Please tell me how to soften new cotton clothes?
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there's a new cotton dress for my mother (80 yrs.) which she finds it sort of stiff and hurting. please advise how to soften it.
thank you.
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It is cotton, it should soften up after being washed. May I suggest washing the garment inside out in cold water with a vinegar rinse and hang to dry. Since it is cotton it will dry quickly. Probably the sizing in the fabric that feels stiff. Once that is washed out it should feel better. If you have wool dryer balls, run through the dryer on fluff mode - no heat - with the dryer balls for 10 or 15 minutes which will also soften the garment for her.
First, turn the garment inside-out and check what sort of thread was used for the seams, darts, etc. If it's NYLON FILAMENT you may want to have the shoulder and sleeve seams picked out and restitched with a good cotton/poly thread. Next, if that's not the issue, and even after restitching if necessary, wash the garment in WARM water with a small amount of detergent, add white vinegar to the deep rinse, and line-dry (on a plastic hanger is nice). You may discover that all the prickly stuff is gone.
Wash with some baking soda, .soak for about 30 minutes then continue to wash and rinse well.
thank you, Naomie, Janis and Patricia for your suggestions. I'll get back to you after the washing is done.