Decorating with Tulle

How to clean Tulle:

First, I highly recommend testing a piece of the fabric first, just to be safe if at all possible. Do so by cutting a small sample of the tulle then hand wash and dry it on low heat to see how it reacts to the method of cleaning. Although tulle can be machine washed, you need to do this with extreme precaution. Make sure the temperature is low, around 30 degrees or so. The safest bet is to stick to the simplest method hand-washing it with a gentle soap and rinse very well using some cool water.  Then allow the tulle to drip dry naturally.

If the tulle is wrinkled after cleaning it, spritz it with some water and fluff the fabric. It should dry without much fuss and the wrinkles can be kept to a minimum. Whether cleaning or drying, always handle tulle gently. Tulle is very fragile as it can and will often times snag or tear.

Store your tulle skirt or tulle gown upright to avoid it from flattening, do so by always hanging it up in the closet after use and avoid laying it down in a box.

How not to clean Tulle:

Dry-cleaning, which seems like an obvious choice is actually more of a detriment to the fabric. This may help to deteriorate the fabric, flatten the “full” look of the tulle, and /or will lose the crisp feel.

Dry the tulle on a high heat. A dryer on high heat may either melt the fabric or cause it to become dry and brittle. Remember that tulle naturally dries fast due to it’s inherent nature and composition.

Don’t scrub the tulle too vigorously because it could easily rip or otherwise get damaged.

Don’t try to bleach the tulle. Tulle is extremely porous and you risk creating a mess and bleaching other items.

Avoid ironing tulle. Tulle will burn quickly and become unusable altogether. If you do decide to iron, be sure to use a low heat setting and place a cloth over the tulle to avoid the direct heat.

Cleaning Lipstick off of Tulle:

You first want to scrape off any pre-existing residue from the tulle using a dull knife. Then with an eyedropper, apply some acetone to the underside of the tulle. Proceed to flush the area with alcohol, tamp it down, and continue to repeat this a couple more times. Rinse as thoroughly as possible with a detergent premix to remove any remaining stain and then simply wash it in hot water with detergent. This works with most stains on tulle, but like everything else in life there are no guarantees.

Either use fabric glue or a good old-fashioned needle and thread and tack them to the tulle.

Heavy duty double sided tape will work perfectly for decorating a table with tulle.

Any generis sewing machine will do the trick. Don’t worry as it is sure to “catch” all of the tulle. There are a couple of options. You can use a short stitch length or you can  baste first if you don’t like to sew over needles. You will find that tulle isn’t as difficult to work with as some people think, it just takes some getting familiar with.