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Posts: 280I have quite a bit of Persian Lamb Fabric that has a musty smell to it. Every piece of this type of fabric I've ever seen has this same smell. Regardless of how long I let it air out, the smell lingers. Is there a way to really ever remove the smell or do I just need to live with it. It smells more like something that's been tucked away in an old trunk for a long time, even though it hasn't. Is this maybe just the "natural" odor of this type of fabric?
Hugs,
Luann
Posts: 3,540Is it fabric or is it really hide?? If its the hide, it may indeed be the inherent smell of the tanning process....so the natural part of the 'fabric'.
Options are to lay the piece of fabric in front of an ozone generator (you can look in hydroponic stores or catalogs for them) to remove the smell. You will want to shift the fabric at least once a day and depending on the smell, you may find you can shift the fabric about hourly and completely remove the smell.
If the smell does not overly bother you, you can tuck the fabric into a cedar chest for a few months, perhaps tucking blocks of cedar or lavendar satchets into folds to encourage the fabric to pick up the new smells.
ToadBriaryou can stick it in a big bag with baking soda for a while - shake it up, get the powder
all penetrating the fibers. Leave it there for a while, take a sniff every so often to check on
the scent. I know dumping white powder on your nice fabric is not a delightful thought but
it can be shaken/beaten out. I have done this with some synthetic fur & it worked fine.
But as with all things YMMV!
Posts: 280Thanks for the suggestions. It's actually from full-length coats, and is a hide. There is a LOT of material there! I think I'll try the baking soda suggestion and see what happens. It's not overpowering, but I'd like for it to smell a little less "old" once I've finished a bear or two out of it. Thanks again.
Luann
Little Bear GuyHi Luann,
We have worked so much with persain lamb (I hate think how many we have done). It is fabulous to work with as it hides a multitude of sins. We have taken an entire coat before that had a smell to it , even after hanging it outside for a few hours in -30 winter weather and still had a smell. What we wound up doing was going to the store and you use to be able to buy stuff called Dryell, it was a home dry cleaning kit. It comes with a bag and a sheet almost like a bounce sheet. You put the coat in the bag with one of the sheets and put it into the dryer, no heat just on the cool cycle for about half and hour and check it and see if you still have the smell if you do then just do it a bit longer. It doesn't give it a perfume scent as I have problems with perfums, but it does give it a fresh smell .
give it a try , I don't think the dryell kit was all that expensive maybe 10.00 but it can be used a few times .
Hope this helps, if you can't find it there Luann we can always look here and send it to you to try, thats what friends are for hon.
big hugs
Shane
ToadBriarDoes persian lamb come in creamy ivory white, ever?
Posts: 280Thanks for the suggestion about the Dryel Shane. My daughter just asked if I wanted the package of it that she bought. She only used it the one time, so I can give it a try tomorrow. I'll let you know how it comes out.
I don't think I've ever seen this type of fabric in anything except black. It would be georgeous in a cream color though.
Luann
Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)Do any of you still have a Persian lamb bear that you made more that a decade ago?
In my early days, I bought coats and shawl/wrappers from conscious-stricken friends (Peta supporters) and made mink and lamb bears - about 6", which were whoppers for me. The thinnest of hides, mink about puntured my fingers with permanent holes but the lamb was 'like buttah'. I could even spilt the hide in two and have a furry fabric and a suede one. But with both methods of working the lamb, about 10 years on I handled the bear I gave my sister. It was shedding! Not in noticeable spots but overall.
I rushed to my supply of furs I still had and found them doing the same . Curiously the mink were still rooted as strong as an ox. That thin hide won't let go of its fibers as easily!!
As per another TT thread: I hereby apologize to anyone who may own one of these!
It occurred to me that furs are kept in cold storage for at least 6 months of every year. Bears are on display through all types of weather: dry, humid, very cool hoes to ones that may hit over 100F. Of course the hairs were falling out. I stopped all returning the fur to the animal realm after that and gave away or discarded the rest of my stash.
Just food for thought. I doubt any bear lover would buy storage space for a favorite bear and relinquish ownership for that long.
I have an original S.M.A.L.L. mink bear from Kathy Meyers, about 15 years old and he's fine.
Has this occurred to any other sewers-of-lamb?
Do you give your customers some caution &/or care notes on this?
TIA -
Little Bear GuyKim - We have had persain lamb in a few colours, the most prominent is Black, but it does come in a smokey grey colour , we have had a beautiful chocolate colour and also in cream ( cream is very difficult to find)
Bobbie- Yes we usually tell our customers to try and keep the bears in a cool area and out of the sun, since it is real fur and as you state usually is kept in cold storage during the summer months. It is best to advise your clients of this so they are aware that hair loss can occur if not looked after carefully. I think mink is usually the best to work with and does tend to stand the test of time. I actually ran across two mink bears in an antique store that were made sometime in the 40 or 50's and they were in great shape and not noticeable hair loss and it wasn't shedding, that's what is so great about mink.
Thanks for reminding people Bobbie that clients do need to be informed about certain things when purchasing a bear.
big hugs
Shane
ToadBriarI need to post thebearguys-relevant questions more so I can see that floppy eared skater dude more often! 
It figures the one I like is impossibly rare, but fine by me ultimately if it's gonna go bald!
would make a fabulous old-fashioned victorian sorta bunny, though.
Kran-Beary'sHi,
The home dry cleaning kits work wonderfully for removing smells and freshening the bear fur. Did you know that when you send a fur to the 'cleaners' to be cleaned they use exactly the same method? They also place sand in the drum of the 'dryer' which beats out some of the dust and dirt that gets trapped in the fur as it tumbles. That's why sometimes when you take a coat apart, there will be shavings and grit trapped in the interior seams. They're not insect residue or mouse droppings like some people might think. That's cleaning sand.
If you plan to use your persian lamb coat for a bear, I would recommend taking it apart, and fully removing the lining and all the interfacings before using the home dry cleaning kit. Many of the odors are actually trapped in the linings and felts, rather than the pelts. If you want to use the lining, you can then hand wash it. Then just place the pelt portion in the dryer to be freshened.
Each type of fur requires a different tanning process before it becomes ready to make a coat. Seal uses the most processes, with over 80 steps in the tanning process. Persian lamb is a very durable, pliable skin, although it is not a true 'fur.' The pelts remain pliable and have minimal shrinkage, even when they are saturated with water. You can stick a piece of persian lamb in the wash, and it'll come out perfect. Not so with mink, which will break apart. Some pelts will even completely disintegrate, while others will dry hard and crusty. Try it with some swatches and a bucket of water if you get a chance...it's a neat experiment.
As for pelts thinning with age... bears that are lined usually fair better than unlined bears. Regular dusting and a constant temperature and humidity also help extend the life. I've got a couple thousand real fur bears out there, and I've been doing them for 13 years. So far I haven't heard of any pelts disintegrating on me.
Hope this helps you out.
hugs,
nancy tillberg
Someone has been busy with bears !!!!!!!nancy what lovely bears sitting above me and watch me
Lynette
