washing my cross stitch? a bit more info please

[stacuk]

im nearly finished my cross stitch and when i wash it im affraid that the colours will run i will just have to pray and trust that they wont but i got told to wash it in cold water with mild soap/detergant but what do you say is mild i have no idea what is mild and what it not
1) do i just leave it in the water to soak or do i rub it
2) how long do i leave it in the water for
3) do i rinse it in cold water after the soap to get rid of any soap remaining?
4) how do you dry it do you leave it to dry normally or something else?
5) do you iron it?

A BIT MORE INFO PLEASE THAN JUST WASH IN COLD WATER AND MILD SOAP PLEASE

[riotpatch]

The colours do not run, I promise.
That is assuming you use DMC or another brand of cotton floss.
Just soak it in cold water (I just use a drop of dish soap), there is no need to rub.
It doesn't need to soak very long, a few hours or maybe more if it is actually stained.
Just use your discretion and rinse excess soap under cold water.
To dry, I let it air dry on a towel and pat it dry.
When it is still a little damp after an hour or so, get out the iron.
I put a towel between the fabric and the iron to protect the stitching.
After all this, you should have a clean, wrinkle-free finished product. =]

[LadyCooper]

Thanks for posting this, riotpatch. I need to wash one as well, and I'm feeling a little overcautious and paranoid about ruining it too. :\

[Nitewing]

Silly question....If I've taped the edges of my project with masking tape, I should take that off before washing, yes?

[kuja.girl]

Yes. In general, avoid putting any thing with an active adhesive in the washer/dryer. or if you have too, use cold water.

You can also hand wash your pieces with a gentle detergent, that usually works just as well and takes much less time.

[Yurtle]

I always hand wash my projects after I'm done. I usually use lukewarm water and dish detergent. I know make sure that it's either clear or white dish detergent but once I used green apple scented stuff (and it was coloured green), I had a little green stain on it for a little while! That was not fun!

I've never had a problem with floss colours running permanently. Some of the colour may come out in the water but it shouldn't stain the rest of your work. I don't usually soak it for any length of time. Just gently rub the soap in, rinse it out until there is absolutely no suds coming out and then rinse once more to be sure. I'm usually doing this in the tub because the sink is never big enough! Then I roll it up in a towel for a couple days and then lie flat to dry after that. Definitely take the tape off before you wash it. Once the fabric is dry, I iron it like Riotpatch with a towel between the stitching and the iron. Good luck!

[Brodeuse]

I stitched a towel two years ago. I used, washed, dried and ironed it like any other towel many times, and had no problem. If you use cotton floss (DMC or other), I don't see why it should act like any other cotton you may want to wash...