A 1930s jacket. It’s made of a patchwork of silk-stitched shapes in icy blue, olive green and two purples. At first glance, in great shape.

However, we have several holes, some of which I think are cigarette burns. Some mending required.

But the biggest challenge: laundering. It usually is.

Handwash

She smelled quite musty, so I decided I’d give her a dip and see what happened. Gah! Is that dye or old nicotine? Both, dear reader, both. Now she was wet, I could smell the 100-year-old cigarettes. So grim, but she’s lived a life.

I whipped her out of the bath and ordered some dye catching sheets. I’d never used them before but I thought they might help, and the usual Ladies Online assured me that they work for handwashing as well as in the washing machine.

Rinses and soaks with colour catchers

So, second go. Less of the nicotine colour and a bit of a purple hue. I figured out that this was coming out of the black fabric that’s been used for interfacing, so I positioned the colour catchers at the neck and hem.

I did a swish with tepid water, white vinegar and hand soap, then drained and refilled. Same again, drained and refilled. Once the water was pretty clear, I left her soaking. I was a bit worried that the fabric was going to felt up but it dried OK the first time. Also worried the vinegar would take the shine off the silk thread. But we shall just have to see – this is the game.

Soak with Zoflora

After the first soak, I showered her off (which I do because it gently massages dirt and soap out of all the crevices) and then refilled with clean water and the big guns: Zoflora. Always my last resort because I don’t like the smell, but it does get rid of odours and it’s a disinfectant. As the bottle says: a little goes a LONG way.

Roll and dry flat

This turned out to be the final soak because she passed the sniff test. I showered her off, rolled her up in a towel to get out most of the water, then laid her flat to dry over the bath on my make-shift drying rack (old clothes airer).

It’s quite a heavy jacket for something so small, so it took ages to dry. Very tempting to put it on the heated airer but with probably-silk, it wasn’t worth the risk.

Finally, she was clean and dry. Still glowy and sheeny, what a relief!

Mends

I found some approximate colours in my stash and set about stitching up the holes and any potential issues. The holes themselves don’t show if you’re not eyeballing, so I was really just shoring them up for another hundred years. I’ll cover these foundation stitches with proper silk stitching in the right colours as they come to me. Eventually, my mends will be invisible.

I also went very lightly over the surface with my debobbler, just to catch any fuzz interfering with the sheen of the silk.

It’s now – if not good as new – good as perhaps the last time it was put on by its original owner. I can see her, cigarette holder in gloved hand, gesticulating a little too wildly and knocking hot ash onto her little silk jacket.

Better mends

Treated myself to some NEW embroidery silks rather than waiting to find the right colours in charity shops. For the sake of £4.50, this old lady deserves some spiffier mending.