip on how to get a silk scarf (Hermes.. .o course! lol) starched ? I am planing on washing a few my self, but one of them is already to soft for my taste....
Merci!
 
#338
I would never starch a silk scarf. Softer scarves tie much better than those which have a lot of sizing still in them. I wouldn't try using sizer, either. Starch and sizing are the easiest way to scorch anything.
 
#339
the problem is... (its a small silk losange) that the silk is jut too limp! the seams roll up and they just wont stay flat!... i assume the former owner washed it and all the sizing is just gone!....
 
#340
Pegase said:
the problem is... (its a small silk losange) that the silk is jut too limp! the seams roll up and they just wont stay flat!... i assume the former owner washed it and all the sizing is just gone!....
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I'd have thought the seams rolling up is a very good sign. They are meant to be plump and round - not flat!
 
#342
... I went Shopping for starch today but every product i could find -Fluid or Spray- (Even in huge very well stocked Shops) Here in Germany, says in the small Print, that its Not to be used on silk! (nature or synthetic)! Can anyone help?
 
#344
CowPrincess said:
Can you post a pic of the scarf showing how it is rolling? It may be (I think the losanges are cut on the bias) that it has been stretched?????
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I spend hours and hours reading blogs and at the end I hand washed the silk losange -with a few other carrees- and after the final rinse (with a dash of vinegar) dipped them in a bucket with diluted corn starch! rolled them up, iron them dry... thousand times better!!!
How ever, i have the feeling, that the starch grew weaker over night... i will take a pic later today!
 
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