[MR] bleaching black wool fabric

[Wolf SilverOak]

Rinse ANY fabric you've used a bleach solution on with the intent of 
bleaching it, with Anti Chlor (available in the fish department of most pet 
supply stores, etc).

Otherwise, even years later, the remaining chlorine will eat your fabric. 
No matter how many times you rinse in plain water.

-Wolf

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----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jessica Maxson" <jessica at maxson.com>
To: "Challe Hudson" <challe at alumni.unc.edu>
Cc: <atlantia at atlantia.sca.org>
Sent: Friday, January 25, 2008 1:01 PM
Subject: Re: [MR] bleaching black wool fabric


> Salve!
> Oh, dear. I'm afraid you may have a bigger problem than color - chlorine
> bleach is very damaging to wool, to the point of dissolving the fibers. 
> (It
> has to do with the pH of the bleach, which is basic, vs. the pH of the 
> wool,
> which is acidic.)  I would advise you to check your fabric for damage 
> before
> going any further with your project. If there doesn't seem to be visible
> damage, I'd rinse the fabric well in clean water to make sure there is no
> ongoing chemical reaction.
>
> Sorry to be the bearer of bad news,
> --Giuliana
>
> On Jan 24, 2008 3:25 PM, Challe Hudson <challe at alumni.unc.edu> wrote:
>
>> Good gentles, I have a non-period problem: I can't get my black dye to go
>> away. I have a piece of black wool that I planned to use for an early
>> period
>> tunic. I know that black is an inappropriate color, and I don't care what
>> color it ends up (anything but black) so I tried bleaching it. Although I
>> started with a weaker solution, I eventually had more than a cup of
>> chlorine
>> bleach in less than half a sink of warm water, and the wool soaked for
>> more
>> than 15 minutes. I know that dye was leaving the fabric, because the 
>> water
>> was black-brown, but the fabric still looks like a lovely, pure black. Is
>> there anything else you can recommend that I do, or should I give up and
>> make a black tunic?
>>
>> Many thanks,
>>
>> Margaret Wolseley
>> ========================================================================
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