Fall/Winter Season The Luxury of Cashmere |
Cashmere ... Luxury
Defined
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Greetings!
From the caustic chemical concoctions
currently called "Professional Laundry
Detergent" to the super-heated steam-spewing
pressing machines, the
entire thrust of modern laundry/cleaner is
productivity. Long gone are the days when
someone actually looked at each item of
clothing before handing it to the customer.
As long as it's been through the washer and
presser...it must be done!
Although this issue's
article was originally written on the subject
of proper shirt care, the principles
discussed apply to all articles of clothing.
The true value of clothing lies not in the
price you pay for it but in the number of
wearings you receive from it. Quite simply,
the major determinant of that is the care
your garment receives in the cleaning process.
Thank you to the many who have written me
about the previous Caveat Emptor
articles. I appreciate your interest and
enjoy answering your comments. Please keep it
coming. We have now made all the articles
available on our web site. Click here.
Oh, yeah. The sales pitch. :-) A bit more of a
look-see at our Holiday items is over there
on the left.
Best regards,
Alex Kabbaz
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Caveat Emptor
Part VI Proper Care Yields Maximum Longevity |
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by
Alexander S.
Kabbaz, Master Shirtmaker
Copyright � 2003-2008 Alexander S. Kabbaz, All
Rights
Reserved
Why bother to scrub the collar and cuffs by
hand when boiling water, lye, hydroflouric
acid and sodium hypochlorite will achieve
something near the same degree of
cleanliness? Why hand iron for 27 minutes per
shirt that which a pressing machine can make
flat and stiff as a board in 27 seconds? The
simple answer is Profit. Long gone are the
days when the key word in a laundry was
Pride. Economics of scale says it all. If
your shirt spends 30 minutes in a 300 shirt
washer/extractor, then the cost is for 6
seconds of machine work. Another 30 seconds
of labor on the pressing machine and the
total comes to 36 seconds. And all that
suffers is...your shirt!
All this is just wonderful for the bottom
line of a custom shirtmaker, especially one
who uses the finer Swiss and Italian shirt
fabrics. These fine fabrics naturally
deteriorate more rapidly when improperly
cared for...but then you wouldn't take a
Rolls Royce to a Kia mechanic, would you?
Want to know how your laundry should really
be done? Read on!
Correct
Shirt Laundering
Following just these few simple procedures
will greatly extend the life of your fine
cotton shirts as well as insuring cleanliness
and a neat appearance. Proper technique
requires a two-day cycle.
On the first day, you'll need a bar of
Octagon Bar Soap, available from your local
grocer, and a fingernail brush or some good,
old fashioned elbow grease.
Thoroughly wet the Collar (Step 1 in the
photo below right), Collar Band, Cuffs,
and underarm area. Rub with the bar soap on
the underarm area and inside Cuffs until a
bit of lather develops. Rub also on the
Inside Collar Band (Step 2 in the
photo) and the seam where it joins with
the Collar.
Now take your choice of the following two
methods:
- On the Collar Band and inside Cuffs,
scrub the dirt ring gently with the
fingernail brush until you begin to see the
ring leaving. (Step 3a)
- An alternative to the fingernail brush is
to rub the shirt against itself. Do this by
rubbing the soap on as above. Then grasp each
end of the collar in your fists and rub them
together as you would to warm your hands on a
cold day. (Step 3b) This serves to
gently move the weave of the fabric slightly
out of alignment as the rubbing action
permits the soil between the yarns to fall
out. Do the same with the other soiled
parts.
Either method works although I personally
prefer the second. Check the remainder of the
shirt for spots or soil. If any are found,
rub with the brown soap as above.
If any stain is found which does not remove
with the Octagon Soap, see the Stain Removal
Guide at the end of this page.
Finally, roll up the wet, soapy shirt and
leave overnight in a plastic bag in order
that it will remain moist while soaking.
See photos at right.
The following day, machine wash as follows:
- Whites
- Warm Water in Summer if Very Soiled
- Cold Water the rest of the time
- Gentle Cycle
After testing many detergents, Tide Unscented
Powder (Tide Original) has been found to
offer the best results for fine cotton
shirts. After cycle is complete, tumble dry
on 'No Heat' setting until shirts are just
damp. Or, if you have the facilities, line
dry outside until just damp.
Hang damp shirts on a white plastic hanger.
Do Not use a metal hanger or you may get rust
marks on the shirt. If line drying colors,
keep them out of direct Sun.
Laundering Hints
- Do not use bleach! Do not use starch! Do
not use fabric softeners!
- Allowing the shirt to oak overnight
reduces the amount of scrubbing needed to
remove soil, therefore reducing wear. The
longer it is permitted to soak, the better
the results.
- Sleeves tend to tangle in the washer,
reducing the ability of the soak cycles to
remove detergent. Adding a couple of white
terry towels to small loads will help to
reduce this problem. If soap remains in the
shirt, it will brown when ironed. Wash again
without detergent if you suspect this to be
the case.
Correct
Shirt Ironing
The shirt should be damp all over. Use either
Steam or Dry Iron. Use the 'Cotton'
temperature setting. The 'Burst of Steam'
button is not recommended. Best is a water
mister spray bottle (plant mister).
- Press cuffs open flat, first on the
inside, then lightly on the outside.
S-t-r-e-t-c-h tightly while pressing. Be
gentle with the corners of the cuffs. Try not
to catch them in the steam holes on the iron
as this is a major cause of premature
fraying.
- Press the sleeves' plackets. Button
their button. Then: Button Cuffs: Button the
button of the previously pressed cuff. Using
your hands, shape the cuffs into a circle. Do
not crease button cuffs. French Cuffs: Fold
and iron or hand-crease (your choice) the
fold, carefully matching the link holes.
Shape with your hand to a circular shape.
Secure circle with a plastic stud or white
plastic twist-tie.
- Holding the sleeve at the seam
side(under the arm) grasp seam at underarm
and cuff ends. Shake the sleeve out and lay
flat on the pressing table with the seam near
you. Place the point of the iron on the seam
at the cuff end. Holding the seam at the
underarm, stretch very tightly and press the
seam flat with no puckers. Holding the seam
with one hand, use your other hand to smooth
the sleeve away from you, removing all
wrinkles from both top and bottom layers.
Repeat this smoothing motion using the iron.
Continue right off the sleeve, pressing in
the crease at the top of the sleeve. Press in
the pleats, if any, at the cuff end. One
should match the top-of-sleeve crease.
- Place left hand just inside the left
armhole and use the right to grasp the shirt
at the hem where the left front and back
join. Shake out and lay flat on the table.
Press this side seam flat while stretching.
On the inside of the rear armhole, press flat
the seam which joins the sleeve to the shirt
body. Do not stretch this seam too tightly.
Repeat for the other side, reversing your
hands.
- Lay the top center front (buttonhole
side) face down on the table. Holding
the top with your hand and the hem with the
iron, stretch very tightly and press heavily
twice from the bottom to the collar band.
Repeat for the button side, pressing around
the buttons. Turn each side face up and
repress, lightly this time. Do not press the
buttons as they can break.
- Hold the button side of the front at hem
and collar. Shake out and lay face down.
Press on the inside, paying particular
attention to the top area where the collar,
yoke, and front join together. Repeat for the
buttonhole side.
- Press the shirt yokes on the inside.
Then, using the point of the ironing board or
corner of the table, press flat on the
outside.
- Lay the shirt on its back, wrong side
up. Press the back with steam. If there are
darts, press them towards the side seams.
- Lay the collar band, inside up, flat on
the table. Stretching very, very tightly,
press from buttonhole to button. Turn over
and repeat. Then press the underside of the
collar, again stretching tightly. Do not have
the iron on the band and collar at the same
time.
- Turn over and press lightly on the top
side of the collar. Do not catch the collar
points in the steam holes, again a major
cause of fraying. Now fold down the collar
over the band and with the band side up press
in the crease (exactly at the joining seam)
as heavily as you can.
- Press the fronts again, this time
lightly on the outside. Put in the collar
stays and hang the shirt on a hanger. Button
all of the buttons on the front of the
shirt.
Helpful Hints
- For best results, you should have
available either a firmly mounted ironing
board or a flat pressing table with a
separate sleeve board. In all cases, pressing
surfaces should be covered with white cotton
fabric and maintained lint-free.
- A small pair of sharp scissors for
removing loose threads is helpful.
Additionally, a small, damp piece of white
fabric will assist in removing small dirt
spots.
- Should you press in a wrinkle, allow the
area to cool. Then dampen and re-press. When
hanging shirts in the closet, make sure there
is sufficient room to keep them from crushing
each other's carefully pressed collar. Store
two shirts back-to-back, then a space, then
two more back-to-back shirts, etc.
So ... if your laundry is ruining your
shirts, what can you do?
A few solutions exist. You could become our
shirt client ... if we were taking new
clients. You could find, train for years, and
then struggle to keep your own laundress at
home. Good luck! Seriously though, a solution
which has worked
for some is a bit involved. Many of the local
Chinese laundries do a rather good job at the
hand-ironing part. That's the upside. The
downside is that they send the shirts to a
central launderer for (improper) washing. An
ideal solution therefore is to launder the
shirts in your machine at home (this won't
hurt them) and negotiate with your local
Chinese laundry to press them for you. By the
way, our advice is that you get them on
hangers if you have the closet space. Should
you have them folded, they won't be as well
pressed. The presser knows that folding them
is going to wrinkle them and thereby disguise
any lapses on his part.
Stain
Removal Guide For Washable
Fabrics
- Store Safely Away From Children!
- Always test on an unseen part of shirt
first!
- Wear rubber gloves and suitable eye
protection.
- Do not get chemicals on skin.
Stain Removal Supplies:
- Drycleaning Solvent: Available in
grocery or drug stores;can be poisonous
and/or flammable. Do Not Breathe fumes. Never
dry in dryer!
- Make: Dry Spotter: Mix 1 part Coconut
Oil with 8 parts Drycleaning Solvent
- Make: Wet Spotter: Mix 1 part Glycerine
(available in drug stores), 1 part Liquid
Dishwashing Detergent, 8 parts water...Shake
well before use
- White Vinegar, Clorox Bleach, Ammonia,
Hydrogen Peroxide, Tide
Crayon, Make-Up, Grease, Mascara, Oil,
Paint, Shoe Polish:
Sponge with drycleaning solvent. Apply dry
spotter and cover with absorbent pad soaked
in dry spotter. Remove pad. Flush with
drycleaning solvent. Repeat until pad comes
away clean. Allow to dry. Sponge with water.
Apply wet spotter & a few drops of ammonia
and cover with pad soaked in wet spotter.
Remove pad. Repeat until pad comes up clean.
Flush with water, wash with Octagon Soap.
Wash normally in machine.
Catsup, Cheese, Chocolate, Gravy, Dairy
& Food Products:
Same as above procedure Except substitute
liquid dishwashing detergent for wet spotter.
Before washing, soak 30 minutes in solution
of Tide and water. For chocolate, bleach with
Hydrogen Peroxide for 5 minutes. Wash
normally in machine.
Blood, Body Fluids, Regurgitation,
Organic Stains:
Soak in solution of 1 quart warm water, 1/2
tsp. liq. dish detergent, and 1 tbsp. ammonia
for 15 minutes. Repeat. Soak in 1 quart warm
water with 1 tbsp tide for 30 minutes. Rub
with Octagon soap and keep moist. For blood,
use hydrogen peroxide. Then wash normally in
machine.
Beer, Coffee*, Fruit*, Jam*, Suntan
Lotion*, Tea*, Tobacco*, Whiskey*, Wine*,
Mixed drinks*:
Soak in a solution of 1 quart warm water, 1/2
tsp. liquid dishwashing detergent, and 1
tbsp. white vinegar for 15 minutes. Rinse.
Sponge with alcohol. Wash. Soak in a solution
of 1 quart warm water and 1 tbsp.
enzyme-containing detergent for 15 minutes.
Wash normally in machine.
*Bleaching in a solution of 1 tsp. Clorox
with 1 tbsp. water for less than 1 minute may
remove the final traces of stains marked by
*. Immediately flush with water, apply 1 tsp.
white vinegar, and flush again. This is
not a safe procedure for colored
fabrics. Test the method on an unseen area of
the garment first. Always wash the garment
(by itself) for a full wash cycle immediately
after this bleach/vinegar process. Bear in
mind that this process may ruin the garment.
Wear rubber gloves!
Rust, Ballpoint Ink, Grass,
Scorch:
Call Your Shirtmaker ... or write to us!
For all final machine washes of stained
garments, add one capful of white vinegar to
the wash water.
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A Quick Look: The New Cashmere & Cotton Dots! |
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Marcoliani's Incomparable Cashmere &
Silk
socks are equalled only by their Cashmere &
Cotton! This season's style is a stunning,
sophisticated
dress dot. If you've never tried these,
you've really missed out on a special, rare
treat. This is the last year these will be
made until 2010.
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FYI: Forward
Sartorial
Excellence News to
a friend. Email
us their
name. When
they order you'll
receive a $100 Gift Certificate. Click
to Forward.
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