Washing Old Tatreez
This is my process for cleaning old thobes- they aren’t intended to be washed after every wear, but especially if you’ve acquired vintage and antique tatreez garments, sometimes they are overly musty or stinky or dirty (I’ve gotten couple with decades-old food spills dried on them, and strong cigarette smells) this is the approach I’ve taken between a friends recommendations and researching online how to care for vintage/antique embroidery.
Please use this at your own discretion- the tricky thing is that older hand embroidered thobes vary widely in construction and types of materials used so there is no one guaranteed best/safest approach, especially since some threads and fabrics will bleed color more easily when wet. Go slowly and carefully and if something seems like it may be causing damage, trust your instincts and stop right way and shift to a different tactic.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
Clean bathtub or large plastic storage bins
Unscented Dawn Dish Soap*
2-4 large clean towels, large enough to cover the entire thobe laid flat (ok if the arms stick out)
Shout Color Catcher Sheets (OPTIONAL)**
OxiClean MaxForce Stain Remover Gel (or similar) (OPTIONAL-for stubborn stains)***
*Note about Dawn Dish Soap: I have heard other tatreezers having success with using shavings of Nablus-style olive oil soap bars, but I’ve only used the Dawn method since it’s tried and true go-to for many people cleaning old embroidery pieces so I can only speak to that one
**Note about Shout Color Catcher Sheets: Another tatreezer recommended these and I’m a huge fan- they look sort of like dryer sheets but they go in the wash, and help “catch” any bleeding dye out of fabrics of threads to minimize how much would end up on other spots. Anything they catch shows up on the sheets so you can also gauge how much bleed there was.
STEPS:
1. Fill a clean tub with warm (not hot) water and a very small amount (like a few drops) unscented Dawn dish soap and mix up.
TIP: you can use an actual bathtub, or those big plastic storage bins. I last did this when I had almost a dozen thobes to wash so I put 2-3 storage bins in the tub at once so each could have its own thobe. If you are washing multiple garments, do NOT wash them together in the same water, let each have its own tub.
2. Gently submerge the garment and make sure it’s all underwater
3. Let soak for a couple hours, check sporadically that it’s still submerged and gently swirl things around
4. Dump the water and rinse the thobe with cool water.
5. Examine: If the thobe was smelly before and still is, repeat steps 1-4 again. Also inspect for any stains remaining that you want to try to remove. Hopefully any that were there have been washed out by now, but if not, see the stain removal section below before continuing on.
5. Lay the thobe flat on a couple layers of towels. Lay another layer or two of towels on top. Chances are the sleeves will be sticking out- I gently fold them in crossing the chest, on top of the top layer of towels.
6. Starting at either the top or the bottom, gently roll the entire stack until it is all one big tube. Put it somewhere safe (I just leave it one my bathroom floor and close the door to keep the pets away) for an hour or two.
7. Unroll and check the dryness. If the thobe is still very damp and the towels are too, you will want to swap in dry towels and roll up again. NOTE- If you live somewhere warm and dry (like I do) at this point you could instead lay the thobe flat outside to finish drying if you have a safe space to do so. Make sure to still have it inbetween towels, and don’t put in the sun unless you make sure none of the thobe is uncovered. Check again after an hour.
STAIN REMOVAL: Like with any stains on clothing, the best approach for removing it is going to depend heavily on what is causing the stain. There are many general stain removal methods out there you can try, but always test first somewhere on the inside of the thobe to make sure it won’t cause discoloration. Always do somewhere inconspicuous like the bottom hem so if it does discolor and goes all the way through its not a big issue.
The two methods I used personally for stubborns stains were:
put a high concentration of dawn dish soap directly onto the stain and gently it in. Let it sit for 10 minutes, rinse, and inspect. If the stain is still visible but has lightened, you can repeat this step to try and lighten further with the soap. If it doesn’t seem to be budging, then try:
OxiClean MaxForce Stain Remover Gel: This comes in a handy stick with rubbery nubs to gently work the gel into the stain. Start by leaving on for 5 minutes and then rinsing and checking; if the stain remains you can reapply and leave it longer; up to 7 full days but always remember to be extra careful and test first.