Restoration In Progress–An Adventure In Vintage Roses & Goddamn Sharpie

This is a vintage/antique haori. I am still in the middle of sewing this beast back together. But since I have bothered to take photographs of both the damage and my progress, I thought I would share what’s going on in my restoration station.

Haha, there is a vein just throb-throb-freaking-throbbing in my forehead as I’ve been trying to figure this thing out. The fading? I can handle that. The bunched up collar? No problem. The seams a little weak? I got this.

BUT SOME ASSHAT WHO OWNED THIS BEFORE FELT THE NEED TO COLOUR IN PART OF THE PATTERN WITH A GODDAMN SHARPIE.

I’ve gotten alcohol ink out of silk before. But nothing this old. I started with just hitting it with straight isopropyl alcohol. It showed me that the damage was worse than I thought.

Eventually, I realized the isopropyl alcohol had done all it could, and I whipped out the big guns. This can be hard stuff to work with, but this thing wasn’t getting any deader.

After…awhile…with the Amodex, and a little bit of other restoration tricks up my sleeve, I was able to unclench.

And now she’s ready to be sewn back together again. Which is going to take awhile because pretty much every seam needs reenforced. She’ll have her own post when I’m done with that.

Shit’s hard, man. I like my work, though.