How To Preserve Your Hand Sewn Bows And Other Fabric Items

Grasmere creates French wired bows made of shear fabric, silk or taffeta for the Holiday Season. To preserve the beauty of these one of a kind items, we recommend you follow a few suggestions below:

Fabrics are best stored in a ventilated area away from furnace vents which can leak small amounts of exhaust gases that can react with dyes to fade any exposed edges.
Wash or dry-clean the fabric bows (if needed) before storing them. Some stains take time to appear. Sugars (from clear soda, say or teas) can turn brown; oil stains from skin, lotions or foods can turn yellow.
Store fabrics in ventilated bags. Cotton is good: It breathes and moths don't like it. If a cotton bag is not handy, use unprinted, plain wrapping paper (to avoid reaction between inks and dyes of the paper with the fabric) and store the wrapped bows in a paper bag (leaf refuse bag) or card board box with a block of cedar wood enclosed as well to keep the moths out. Sealing fabrics in plastic (especially dry-cleaner bags) can let mold or mildew form and allow fading.
Store fabrics away from direct sunlight Sunlight will increase the amount of fading and, with white fabrics, set colorless dyes to react and turn yellow.
When storing a fabric bow which had been displayed outside, make sure that the fabric is thoroughly dry to avoid the onset of mold and mildew.