How do I revive Isis wings?

[Darshiva]

My old and very well loved pair of gold lame Isis wings are looking very tired. They're actually probably only good for practice now, but I haven't got time to get a new pair in (in fact my sister is buying me a pair for xmas, but that's a whole other story). Because the pleats are almost completely dropped out & they are badly creased (excessive use rather than mismanagement) they aren't drawing like they should so they are hard to manage. Which brings me to my question.

How do I iron gold lame pleats back in without ruining the fabric? Please bear in mind that I do not iron if I can possibly avoid it, so I will need a very detailed instruction on how to not ruin the prop I intend to perform with in 2 weeks.

 

[Amulya]

Would misting them and carefully folding them back into place (like as in when you store them) help?

 

[LilithNoor]

I'm wondering if you could coax the pleats back into shape by folding the wings up and then pressing them with a low heat steam iron?

I'd probably break out the ironing board and a ruler, and have a bash at resetting the pleats one by one, but that does sound like an awful lot of work.

No one around who could loan you a set?

 

[Darshiva]

I'm going to give them a rinse & let them drip dry in the shower. Hopefully the pleats will remain but the creases will drop out. Hopefully. If not, oh well, I'll just live with it.

 

[Darshiva]

And here's how I did it.

How to revive your Isis wings:

Remove sticks
Hang up in shower
Rinse with hot water for 10 minutes
Allow to drip dry*

This seems to reset the pleats on chemically-pleated wings.


*Please note that while the wings will be dry within a few hours, the neck elastic takes forever to dry. 9 hours later & it's still damp at the neck. However, the wings are behaving beautifully again.

 

[Daimona]

I'm glad it helped!
Thanks for sharing!

I added a link to this thread from the http://www.bellydanceforums.net/dance-costumes/10926-maintenance-storage-dance-props.html-thread.

 

[Amulya]

Are they lame? Or organza?

 

[Darshiva]

Lame.

 

[Amulya]

I got organza ones, such a different material. I'm glad mine are in top condition even though they had to survive being a on a chair in an airplane once LOL. I wouldn't know if this trick would work on organza.

 

[Darshiva]

The wings my sis has on order for me are organza so when they need reviving I'll play with the technique & let you know. But theoretically drip drying should work - just adjust the temp of the water to suit the fabric.

 

[mahsati_janan]

Some dry cleaners have a pleat pressing machine of some sort. I have known dancers who had their Isis wings re-pleated that way, but I haven't done it myself.

 

[jenc]

In the 60s I sent a pair of culottes with a bick kick pleat in to cleaners because I didn't know how to iron them if I washed them. when they came back they had obviously just been shoved in pressing machine as crutch had just folded back and was hanging down!! Unwearable

 

[Amulya]

The wings my sis has on order for me are organza so when they need reviving I'll play with the technique & let you know. But theoretically drip drying should work - just adjust the temp of the water to suit the fabric.

Mine probably need to be done earlier, they are several years old already. Lets see who can keep them good for the longest

 

[Darshiva]

My gold lame ones are only a year and a half old, but that has been a hard 18ish months. They are my first pair, and I practiced very hard with them. They've been trod on and sat on and attacked by cat (both stationary & in action). They've been demonstration of both what to do and what not to do with wings. Whilst I have been very caring of them in their storage, I have been brutal in my approach to learning with wings and getting good as fast as possible. They may still have a long life ahead of them, but they will soon be retired to student prop because they are honestly no longer in performance condition. I will get one more performance out of them, but that's it. Afterward, they will be out of active duty.

 

[PracticalDancer]

They've been trod on and sat on and attacked by cat (both stationary & in action).

The GP just doesn't understand how hard it is for us to become beautiful dancers, do they? They don't understand that cats can be our nemesis, darting twixt our legs in barrel turns, clawing at our veils and wings, howling over the accents in our music, etc. My two cats ignore me all day until it is practice time, and then they become convinced that I MUST want them to participate in a new aggression release therapy for them! :lol:

My gold lame ones are only a year and a half old, but that has been a hard 18ish months. They are my first pair, and I practiced very hard with them. . . They've been demonstration of both what to do and what not to do with wings. Whilst I have been very caring of them in their storage, I have been brutal in my approach to learning with wings and getting good as fast as possible. They may still have a long life ahead of them, but they will soon be retired to student prop because they are honestly no longer in performance condition. I will get one more performance out of them, but that's it. Afterward, they will be out of active duty.

Back to the serious topic: This does concern me, because I have wanted a set of wings for a while; but, they appear to be a high price / limited use product that ALSO has a limited lifespan now. That is, I can pay about the same price (say, $75USD) for a decent sword, two moderate or one high quality veil, a good set of zills, or similar items that are much more versatile and enduring. But, with wings I have to have a large stage, a more fusion oriented piece with some slow bits, room to turn, and they have to coordinate with or match my costume. My range of motion is suddenly limited, and in order to get it back, I have to master the "Fahtiem quick release" to get out of them while dancing smoothly. And, now I learn that they have a short shelf life and wilt with use . . . hmmm.

Unless dancers REALLY love them, are they a good investment?:think:

curious to hear your thoughts, and slap my hand if this is a hijack.

 

[gisela]

Hey! What's the "Fahtiem Quick release"? Sounds intriguing.

 

[Darshiva]

Back to the serious topic: This does concern me, because I have wanted a set of wings for a while; but, they appear to be a high price / limited use product that ALSO has a limited lifespan now. That is, I can pay about the same price (say, $75USD) for a decent sword, two moderate or one high quality veil, a good set of zills, or similar items that are much more versatile and enduring. But, with wings I have to have a large stage, a more fusion oriented piece with some slow bits, room to turn, and they have to coordinate with or match my costume. My range of motion is suddenly limited, and in order to get it back, I have to master the "Fahtiem quick release" to get out of them while dancing smoothly. And, now I learn that they have a short shelf life and wilt with use . . . hmmm.

Unless dancers REALLY love them, are they a good investment?:think:

curious to hear your thoughts, and slap my hand if this is a hijack.

To put your fears to rest - I have been told that 18 months is a ridiculously short time to have your wings go from good condition to needing some serious tlc/retirement, but please be aware of 2 things:

1) I am insane when it comes to drilling things - I do not stop until I get it right.
2) I am incredibly clumsy, so I do things like standing on the hem and such, which drastically reduces the useful life of certain props & costumes.

What this means is that I am INCREDIBLY hard on certain props (clearly wings is a big example) in an effort to overcome said clumsiness and bludgeoun proficiency into my body. Most sane people can keep the same pair of wings for 5-10 years. My first pair of wings will need to be rotated into the student loaner prop catagory after 18 months. Let that influence your decision.

So if you like being all faffy & fairy-like, wings are definitely for you. If you're not sure with wings, I probably wouldn't bother. It's either love them or hate them and if you hate them - even with the recent dramatic reduction in base price - they are an expensive waste of costume closet space and not generally something anyone wants to buy secondhand. I'd borrow a pair from a friend and find out how you like them before investing.

 

[PracticalDancer]

Hey! What's the "Fahtiem Quick release"? Sounds intriguing.

That's the thing, I don't know how she did it! I saw her perform with them in North Carolina a few years ago. She had them on, she danced beautifully; and, suddenly, while she was dancing, they were on the floor behind her at the back of the stage like a well dispatched veil! Like a magician, she got rid of them while our attention was diverted. I will try and study the video (and maybe remember to ask her when we host her in November). But, she is such a pro about everything . . . (swoon!)

 

[gisela]

Did she do the "Asmahan secret trick" and use the neck band as a hair band and pull it off while spinning? Is there a youtube of it?
Perhaps I should separate this into a new thread... Just need to go to a party first

 

[Amulya]

I find that lame fabric is less lasting than organza. Maybe order organza ones next time Darshiva?