Hello all,
Recently we have encountered two dresses with very heavily coated silk organza – both have yellowed and have heavy staining. Nothing we tried made any impression on the staining, which I assume to be thoroughly trapped in the finish/coating
on the silk. (Neither dress could be washed due to fugitive decorations.) Does anyone know of any research that’s been done on the history of textile finishing? I’m particularly interested in 20th century finishing but anything would be of interest.
Is organza usually finished with starch? Or is it a gum/starch mixture or something else entirely?
All suggestions welcome.
Joanne Hackett ACR
Head of Textile and Fashion Conservation
Victoria and Albert Museum
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