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My bustle petticoat, and actually my corset too, could use a wash. I'm not sure how to do it thought because of the steels. Thoughts?

When I made my bustle, I closed the insertion openings with a whipstitch that was easy to undo, and just take the steels out for cleaning. But now I'm wondering...*could* it be washed with steels in?

My corsets I wash in the tub. Brief soak, a little squeezing and a good rinse. I get them dry as quick as I can in the dryer. It has its own removable rack that fits in the barrel so things can lay flat and not tumble. Corsetmaking.com recommends dry cleaning for the spiral boning I use, but washing hasn't seemed to be a problem.

That's just the coutil corsets tho. I haven't had to clean a silk one yet, but since I wash the silk before I sew it, I'd do it the same way but with a very gentle soap like Woolite.

[Heather]

For the bustle, if you have plastic coated boning, you can hand wash in the tub and hang dry. Do not put it in the dryer, the plastic will melt. If you have buckram coated wires, you will have to remove the wires prior to washing.

For my corsets, I hand wash, hang dry.

Just thought I'd mention when my washing machine died a premature death I went onto the repair forums to get an idea of the brands and models that have less problems. Well one question that pops up regularly is how to get bra underwires out of the machine (especially front loaders) where they have become stuck in or under the drum. Now these wires are fairly small diameter but still I could imagine a steel or petticoat wire getting loose and doing some damage, so I don't think machine washing would be a good idea and check them before putting in the dryer, but overall I think the Victorians had the best idea of removing them before washing...and they didn't have the machines to damage just the rust problem (though I'm not sure if they also did this for whalebone for some reason or if the references to removal only meant steel and everyone just understood that). I just put my corset in the sun for an hour, does wonders (but I live in a very low humidity climate).

I recently washed my bustle petticoat and a bodice for the first time. For the petticoat, I took out the curved bone, the one you can take out without cutting open the casings, and put it in the washer on the hand wash cycle. I let it air dry overnight, then put it on the air cycle (no heat) in the dryer for about 15-20 minutes so the muslin wasn't stiff. For the bodice, I washed it the same way and put it in the dryer on the lowest heat setting, checking it every once in a while to see how it was doing so it wouldn't stay in there any longer than necessary. There was slight twisting of bones in the petticoat and slight twisting of the spiral bones in the bodice, but they turned back easily. Otherwise it was fine. Haven't washed my corset yet, but I think I'll hand wash it. It's small, so I won't kill my wrists trying to get water out of it, unlike the petticoat!

The best way I know to wring water out of things without killing your wrists is to wrap it up lengthwise in a towel, then stand on one end of the towel and use both hands to twist the other end as tight as you can. The towel ends up soaked, and your clothes end up nearly dry!

Edited to add: You would have to take all the bones out of your bustle to do this though!

I wash my delicates in white vinegar & tepid water. Refreshes color & whitens the whites. DOES NOT LEAVE A VINEGAR ODER!!! It doesn't need to be rinsed out. There are a gazillion uses for vinegar...it is a natural disinfectant & deodorizer, it kills germs & is not harmful to pets or people. Best thing in the world to set pleats!

Can you use the vinegar solution in a spray bottle?

Can you use the vinegar solution in a spray bottle?

I use undiluted white vinegar in a spray bottle with practically every load of laundry! I spray vinegar liberally on stinky armpit areas of shirts and jerseys (and let sit for 10-15 minutes, if possible -- seems to work even better). Wash as usual.

If you're asking if you can spray and not wash... I have no idea. Spray some vinegar on a scrap and hang to dry; see what happens (or smells). Based on my family's comments that I "smell like vinegar" after doing laundry... I suspect the vinegar scent will last for some time.

If you are asking if you van use vinegar in a spray bottle to set pleats the answer is yes. Works great! My daughter uses vinegar & water in a spray bottle on all her ironing.

I left tiny openings and pull my petticoat bones out each time I wash my petti and dry in machine as it is cotton. As for the corset, I have always put it in a laundry bag and on delicate in my machine. Clean and pretty. I hang it to dry. No problems.