first, find and read the washing instructions on the tag
what if it's dry clean only? try the spot test on each color. take a clean damp white cloth or q tip, and gently rub it on the waist tie or an inside seam. if no color comes off, this is a good sign that it won't bleed in the wash.
the next step is to test wash the waist tie. put it into a delicates bag or a pillow case with a color catcher sheet (shout brand dye-trapping sheet). then put the waist tie in cold water, gentle cycle. if when the wash is done, and the color catcher sheet has no color on it, you can wash your dress in the water and it wont bleed! remember, cold water, delicate cycle, with DELICATE DETERGENT (seventh generation lavender laundry detergent). keep in mind that these steps are for cotton and polyester dresses specifically.
to prep a dress to be washed: take off anything that is detachable, such as detachable waist ties, bows, detachable straps.
washing: first turn the dress inside out, because friction can cause the dress to fade and pill faster. MAKE SURE YOUR WASHER DOES NOT HAVE A CENTER AGITATOR/CYLINDER. if your washer does have it, you can instead wash your clothes in a rope handle bucket. place your dress into a clean pillow case or laundry bag. then place one color catcher sheet in the bag and close/tie the bag. place another color catcher sheet in the laundry machine. place your laundry bag with the dress into the laundry machine and use your gentle detergent in the detergent compartment. set the laundry setting to cold water, delicate, low spin, and light soil level. the less movement and agitation, the better.
after it's done washing, remove it from the laundry immediately, as letting it sit there could cause color bleeding. examine the color catcher, no color on it is a good sign! make sure you have a prepared drying area such as table with clean towels to lay down the dress flat to dry. WE DON'T WANT TO HANG DRY AS THIS CAN CAUSE STRESS TO THE DRESS SINCE IT WILL BE HEAVY FROM WATER. make sure dress is turned back outside in, lay it on clean towels, and fix everything so that it dries how you want it to. e.g. make sure the built-in petticoat is laying how it supposed to, make sure interior liner is sitting nice and straight, take the lace and gently straighten it out so it lays how it's supposed to. we want the dress to dry really well. then let it sit for half the day, and the flip it and do the same thing for the back of the dress with new dry towels.
if washing your dress in a bucket, still turn the dress inside out, put some gentle detergent in the bucket, swish it around in cold water, dunk dress in bucket and let it soak for at least 10 minuntes and mix it. dump out the water and repeat the process 3 times. then put it on a towel, roll the towel to gently press on the dress, and follow same steps for drying the dress mentioned above.
BE CAREFUL WITH THE DRESSES THAT HAVE RED DYES, triple spot check. for velveteen pieces, do not put these in water, dryclean them. before dry cleaning, also take off anything that is detachable on the dress.
website to do list
add home page button to each page, add bottom borders to each page
redo the format and aesthetic of poetry page (i hate it)
incorporate accessories, shoes, and normie wardrobe to wardrobe page
figure out formatting for art pages
improve or remove marquee entirely from pages, incorporate marquee quotes into header
finalize home page: add about page, links, welcome page, neocities profile
create numbered pages instead of just next/previous
remove girl hover cursors
add banners to page
combine poetry page, zines, and articles to library page
music page: categories albums by genre, make favorite songs page, add playlists for drum n bass compilations, Spotify playlists, etc.
For library page: create welcome page that links to the following pages: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, articles, zines, and "Books I have Read".
images to incorporate on library welcome page: candles, antique books, latin text/font, cherub, brain
