Hi:
One question - when you say it's old, how old do you mean? 1720? 1820?
1920? (I once had a customer tell me her book was very old indeed - her
grandmother gave it to her mother, her mother gave it to her, and now
her mother was gone ... I thought it had to be at least 1880, and when
she brought it in for repair, it was 1976. One person's old is another
person's yesterday.)
If it's old enough to be very scarce and very delicate, you could soak
it in distilled water for a while (like, a few days). Maybe add a tiny
amount of hydrogen peroxide, but water alone will often make a big
difference. If you're lightening the lace with peroxide, a lot of the
lightening will take place after the piece is out of the water, as it
is drying, so don't despair if you don't see a lot of change while it
is still in the water.
The good thing about soaking in water alone is that you don't damage
the lace while you're doing it, so if it doesn't work you haven't
wrecked anything.
Maybe you know this already, but just in case somebody else is reading
this and doesn't know - if you soak lace, be careful about taking it
out - water weighs a lot, and you can damage laces by removing them
from the water while they are unsupported - slip a bit of net
underneath the lace before you soak it, drain the water out before you
lift the lace, and use the net to lift the wet lace out of the
container.
If the lace is "old, but not *that* old" it will likely be more robust;
I'd still soak it, but maybe I'd use soap or something else that's
going to work a little faster.
You paid less than $1 a yard for it; to my way of thinking even if it
doesn't lighten to a colour you like, you'll get more than $20 worth of
experience and knowledge as you try to lighten it. I'd keep the lace,
look on it as a learning opportunity, and give it a go.
Adele
North Vancouver, BC
(west coast of Canada)
The pattern is pretty, but the color really is not. I wouldn't use it
as it is. It's not a pretty yellowish to my eyes - and really quite
dark on the exposed end, but I could cut that off I wouldn't use a
real bleach on it - I learned my lesson the hard on that years ago.
But I certainly wouldn't use it without trying to light it up a bit. I
don't know if anyone would ... maybe. Who knows?
it's a delicate lace, but in good shape, other than the color, and
I'm a little miffed that she obviously had some photoshopping done on
it, to make it look that pretty white color, which I really wish it
was.
I hate to let it go to waste though. Paid about $20 for 11 yards for
it, to give you some idea. Not a major investment. But.
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