The saga of sweat stains

I did the wash post New Hampshire Renaissance Faire and out came my favorite white pirate shirt (I've had it since the 80s, it used to be a work shirt) and one of my favorite gray/blue chemise with nasty rust sweat stains around the neck line.  Grrrr.  One of the hazards of doing renn faires is sweat on natural fabrics.  Sometimes they come out in the wash but sometimes...well, a picture speaks louder than words.

This is the neckline of the chemise.  The white shirt looked just the same.

So, I went researching.  One pin on Pintrest said that 1/2 cup of washing soda and 1/2 cup of hydrogen peroxide mixed with hot water would take care of any stain.  I soaked both shirt and chemise for 24 hours.  No love.

OK...next to try is Oxy Clean.  I used one scoop and hot water as recommended and did a two hour soak.  While it did brighten the white and the gray/blue, the ugly rust stain is still there.

While I was at the store picking up the Oxy Clean, I saw this.  It's Carbona #9 Stain Devil.  They have several solutions that are specific to certain types of stains.  It's $3.35, but cheaper than replacing the shirt, if I could even find one like it.  While the shirt and chemise were soaking in the Oxy Clean I looked this up online.  It has enzymes in it and the Mavin of Housekeeping, Martha Stewart, recommends enzymes for removing sweat stains.

Success

Here is the white shirt...nice and clean.  I could see the stains lightening as I applied the solution.

Now, a couple of words on this saga.  Both articles are cotton.  Both were destined for the dye pot if they couldn't be cleaned.  I used an entire bottle of Carbona on just the white shirt.

Here is my recommendation for getting rid of these stains.  First, DO NOT DRY the cloths in the dryer.  This will set the stain and you can kiss it goodbye or shove it in the dye pot.  Second, try treating the stain with Fels Naptha laundry soap.  While this didn't work on these particular stains, I have saved many an article of garb or regular clothing doing this before laundering.  Third, a good soak in the Oxy Clean did brighten up the colors, so I would do this first then give the article a good hand scrubbing with laundry detergent or Fels Naptha laundry soap.  Lastly, if all else fails, I will try the Carbona Stain Devils that is specific to that stain.  For sweat or rust it is #9.

Now I'm off to the store to pick up a few more bottles of Carbona for the chemise and a tunica from GNEW last year.

Tatting Shuttles - Product Review

When I first saw these shuttles, I was excited.  For anyone who does Tatting they know how annoying loading a shuttle can be.  They "click" and it is sometimes hard to hold onto them.  These shuttles have a removable bobbin that makes it, in theory, easier to load.  At about $5.00 easier is nice.

Well, not so much.  Here is the problem.  In order to remove the bobbin you have to flip up these two little tabs on the reverse side.  After slipping and poking myself with various implements, including a pair of needle point tweezers, I was finally able to bend them up with a seam ripper.  Filling the bobbin, putting it back and bending down the tabs is easy.

Here is the other problem.  Because it is thin metal the bending back and forth weakens the tabs.  After only three uses one of the tabs has snapped off.  I'm not happy with this because, well, I expected it to last longer.  It is still usable with one tab, but how long will that last?

It handles OK and I like having the little hook at the top to join picots, but I will not buy them again.  Even though they were only about $5.00 a piece, I want them to last a bit longer without breaking.

Here are my favorite shuttles.  They are Clover plastic tatting shuttles.  Although they are a bit "clicky" to load, they handle very well.  I have had these for over a year and no breaking.  They are small and light and come in a variety of colors (usually two to a pack).  At about $4.00 a pack I am very happy with them.  I bought the top one because I wanted one that looked like cow horn.  This is a bit more period look for me if I'm going to bring them to a Renaissance Faire or Re-enactment (the bright pink and blue (not pictured) just doesn't look right).

These are the ones I will go to again and again.

I also own a beautiful bone shuttle.  It will not work with the size 10 thread I am currently using but feels so wonderfully smooth and silky in my hand that I use it whenever possible.  I would definitely buy another one.

This one was about $18.00.  A bit pricey, but I really love working with it.








This is a silver filigree.  It is larger than all my others and the metal edges can be a bit cutting on the thread. I like working with it, but it's larger size can make it awkward at times.

This one was about $20.00.  I would probably now buy this one again.  I don't "love" it enough to spend that kind of money when there are the Clover plastic that I like better for a fifth of the price.

If you have a favorite Shuttle I would love to hear about it and why you love it.