My blouses (some cotton and some a combination) have all lost their shape and vitality. Is there anything I can use to whip them back into shape?
By karen
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The blouses may be full of fabric softener or soap residue. Change the kind of soap you are using and wash them in plenty of water and do not add softener. Then run the complete cycle again without soap. Actually, you have need to do this several times to completely remove all the residue. I hope this helps.
Fabrics are usually treated at the mill with a finish called sizing-sort of like starch only a lot longer lasting. Commercial 'ready-to-wear' (r-t-w) manufacturers often apply another coating of the stuff after construction to make the garments hang well and crisply on the racks, and to increase the visual appeal to get you to consider buying.
Machine washable r-t-w garments lose the sizing after repeated trips through the washer; it can take up to ten or fifteen washes but eventually the sizing will wash out and the buyer is left with a limp piece of cloth bearing only a slight resemblance to the originally purchased garment.
Fabrics sold for home sewing are likewise treated with sizing before going to the fabric store, and even the recommended washing before sewing often times doesn't remove all of the sizing. But a few washes later the fabric is limp...
Do you iron?
Ironing (steam ironing where possible according to fabric content) with a starch product is about the only thing you can do to temporarily restore the crisp appearance of the garments. You will need to iron and starch every time you wash the clothing, sorry.
Magic Sizing, ironed on after each wash. It's 99 cents at our Walmart for a big spray can. No flakes like you might get from starch.
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