40 years of embroidery rescued

Before (top) and After (bottom) of the restored piece

A few weeks ago, a customer brought in an embroidery piece with a story.

She had started working on it in 1980; back then she was a smoker and the piece came in and out of storage and smoke several times. Then an ex nearly destroyed it by wadding the entire thing up in a storage unit - loose embroidery thread and all.

When everything came to a stop in March of 2020, she pulled the piece back out, organized the threads, and began working on it again. Now smoke-free for 10 years, the darkened edges of the piece from years of living in tar bothered her, but she figured she could clean it up once it was finished.

Finally complete, she attempted to clean the piece herself. To her dismay, the red dyes in the wool embroidery yarn began to run immediately. Water mixed with the smoke stains to create even more damage to the piece.

Our friends at Garenhuis in downtown Holland recommend that she bring it to us to see what we could do to clean and restore the piece. Knowing how much work went into the embroidery, I was determined to make it worthy to be framed and enjoyed.

The customer picked up the finished item this week and was absolutely delighted.

Do you have a textile piece or article of clothing you need rescued or restored? I would be honored to help you too.