How do you get candle wax out of silk?

Carla

I dripped candle wax on a nobbly silk spread cloth. It soaked right through. Now what do I do?
 

Francesca

Try freezing it so most of the wax can break away, then iron the rest out sandwiching the silk between two pieces of scrap cotton fabric--pieces of muslin or old sheet if you have it around. While the fabric is still warm, put some baking soda on it to soak up the oily residue.

There will probably be some staining no matter what, so maybe put a little embroidery or other decoration over it.

Francesca
 

Elven

Heres another method: got this online:


Removing Wax from Washable Fibres.

Scrape to remove excess.
Place the stained area between two pieces of white blotting paper and press with a warm iron.
Change the paper as it absorbs the stain. This stain can easily spread, so use care while pressing.
On colorfast fabrics, white cotton, or linen, try pouring boiling water through the stain.
After using either method, allow to dry.
If any trace remains, flush with a stain-removing agent, such as Afta Cleaning Fluid.
If any dye remains, sponge it with 1 part rubbing alcohol (do not use on acrylic or modacrylic fabric) mixed with 2 parts water.
Rinse well with clear water and dry.
 

Jaqueline

I do batik on silk, so. . . iron the silk between layers of newspaper to get out the bulk of the wax. However, it won't get all of it out, so the final step is dry cleaning. Dry cleaning will totally remove the wax.