Starch and Fatigues

[CNY Militaria]

I have heard from some collectors that heavy starch in old sets of fatigues can damage it over time, while others would rather leave starch in them. I was wondering from the many members here what you think on this issue and what experiences (if any) you have had regarding starched fatigues.

 

Thanks,

Justin

[gwb123]

Starch makes the threads stiff and brittle. Depending on the uniform, the cloth can eventually rip or tear along the starched edge.

 

When I used to collect fatigue uniforms, the first thing I would do is gently launder and dry the uniform until the starch was either removed or reduced.

 

You want to be careful doing this. Taking a starched uniform and just throwing it straight into the wash cycle can cause it to tear. The reason is that it takes some soaking before the threads are flexible again. I always soaked the uniforms first.

 

Tumbling in a dryer also seems to help break down starch.

 

If you want to keep one or two lessor pieces in starched condition just to show what it looked like, go right ahead. But I always took my better items and got the starch out of them.

 

One caution... a heavily starched uniform may hide either a hole or a ripped seam. The starch can be the only thing that is holding the uniform together.

 

For display purposes, you can still iron the uniform afterwards.

[Bob Hudson]

Starch makes the threads stiff and brittle. Depending on the uniform, the cloth can eventually rip or tear along the starched edge.

 

Even unstarched sharp creases will tear along the edge. I have seen a lot of otherwise beautiful WWII field jackets that had tears right along the crease at the bottom of the sleeve cuffs or on the top edge of the collar.

[Mr-X]

This is an interesting question.

For long term preservations, as Gil said starch needs to be removed as best as possible.

[CNY Militaria]

Thanks for the info Gil! About how long do you soak it for? And I imagine you use a light wash and dry cycle?

 

Thanks again!

Justin

[Polygon]

I'd just leave it as is personally, maybe gently clean it at one point, but nothing too severe.

[gwb123]

Thanks for the info Gil! About how long do you soak it for? And I imagine you use a light wash and dry cycle?

 

Thanks again!

Justin

 

 

Call me cautious but I might let them soak in the machine maybe a couple hours. Or in a bucket with plenty of water overnight. Anything to soften the cloth and dissolve the starch.

 

I learned all this the hard way. I had a poplin jungle jacket fully badged that I tossed right into the machine. When I pulled it out, I had about an 8 inch tear right down the center of the back. I used Iron on patch material on the inside of the back to pull it back together. Fortunately nothing on the front was damaged. But starched poplin is a bad combination, and can rip almost like paper.

 

The other thing is some collectors will fold their fatigue shirts for storage as opposed to hanging on a ladder. This is also not a good thing to do if the garment is heavily starched... one more direction the fibers can break.

[CNY Militaria]

Thanks again for the info Gil, I will try this out soon and hopefully it will yield good results.

Justin

[kklinejr]

I can only concur with what has already been stated. Any starched item that I have received, I have soaked and then gently hand washed. Color me crazy, but I just don't trust the agitator of a washing machine with vintage clothing.

 

As far as the pre-soaking of the garment, this is a must- especially if the starch is very heavy. Two months ago I picked up a USMC fatigue set that was so heavily starched I felt if I dropped it, the set would break into pieces. I soaked them for five hours, just to get them "loose" again, hand cleaned them in a wash tub, and (besides a few storage lines caused by the sharp pressed edges) they turned out fine.

 

Best of luck!

Ken