top (23K)

Tips for stain removal from your needlework fabric

Stain removal is something we don't want to have to do but however careful we are when stitching there are still occasions when accidents happen and our precious embroidery is at risk from stains of all types.
If you know how to deal with them straight away, all is not lost.


The golden rule is to act quickly. You may want to print this page and keep it handy, just in case!

Got a stain problem? Ask other visitors for help!


General tips for stain removal

  • If you have spilt something on your needlework, try to soak up any excess liquid straight away.
  • Scrape off any solid matter
  • Dab don't scrub - you could damage the fibres of the fabric
  • Use a white cleaning cloth - a coloured one could leave dye making the problem worse!
  • Test an inconspicous area first
  • Work from the back of the stain - turn your fabric over
  • Work from the outside of the stain into the middle


Types of stain

Stains can generally be classified into one of five types:
  • Food or protein stains
  • Tannin stains
  • Oil based stains
  • Dye stains
  • Combination stains


Useful store cupboard essentials for removing stains

We don't always have commercial stain removers to hand when we need them, but there are many things that are likely to be in the store cupboard that can help remove stains.


Vinegar

My Aunt Ev used to swear by vinegar for cleaning all sorts of things. I can remember her screwing up newspapers and soaking them in vinegar to clean the windows. But I digress . .

White vinegar is useful for a number of stain removal purposes.


Tea stains can be treated by:

  1. Soaking a clean (white) cloth with white vinegar
  2. Dabbing the stain with the cloth
  3. Then wash the fabric as normal

If your fabric has yellowed with age you can soak it in a solution of 1 part white vinegar to 12 parts warm water overnight. Then wash as normal the next day.

If you have fabric or clothing with dried in stains try making up a solution of 3tbsp white distilled vinegar and 2 tbs liquid detergent in 1 litre warm water and rubbing it into the stain. Blot it dry before washing as normal.


Bicarbonate of soda

We all perspire, especially if we are stitching in hot, sticky weather. Perspiration, if allowed to remain in fabrics, can eventually stain. It can also damage and weaken the fabric fibres. One way to deal with this problem is to mix bicarbonate of soda into a paste with cold water, then use it to cover the area. Leave it on the fabric for around 30 minutes, then if necessary, soak in detergent before washing as normal.

This method is also useful for removing grease stains, such as butter, margarine, cooking oil or mayonnaise.


Lemon juice

A fresh lemon or a bottle of lemon juice is a handy thing to keep in the cupboard.

Try cutting your lemon into slices and rubbing with it to remove ink from fabric. (Believe it or not you can also try rubbing an ink stain with half a ripe tomato before washing as normal.) Or you can go back to our trusty white vinegar (2 parts), mixed with cornflour (3 parts) to make a paste which you apply to the ink and allow to dry thoroughly before washing.

Have you ever put a piece of needlework away with the needle still in the fabric? When you come back to the project, maybe many months (or years?) later, you may find that the needle has rusted causing a nasty stain. Although it is difficult to remove rust from fabric this is one method that you can try.

  1. Lay the embroidery onto layers of paper towel, stain side down.
  2. Squeeze the juice from half a lemon (or tip from bottle) onto the stained area
  3. Leave it in the sun to dry
  4. Wash as usual


Salt

Have you ever pricked your finger on your needle and before you knew it dripped blood onto your work? I know I have. Blood stains can be difficult to remove if left, so quickly dissolve lots of salt in cold water and soak the affected area. It sounds horrid, but you can also remove a tiny spot of blood by using your own saliva! (It has to be the saliva of the person who bled.)

Again dabbing the area with white vinegar can remove blood spots from your fabric. Remember to dab again afterwards with a damp cloth to remove the smell. Then wash as usual.


Soda water

Soda water can be sprayed or dabbed onto red wine to prevent it staining. Of course other accidents can happen to your needlework if you are drinking red wine whilst stitching!


Methylated spirit

My Dad always kept a bottle of meths in the cupboard to fill our tilly lamp that we used when camping. It has other uses though.

Soak a cloth in methylated spirit and dab onto stains like ballpoint pen, crayon or lipstick to remove them.


Stain Removal Surgery

If you have a problem removing stains from your needlework or clothing why not ask for help and advice here? Or maybe you have had a problem and found a way to solve it?

Make use of this page help each other. Let's build it into a fantastic resource of stain removal knowledge, share our successes and commiserate when we can't find a solution.


Click here to see if you can help other people with their stain problems


Stains a problem?

Would you like some advice on how to deal with a stain?



Or perhaps you found a great way to deal with a stain problem? Why not share and maybe help others.


Give your message a title

Tell us about your stain problem [ ? ]

Upload A Picture of Your Stain [ ? ]

Add a Picture/Graphic Caption (optional) 

Click here to upload more images (optional)

Author Information (optional)

To receive credit as the author, enter your information below.

Your Name

(first or full name)

Your Location

(ex. City, State, Country)

Submit Your Contribution

Check box to agree to these submission guidelines.


(You can preview and edit on the next page)

What Other Visitors Have Said

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

Thread dye stains  starstarstarstarstar
Finished a Pooh and friends cross stitch, rinsed it in cold water and was very upset to find that Tiggers orange yarn bled onto the cloth. HELP!!!!!!!

Highlighter stain removal  starstarstarstarstar
During a flight, my bright pink highlighter lid has come off and the pen has sat nicely on my cross stitch for days before I realised! The stain is fluoro ...

Water Stain on embroidery  starstarstarstarstar
I have a completed cross stitch that my mother did and it looks like a water stain is on it. The fabric around the stitching is browish yellow. Any thoughts?...

how to remove transfer from stamped cross stitch  starstarstarstarstar
How do I get the blue markings from the stamped counted cross stitch out of the fabric? It is for a friend and she spilled something on it and the blue ...

Bleach on aida cloth  starstarstarstarstar
Not knowing that bleach was not to be used on Aida cloth, I tried to get some stains out by using bleach. now I'm afraid the counted cross stitch piece ...

Thread Stain  starstarstarstarstar
I am using a dark blue thread on a piece of cross stitch fabric. I made an error and had to pull some of the thread out, which left a stain in the shape ...

how can I remove a stubborn stain  starstarstarstarstar
I have had a puppy "puddle" on my embroidery and I didn't discover it until it had dried. Can anyone give me any ideas on how to remove the stain?

Thanks....

Removing pencil marks from fabric  starstarstarstarstar
I have several completed pieces in my collection that I haven't been able to get framed yet (being a poor college student and all >.<) and somehow they'...

Ballpoint Ink On Aida Cloth  starstarstarstarstar
I have a problem with ballpoint ink being used on the back of a cross stitch project.

The Aida cloth is white and a little dirty so I put it in a ...

fabric marker stains  starstarstarstarstar
I used a fabric marker on a piece of cotton blend fabric. After I completed the piece the marker did not come out after I washed and dried it. Any ideas ...

Colored pencil markings on Aida cloth  starstarstarstarstar
I marked a 1" square on my aida cloth with a red marking pencil which was a mistake. Now how do I remove it? If I don't remove it, the whole picture is ...

can i wash my complete picture  starstarstarstarstar
Question: I have been working on my cross stitch for over a year, and it is showing signs of dirt. Can I wash it?

Answer: Certainly! I have ...

Colour run stain on embroidered Kazakh wall hanging  starstarstarstarstar
We bought a beautiful wall hanging while travelling in Central Asia. It has coloured embroidery on a black fabric background. The wall-hanging got a bit ...

DMC embroidery thread bleeding  starstarstarstarstar
The red DMC embroidery thread I used bled into the fabric, causing a blurred effect. I thought that DMC was not supposed to bleed?

Remove stain from T shirt  starstarstarstarstar
I soaked two T shirts of my husband with my yellow blouse. The T shirt colour is copper sulphate base. My blouse stained the two T. shirt of my husband ...

embroidery floss stain  starstarstarstarstar
I spent hours embroidering my needlework and when I washed it the dye ran, leaving a pink stain all through the words in the middle of my picture. Any ...

ink-stain-removal  starstarstarstarstar
Tips for pencil, crayon and ink stain removal from fabric.

drink-stains  starstarstarstarstar
What do you do if you get drink stains on your needlework? Tips to remove fizzy drink stains and tea stains.

remove-candle-wax-from-fabric  starstarstarstarstar
Questions and answers about how to remove candle wax from fabric sent in by visitors to the site.

Olive oil on my needlepoint  starstarstarstarstar
A bottle of olive oil broke and saturated about half of a needlepoint project that I was working on and have not finished. I washed it in Woollite and ...

hoop stains on embroidery  starstarstarstarstar
I have a dirty mark around the area where I held the hoop while working my embroidery. How do I clean it without affecting the the fabric and embroidery?...

red-wine-stain-removal  starstarstarstarstar
Tips from site visitors for red wine stain removal

Don't throw it across the room!  starstarstarstarstar
If you enjoy blackwork but don't enjoy unpicking because you have done all of the outside and it doesn't meet where it should, don't get frustrated and ...

removing-mould  starstarstarstarstar
Tips for removing mould and mildew from fabric and needlepoint canvas

metal hoop rust stains on cross-stitch fabric  Not rated yet
I have been cleaning closets and found a half-completed cross-stitch piece that I really like. But I stupidly left it in the embroidery hoop for the several ...

Water stain on crewel work that is 31 years old  Not rated yet
I recently purchased online, a crewel piece, that had been framed for a number of years.

This piece was dry cleaned hoping the ? water stains would ...

dye stains on lugana  Not rated yet
My 2 stitching pieces were up against a dark blue Yazi bag which got wet via my pet doing #1 on it, I soaked my pieces in dish detergent for 12 hours. I ...

bleeding stain....  Not rated yet
I designed a cross stitch to give to my parents but as i was making it i did have to pull parts of it out and move it over since i didn't really have a ...

Oil stained cross stitch picture  Not rated yet
I did a cross stitch picture in 1981. It has been hanging in my mother-in-law's house since then. She passed away this weekend. I asked my son to get ...

Removing mildew from aida  Not rated yet
I found a piece of needlework (counted cross stitch) in my basement and it has quite a bit of mildew on the material. How do I get this off without ruining ...

embroidery ink removal  Not rated yet
I embroidered a white quilt and washed it and cannot get the embroidery ink off. Does anyone have any tips for doing this?

embroidery stamp  Not rated yet
I embroidered a queen size quilt when I washed it the blue markings did not come out, I called Herschners and they said sorry.... what else could I use ...

Mold on Counted Cross stitch  Not rated yet
I have a favorite piece of counted cross stitch that has acquired mold. Most of the mold is confined to the edges. How do I remove the mold without ruining ...

yellowing of crocheted gown  Not rated yet
I have a crocheted gown that was made by my grandmother and it has yellowed over the years. How can I get this white again?

blood on needlepoint  Not rated yet
My dog had a cut on her nose and rubbed blood all over my antique needlepoint doll that was sitting on my couch. I don't want to mess it up - have to ...

mildew on needlepoint chairs  Not rated yet
We took some antique needlepoint chairs out of our garage (which leaked when it rained) and they now have mildew/mold on them.

How do I clean them ...

colorfastness of floss  Not rated yet
I recieved a stamped tablecloth kit as a bridal showeer gift almost 32 years ago.

Last night I finally finished it. Due to time it has taken to get ...

How do I get Lemon Oil off of needlepoint?  Not rated yet
I was dusting my pie safe and apparently had too much lemon oil on my cloth. As I rounded a corner several drops of the lemon oil splattered onto my grandmother'...

mildew on an embroidered tablecloth.  Not rated yet
I have a lovely embroidered tablecloth that was put in the dirty clothes and apparently someone threw a damp towel on top of it in the hamper. We have ...

used ballpoint pen to mark aida cloth ( I know better now)  Not rated yet
Chalk it up to a learning experience and my fabric marker had run dry. I had a HOT PINK ballpoint pen close by that I marked off-white cloth with and ...

Yellowed old embroidery  Not rated yet
I have a 30 year old embroiderd picture that has a real fancy woman sitting on rocking chair (her hair is curly and the shawl on the baby is really lacy)...

how to clean very old framed embroidery   Not rated yet
I have a very old, framed embroidery which was found at my parents home. The backing looks dirtied with dust and age. How do I clean this without making ...

colour-run  starstarstarstarstar
How do I remove stains from colour run on my embroidery?

rust on cross stitch fabric  Not rated yet
Have just read your advice on rust removal - yes I left the needle in and haven't picked it up till now (having babies does that too you!)
just wondering,...

Blood  Not rated yet
If you prick your finger and the blood gets on your work, use your own spit to neutralise the stain, this has to be done immediately to work and it has ...

remove-brown-marks-on-material  starstarstarstarstar
How do I remove brown marks on material, old embroidery and framed needlework?



Return to top of Stain Removal

Return to needlework tips home page


XML RSS
Add to My Yahoo!
Add to My MSN
Add to Google
Copyright© 2007 X-Calibre Designs, 9 West Bank, Old Weston, Huntingdon, Cambs. PE28 5LJ, England