In Gone With the Wind, Scarlett O’Hara rips the velvet drapes from her windows and makes a dress out of them.  At Classic Cleaners, though, some frayed drapes came back to life under the loving care of master seamstress Ohi Suhre and are now once again a proud part of the homeowner’s décor.

Drapery care at Classic Cleaners

The set of eight drapery panels was brought in to Classic Cleaners for dry cleaning, but the edges, as so often happens with prolonged exposure of drapes to sunlight, had become weakened and “sun rotted”. As you can see in the photo, Ohi was able to finish off the outside edges of each panel. (Drapes are shown here before pressing and finishing, with the frayed edges placed across the white inside portion of the panel.)

Window dressings have been around a long time, but draperies (pleated and heavier than curtains) became popular in the late 1800’s. Interestingly, in 1950 Emily Post referred to the word “drapes” as an “inexcusable vulgarism”, advising ladies to refer to window hangings as “draperies” or curtains.

However you choose to refer to them, drapes serve several important functions:

• Block or filter light
• Provide privacy
• Frame the outside view of the home

Drapes come in four basic categories:

• Traverse drapes hang from a cord-operated rod and open and close.
• Casement drapes (sheers) are translucent, hanging close to the window.
• Inverted pleat drapes are stationary panels, closely gathered at the top and hanging loose.
• Tiebacks 
         
  At Classic Cleaners, we meticulously care for draperies of every type, from swags to jabots.
  Once dry cleaning or laundering and stain removal is done, we place the drapes on special equipment that gently dries them while pleats are refreshed as needed.

Unlike Scarlett O’Hara, you’ve probably no plans to use your drapes as dresses.  Nonetheless, they are dressings – for your windows. As part of a well-dressed home, drapes should be cleaned at least once every two years. 

At Classic Cleaners, we want to help your home make the Best Dressed list!

 By Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

CLASSIC  CLEANERS  SEPTEMBER  SPECIAL:

$10  OFF  DRY  CLEANING  OF  LEATHER  AND  SUEDE  GARMENTS!

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“Think of leather as skin,” is the advice offered in an About.com guide. “Just as you need to clean and moisturize your own skin, leather needs to be maintained in the same way to stay supple, pliable, and resilient.”

At Classic Cleaners, we agree – skin care is a good way to describe the special processes we use in cleaning and restoring leather and suede. After first checking for stains and damage, our technicians determine the safest method of treatment for each garment.  Detergents and solvents must be carefully balanced, for example, in order to retain the natural oils in leather.

At that point, our work is still far from complete.  We reshape each garment, and, if necessary, our expert dyers create a blend to treat any areas where the color is uneven.  Never fear – all this work is included in the cleaning price.

At Classic Cleaners, September’s certainly the month to take care of your “skins”! 
by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

My Drycleaer.com  lists 10 things to look for when choosing a dry cleaner, but for me, it’s all about #3. That’s because #3 touches on what used to be my dry cleaning pet peeve, which is getting  back clothes in not-ready-to-wear shape.

Truly ready-to-wear with Classic Cleaners

And, you know, as a customer, I didn’t want to debate whose responsibility it was to notice.  If a button was loose, or there was a little tear in a seam, or a thread in the hem was coming unraveled, whether it was there to begin with (and I’d just forgotten to call their attention to it when I brought the garment in) or whether it happened in the dry cleaning process – I didn’t really care.  I still wanted what I wanted, which was to be  able to take my clothes out of their plastic bags, hang them in my closet, and know they would be ready for me when I was ready for them!

As Tevye would say in Fiddler on the Roof, “Sounds simple, doesn’t it?” Well, B.C.C. (before Classic Cleaners), it wasn’t.

At Classic Cleaners, No. 3 is just part of the routine of good customer service and it’s no peeve, all gain!  Making simple clothing repairs is just part of offering the best dry cleaning and laundry services possible.  If a seam’s open, our technicians sew it up before cleaning or laundering, so the damage doesn’t get worse. Same for loose fasteners and buttons, snags or ravels – it’s all part of routine customer service and smart clothing care.

(Of course, if a garment is severely damaged and needs extensive work, a Classic Cleaners manager will contact the customer before going any further,  explaining what the charges will be. If a customer requests that all the buttons on a garment be replaced, there is a $1 charge per button.)
 
Truth is, most dry cleaners provide limited services such as sewing on buttons, and making minor repairs.  Classic Cleaners goes many steps further than that, offering complete alteration and re-tailoring services. As eighteen year Classic Cleaners veteran Ohi Suhre, Manager of Alterations, can tell you (in five languages, by the way) – it’s all about making it right for the customer.

My pet peeve about #3 is history. Like all Classic Cleaners customers, I  know – when I’m ready to wear them, my freshly laundered and dry cleaned clothes are ready for me and ready to wear!
By Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

“Nothing commands attention like a man in a well-fitted suit,” exclaims B.A.T.. “He exudes a sophistication that is impossible to recreate by any other means or in any other clothing.”

At Classic Cleaners, we agree. Once you find a suit that fits well in which you feel comfortable, we want to help you keep it looking its best just as long as possible. We even want to make sure your tie adds to your sophisticated business or evening look, so we’ve developed a special process for pressing neckties to give them a perfect rolled edge.

The other day we blogged about buttons, and how careful Classic Cleaners’ technicians are in making sure buttons are sewn on tight and not cracked. On a man’s suit, only the top button of a two-button jacket is fastened; if there are three buttons, either just the middle button or the top two are fastened. With the exception of the one button jacket, the bottom button is never fastened. That means, if any button is likely to need re-sewing, it’s the middle one! So, while we check all the buttons, we start with that middle one.

There are three ways to acquire a suit:

1. Bespoke: Your suit is custom-made from a pattern the tailor created from your measurement.
2. Made to measure:  Your suit is tailored from a pre-made pattern and modified somewhat to fit you.
3. Ready to wear or off-the-rack: This is the least expensive and most common.

However you acquired your suit, you can be confident, when you bring it to Classic Cleaners, it will receive all the specialized attention it needs. We take care to preserve the inner construction of each suit, including the facings, the lining, and the shoulder pads, all things that give the suit its shape and fit. And, if a suit needs repair or alterations, Classic Cleaners experts are on site to help.

At Classic Cleaners, our aim is for you to command – that is, command attention in your clean, well-pressed suit!
 by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

At Classic Cleaners, we’ve never met a button we didn’t like. On the other hand, we’ve prepared ourselves to deal with some of the special challenges buttons can pose in the course of dry cleaning and laundering your garments.

• We have a special Classic Cleaners button guarantee: Should there be any broken or missing buttons on your laundered shirts, we sew on new ones!
• If one of your garments has very delicate buttons (rhinestone buttons on evening clothes, studs, or beaded buttons, for example), our Classic Cleaners seamstress Ohi Suhre may carefully remove those buttons, then re-attach them after the dry cleaning process is complete.

Did you know that buttons were first used as ornaments rather than for fastening? The earliest known button, dating back 5000 years, was found by archeologists in the Indus Valley.  According to SocyBerty.com, the Greeks took the button a step closer to use as a fastener by creating a loop for it out of strands of thread. Mass production of buttons came about during the industrial revolution, and the rest is button history!

One really fascinating aspect of buttons has to do with the feminist movement. In the course of campaigning for equal rights, women gradually adopted men’s clothing styles. But for some reason (there are different theories about why this is so), women’s clothes have always buttoned to the left, while men’s garments continue to button to the right!Whether you fasten your clothing east to west or the reverse, as a Classic Cleaners’ customer, you may be sure your clothes will be returned to you clean, fresh, and ready to –  button!

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

Yellowing is a big dry cleaning challenge, no doubt about it.  And I don’t mean just a yellow spot, but when an entire section of a garment or even the entire thing, has turned from white to a sickly shade of yellow.

To be sure, Classic Cleaners’ professionals have been able to chalk up some major successes in the battle against yellowing.  Blog readers may recall Regina Mattson’s wedding blanket, the pair of lace wedding shoes, and Brooke Hynds Mackin’s 62-year old, third generation wedding gown.

According to fibre2fashion.com, “yellowing of textile fabrics is one of the oldest and most widespread quality problems known.”…”As a general statement, yellowing…is an indication of unintended chemical degradation.” Fibre2fashion lists several factors that can cause fabrics to yellow:

• Exposure to excessive heat and light (sunlight or fluorescent light)
•  Chemical additives in softeners or brightening agents
• Contaminants from boxes or bags (we wrote about the importance of acid-free containers just the other day)
• Perfumes and body lotions
• High humidity

Some of the time, in fact most times, our experienced technicians have won the battle against yellowing on garments and linens. There have been times, though, when garment are just too far gone for us to restore. (Almost always, though, when you bring in a garment for a consultation, we can predict how well it’s likely to turn out.) 

From a treasured garment’s point of view, it’s just not easy being yellow!

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

Back in the day, our great-great-grandparents knew Milk of Magnesia was a good remedy to “buffer” stomach acid.

  But, along with preventing acid indigestion in our own bodies, did you know that books and clothes need to be protected as well?

When Classic Cleaners professionals are preserving an heirloom or a wedding gown, for instance, they use layers of acid-free paper to stuff the garment, and then pack the item it into a box made of acid-free material.

"Buffering" clothes with acid-free paper

(The definition of acid-free paper is paper with a neutral PH of around 7.) 

Up until the middle 1800’s, paper was made from various plants, including mulberry and flax.  Then it was discovered that paper could be made more cheaply from wood pulp. It took chemicals to break the wood down into pulp, however, and that process left a residue of acid. The problem was that the acid would turn the pulp yellow and cause it to deteriorate over time.  In fact, many valuable books in libraries became illegible over time, all due to the effects of acid in the paper on which they had been printed!

Today, much of the commercially produced paper is acid free because, during the processing of the wood, “buffers” are added to neutralize the acid in the pulp (kind of like putting “Tums” or Milk of Magnesia in the mix).

Layered with acid free material and loaded into the acid free archival quality preservation box, your gown or heirloom can “breathe”.  Good thing, too, because at Classic Cleaners, we work hard to preserve our reputation as the best wedding gown preservation service from Indianapolis to Noblesville and everywhere in between.

Acid indigestion for clothes?  No way!  After all, as a Classic Cleaners customer, you’ve got a “buffer” in the dry cleaning business!

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

Don't sing the Holiday Stain Refrain!

Some things just seem to go together.  At Classic Cleaners, two of those things seem to be holidays and stains on clothing!

This July 4th weekend, it was independence and ice cream stains.

On Labor Day, it’ll likely be barbecue sauce stains and blouses.

No doubt, Thanksgiving will combine with turkey gravy stains.

And, after the winter holidays, we’ll see water spots on velvet, and green and red (or blue and white, depending upon customers’ religion!) candle wax on tablecloths.

No matter what the season, the professionals at Classic Cleaners stand ready to put their stain removal skills to the test.

Often, though, what makes the difference between success and, well, less-than-perfect, is time. The sooner you bring your stained garments or table linens in for professional laundering or dry cleaning, the better.  To paraphrase an old saying, a Classic Cleaners stain removal in time, saves nine (out of ten garments).

If there’s a “never-never” for dry cleaning customers, it’s this:

Never, never put away a garment or tablecloth for the season without having it cleaned first!

Before the holiday glow has a chance to fade – or the stains to set in – bring those clothes and linens to Classic Cleaners.

That way, you’ll never be singing the “holiday stain refrain”!

 by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

Thread Count Counts at Classic Cleaners!

If you learn nothing else about suits, askmen.com wants to be sure you learn about thread count.

  The higher the thread count, the finer the weave and delicacy of the wool fabric – a count higher than 300 signifies a fine fabric. Closer to 180, though, may mean your suit is “tougher” and that the fabric might hold up longer.

Askmen.com was talking about all-wool suits, but quite often, the business suits turned in for dry cleaning at our Indianapolis, Westfield, and Carmel Classic Cleaners locations are made of a blended fabric. Sometimes suits contain a blend of natural and man-made fibers. The care label will offer a recommendation for method of cleaning that is based partially on the fabric blend.

It’s interesting.  We generally mistrust the statement “I’m from the government and I’m here to help you”, but, as an Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet on textile sciences explains, most consumers consider care labels a desirable form of government regulation. At Classic Cleaners, our professionals begin by deciphering the label on each garment, and then proceed to study each stain. 

With decades of combined experience, the Classic Cleaners team has assembled an arsenal of tools and techniques. Thread count matters, because the finer the weave, the more delicately the suit fabric must be treated.

Thread count matters on bed linens and tablecloths as well. But, as one eBay Guide explains, there are other factors to be considered as well, such as the quality of the yarn itself, the construction, and the finishing.

Whatever the thread count of your suits or linens, you may be sure no thread will be left unraveled as Classic Cleaners treats your fabrics to professional care!

Taking care of your flag

There’s nothing we like better at Classic Cleaners than a clean, bright, red-white-and-blue American flag flying proudly in the wind.

 In fact, one of the special things we do to earn our “Best Dry Cleaners in Indy” rating is to clean any American or state flag (3’x5’ or smaller) free of charge.  (That’s not one of the famous Classic Cleaners monthly specials – we do flag-cleaning all year ‘round!)

 This month is the perfect time to have your flags cleaned, though. After all, we’re smack dab in the middle of flag season, what with Memorial Day a couple of weeks ago, then Flag Day this week, and Fourth of July coming up. Sure enough, at Classic Cleaners we see a lot of flags being turned in every June.

 There are actually dozens of “flag days”, including:

•  Inauguration Day (January 20)
• Lincoln’s Birthday (February 12)
• Army Day (April 6)
• Labor Day (first Monday in September)
• Constitution Day (September 17)
• Navy Day (October 27)
• Veterans Day (November 11)

 But, as capital flags.com reminds us, as a U.S. citizen, you may display your flag any day you like!

 Our Classic Cleaners’ professionals can help guard the colors of your flag and remove dirt and stains, but guarding against tears is often something the owner needs to do. It’s important not to fly your flag where it will come in contact with tree branches, wire cables, or even nails and hooks protruding from a building’s walls.

 Capitalflags.com advises protecting your flag from exposure to storms and abnormally high winds, because any of these things can shorten a flag’s life.  While many flags today are made of weather-proof material, high winds can tatter any flag.  At Classic Cleaners we want to add that, if your flag gets wet, spread it out to dry before bringing it to be professionally cleaned.  Putting the flag into a bag while wet can cause some of the colors to “bleed”.

 At Classic Cleaners, we want to help you keep those American – and those Indiana State – flags flying high and proud!

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team