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HOW TO / DIY AGING CLOTHES


Paisley

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tired of that "fresh outta the costume shop" look?

what be the practical ways ye be aging your garb?

:lol:

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"This calls for a particularly subtle blend of psychology & extereme violence." -Vivian, The Young Ones

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Wear the clothes through all kinds of weather. Don't wash 'em for a while. Or, sail a tall ship and get a bit o' tar on 'em (the latter two selections be my method). If'n your a poorer pirate than th' average, then clothes that don't fit perfectly or are a bit ragged help. Also, if'n you either make yer own, or at least modify the clothes a bit, it will help on the whole 'home made' kind of look.

Coastie :lol:

She was bigger and faster when under full sail

With a gale on the beam and the seas o'er the rail

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Aye, Coastie has the right of it. Live in them. A lot. My re-enactment kit never sees a washing machine. When my shirts are too much to take, they get washed by hand in lye soap. My wool stuff never gets washed, just hung out to air. Getting it all drycleaned or machine washed and dried will never give you an authentic look, because its not authentic.

Wear them for the weekend, sleep in them, go camping in them, do some backcountry hiking in them, spend a weekend on a sailing ship in them, and keep repeating until they look right.

Oh, and when they rip, patch them or sew them up. Don't replace.

Give it a bit and they'll look right. Artificial ageing always looks artificial.

Hawkyns

:lol:

Cannon add dignity to what otherwise would be merely an ugly brawl

I do what I do for my own reasons.

I do not require anyone to follow me.

I do not require society's approval for my actions or beliefs.

if I am to be judged, let me be judged in the pure light of history, not the harsh glare of modern trends.

rod_21.jpg

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Aye Stynky,

Yer not gonna throw all tha' goode tea out when yer done there, are ye?

Ye could drink tha' fer a week! Mmmm!!!

kidding.... just Kidding! Really! :ph34r:

Truly,

D. Lasseter

Captain, The Lucy

Propria Virtute Audax --- In Hoc Signo Vinces

LasseterSignatureNew.gif

Ni Feidir An Dubh A Chur Ina Bhan Air

"If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me." Deuteronomy 32:41

Envy and its evil twin - It crept in bed with slander - Idiots they gave advice - But Sloth it gave no answer - Anger kills the human soul - With butter tales of Lust - While Pavlov's Dogs keep chewin' - On the legs they never trust... The Seven Deadly Sins

http://www.colonialnavy.org

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Why does it appearrrrr to be Uhhhhmmmm.....foaming?

Ye did not add the sugar first did ye?

I were going to suggest that ye put yer new togs on and come on over and clean me garage...then there be the windows and mini-blinds (maybe best to do them first)

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Aye, Coastie has the right of it. Live in them. A lot. My re-enactment kit never sees a washing machine. When my shirts are too much to take, they get washed by hand in lye soap.

Lye soap for historical accuracy or will it clean a bit without removing stains and such?

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Lye soap for historical accuracy or will it clean a bit without removing stains and such?

Both really. Lye soap will take out the worst of the day to day grunge but does not do much for serious stains. It also gives the shirts an appropriate texture (stiff) and smell.

I guess it's one of my pet peeves- people who are trying to look like something historical, but are too clean and smell like they just came from the perfume department.

Hawkyns

:(

Cannon add dignity to what otherwise would be merely an ugly brawl

I do what I do for my own reasons.

I do not require anyone to follow me.

I do not require society's approval for my actions or beliefs.

if I am to be judged, let me be judged in the pure light of history, not the harsh glare of modern trends.

rod_21.jpg

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Arr Lady Zephyr your company be sweet enough. I’ll have me ice tea no sugar unsweetened, hold the lemon.

And it tis a bit gritty and funny tasting Mister Lasseter, with the left over coffee grounds crunching away, broken teabags and a few staples. Probably should have removed the shirt from it as well.

I’m thinking that the foam be a side effect of boiling up through the cloth I think. . . Could be some left over soap residue I suppose, it goes away once the heat be reduced.

El Pirata, the tea soak idea be an old theater trick, been around for years if not centuries I imagine.

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Aaaarr, me dear lad...yer sweeeeeet talk brightens me morning!

May I carry me through me work day and the insanity of me scabberous work mates... :(

boil'n the clothes be an olde process.....a bit hard on the clothes and harder on the washer womans hands (not to mention the lye.....)

:( Aramis scented pirates

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For those of you who want ter age a garment on the quick, the tea bags work well...a mixture of burnt sienna and yellow ochre acrylic paint (diluted with water) stains well...plus, for a more realistic fraying and ripping, grab an exacto for the initial cut, and then attack the cut in the fabric with a steel wire brush.

If ye want the occasional bloodstain, mix a slightly thinned mixture of crimson and burnt sienna fer an old...clotted bloodstain.

REDD.jpg

YARRR! The Oktober be silent now! Just call me "REDD!"

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For a general yellowed look, you can use the tea bag method mentioned previously... though I like to use coffee grounds (e'en if the smell is stronger... it's less likely to wash out after the first few times).

For makin' the garb DIRTY (as in muck and mud and stuff like that)... at work we use this pre-bought stuff called "schmutz" (though I dunno if that be a nickname or the product's actual label), put a few handfuls in a torn-off piece of wifebeater shirt, tie it into a bundle and use it like a pommel. Be sure to really grind the stuff in, and get the spots that are the most likely to be dirtied... that means the creases and seams, especially. for pants, be sure to get the waistband, the crotch, and the hems of the pant legs. for shirts it's sideseams, collar, "the pits," and the hems of the sleeves. If yer cheap like me, ye'll just use real dirt. Ye get that fine earthy smell! But the actors don't want to wear real dirt, so we have to use fake stuff.

Spoiled gits.

If ye want to go all out, you can use rubbed in baby oil for grease. A word o' warnin' it feels nasty an' doesn't last very long (once the oil dries, the stain disappears, so if you grease the clothes the night before a faire, keep it in a plastic bag until the event). Be sure to wear some manner of plastic or latex gloves though, as baby oil stinks like bloody hell if on your cuticles for too long!!

For all agin', just use common sense and get the spots that you would think wear the most. Places that wear easily (the seat of pants, the hems of pants, the collars of shirts.. that sorta thing). Only you can know where your rubbin' and slidin' all the time!

Mind, all of this is for a quick, one-day aging process. If you want the real thing, do as the others suggested and just live in the garb! But if ye want an overnight method... here ye have it, the protected secrets of the Sony Studios Wardrobe Dept!! (Just don't tell on me, they'd keel haul me if they knew I were spillin' their secrets!)

Have fun!

--Mab

Prepare to be boarded!

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Tea and Coffee as well as ground or whole

walnut hull work to sadden clothing, with the

walnut you'll need a mordent, I use a few iron nail.

remember the longer you leave it to steep, the darker

the color, especially with the walnuts.

I've also heard that a cheese grater will do the

job of helping make "worn" areas more extreme,

as well as the sandpaper, and I believe you can create

a sweat stain in your hat with a clear wax crayon

(like the kind that comes in the easter egg coloring kits)

Nothing beats aging your kit like

wearing it however! I have a nice pair of striped

overalls that i have for my Rev War kit that I had "field aged"

for about 7-8 months and washed them only by rinsing them out.

I loaned them to a freind who wanted badly to clean them, I asked

that if he really needed to "wash" them before wearing them that

he just rinse them in mild water! He proudly sowed up at the appointed

event with my white & blue stripped overalls newly washed in "oxyfresh"!

so white they hurt your eyes!! He also ruined the braintan heel straps

I had on them by waxing them for me....he was very proud of his work! :huh:

Hope you found the aging info helpful

Cheers

Redhand

:huh:

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I guess it's one of my pet peeves- people who are trying to look like something historical, but are too clean and smell like they just came from the perfume department.

I be not likin the people who be smellin like that everyday. Kinda like if you stink clean yerself not put perfume on to cover yer stench.

Pushing the limits means getting out of my comfort zone and giving more when I don't think I have any left.

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I've been experimenting with using the coffee method. Here's my latest and greatest in the works. Notice the color of the water. I've been thinking that burnt coffee might work the best, especially that stuff that's been burning for a few hours and evaporated most of the liquid and the remaining syrup would make great dye. Anyway, here's the pic:

CIMG4453a.JPG

Pushing the limits means getting out of my comfort zone and giving more when I don't think I have any left.

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Better pyracy through chemistry. Ye be clothing aging arrrtists!

though I'm forced to observe that I never met a male who wasn't....... well there was one.....

we used to roll up our jeans with rags inside em and rub em on the sidewalk...when mum wasn't looking...... prehistoric stone washed!

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One thing to note about the tea/coffee dyeworks. It only works well on natural fibers- cotton, linen, wool, etc. Polycottons and synthetics do not respond well to this.

Hawkyns

:ph34r:

Cannon add dignity to what otherwise would be merely an ugly brawl

I do what I do for my own reasons.

I do not require anyone to follow me.

I do not require society's approval for my actions or beliefs.

if I am to be judged, let me be judged in the pure light of history, not the harsh glare of modern trends.

rod_21.jpg

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The pics don't do justice but there's piece of plain white paper and the color the plain white shirt is now as a result of using a little coffee.

CIMG4670a.JPG

Pushing the limits means getting out of my comfort zone and giving more when I don't think I have any left.

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I aged some snow-white lace with old tea bags and a bit of yellow paste food coloring to give it a yellowy-old look. I boiled it all together with a lot of water. I tried some brown paste food coloring, but that batch came out more pink than dirty beige.

Also, any coffee you have left over in the morning, add some water to it and soak your clothes in it. The stronger the coffee/tea, the darker the color. The more water you use, the lighter the color.

You could just soak the clothes in the mix, but the color doesn't grab as well as when you add a bit of heat on the stove.

B)

Capt. WE Roberts

"I shall uphold my indignity with the utmost dignity befitting a person of my undignified station."

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