by Donna Pampalone

Created on: October 20, 2009

Removing Ink Stains From Silk Fabrics

The year was 1970, I was a freshman in high school, and we were having our class pictures taken. Of course, I had to have the perfect outfit to wear for school pictures, so I chose my brand new, pastel pink, hip hugger, bell-bottoms. Oh, I thought they were something. It made no difference to my fifteen year-old mind that my pants would not show in the picture, but I had to wear them anyway. Even though, I did not have the perfect colored, pink shirt to wear with them.

The solution to the problem was simple, if I dared to act on it, which after much contemplation I did. My older sister had tons of clothes, and she had the perfect colored silk blouse to match my perfect, pink pants. The only problem was that my sister had a rule, it was simple, Don't ever touch my clothes, she would say.

On the most part, I respected her rule and never touched her clothes, but this one time, I could not resist breaking the rule to wear that pretty pink blouse. I know now, that I must have been delusional to even consider doing it, but I said to myself, why not, she will never know. So thus, I planned to wear the blouse.

I got home from school before my sister each day, so I figured I could put the blouse back in her closet before she got home, and that she would never know that I had worn it.

The day of school pictures arrived, I wore the blouse and pants as planned, and I was relieved that the pictures were taken first ting in the morning.

Later that day in History class, our teacher gave us a pop quiz. I was biting the top of my Bic pen popping the little plug on and off with my teeth. Suddenly I pulled out the little plug but the plastic ink filled tube pulled out with it. I tried to fix the pen and as I did this, I saw three bold drips of dark blue ink, vividly staring back at me from the front of my sister's pink silk blouse.

This could not be happening, this sort of thing never happened to me when I wore my own clothes, why today, I thought. I knew than that this happened because I took my sister's shirt behind her back. I thought to myself, uh oh, I am dead meat my sister will kill me!

I didn't get to finished my History quiz, because my pen was ruined, and I had ink all over my sister's blouse; so after school I ran to my mother for help and for her protection. Of course, my mom knew just what to do to get that blue ink off that silk blouse. The secret remover, which my sister never knew about, was vinegar and milk. Mom rubbed in vinegar and than the milk until the spot was gone, she laundered the blouse, and my sister did not knew what I had done. Days later I told my sister the story and guess what she said, I told you not to touch my clothes, that's what you get!

Yes, she was right, I never wore her clothes again after that incident, I had learned my lesson, and I also learned the secret ingredients to remove ink stains from silk fabrics.

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