Crease in dress

[sept07bride]

The dress I bought was a sample dress. It was always hung up with the train up (kwim?) and now there is a wrinke/crease (sp?) area on the back of the dress. It's not major, but it's somewhat noticable. How should I go about smoothing it out? I was thinking of steaming it, but I'm nervous. And I don't have a steamer. Should I try the steaming function on my iron?

[simreality]

I suggest steaming it as well, but i would bring it to the dry cleaners. I'd feel a little safer if someone did it who has done it quite a few times. Just be sure to find someone reputable.

[lizardbnorton773]

I would recommend taking to to a cleaners, just in case. It would suck to accidently leave something on the dress if you tried steaming it.

[liarliarz2000]

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!
You shouldn't take a wedding gown to the cleaners. That's like taking your sick friend to the vet. Yes, I am very dramatic. I would take it to a bridal boutique and see if they can take the crese out. I don't think I would trust my wedding dress to the cleaners. I've heard some horror stories about that.

[sept07bride]

Thanks for the advice gals! I don't think I'll take it to the cleaners because a) we are super tight when it comes to money at the moment and b) there are about 2 dry cleaners in a 50 mile radius and I really don't trust them. I talked to my fmil tonight (she does a lot of seamstress stuff) and she thinks a steamer will work just fine. For now, I think I'll just wait on it. I've been taking it out a lot and letting the train down when my fh isn't home, so maybe that'll help a tad.
Do you think it'll help if I start hanging it in the bathroom when I shower? I did that for prom to make sure my dresses were wrinkle free, maybe it would be good for my wedding dress...?

[melatsch]

The shower thing might work, depending on how big and deep the crease is. You might want to take it to the bridal shop. Our bridal shop steamed my dress and veil for $20 the day before my wedding so my dress looked the best. You could just called some shops and see how much it would be.

[KatylovesNick]

Yea, I wouldn't trust cleaners who do it everyday and would do a half ass job. I would take it to someone who specializes in wedding gowns and will treat it properly. Not sure about the shower thing, again not really sure if you should do that to a wedding dress....

[steelcutter2003eeda]

I agree with katy, I'd be scared to try and get the crease out on my own, but if your going to go through with steaming it, then I would do it inside out and make sure you use a towel over the area, so nothing comes out of the iron on to it.

[sept07bride]

Maybe I'll ask a bridal shop if they can steam it for me then. The place I bought it from seemed to think steaming would do the trick, but they don't do alterations and stuff like that there. There is only one other bridal shop in the area so I suppose I could ask them.

[givenkbcfc]

I'm not sure what type of material that your gown is made out of but a lot of bridal fabrics (silk, chiffon, some satins, etc) do not do well with heat exposure. So, to be on the safe side DO NOT APPLY AN IRON TO YOUR DRESS. You can end up burning the fibers that the material was made from and end up with a difference in color where you applied the iron. You can try the shower routine but do not leave it in there very long. You can try the steam setting on your iron but I would turn the dress inside out, apply a towel over the area you intend to steam and then lighlty apply the iron and steam the crease out. But do not add pressure! If I knew what type of material your dress was I would be able to help you better. There are tons of self-help care for wedding dresses; tricks that they teach us in design school. Take a look at the tag on your dress and get the fiber content. It should say what it is made out of. I will need the percentages to if it has them.

Hope this helps!

Kat Given

[sept07bride]

Thanks so much Kat, but I don't have a tag that says the material. :( Just one with the size and one with the designer. If it helps any, it is made of whatever the average dress in a bridal shop is. Know what I mean? Blah, I wish it had a tag!

[givenkbcfc]

It is probably made out of satin. But there are so many types of satin I would hate to give you the wrong advice. If it is a satin made of olefin or another oil based fiber it will burn and discolor if you take an iron to it. I would try the shower steam first and leave the train down for awhile afterwards. The heat and moisture from the shower should help take the crease out, and if you leave the train down the weight of the material should help it out as well. If it is at all possible I would not put the train back up for awhile. The other thing is you may have broken fibers in the dress where the crease is at. If thats the case you may have a permanent crease. Try the shower and if that doesnt work I would make a complaint where you bought your dress. Hope this helps. Let me know how it works out.

Good Luck!

Kat

[sept07bride]

Thank you! I'll try the shower thing a few times. I don't want to bring it back to the shop. It was a discontinued sample dress that I paid a whopping $73 for. :p It's not a super obvious crease, and when it's bustled at the reception it'll be hidden.
I'm going to go let the train down right now, thanks again Kat!