Like Cavimum I would soak in powdered Biz. Do it in the sink. Use warm water not hot. Not a good idea to be aggressive with this gown considering its age. Rinse it well to remove residue and scent. Dont wring or twist but instead lay it flat on WHITE towels to absorb the water..change towels as needed.

You don't need detergent with Biz powder as it contains oxygen bleach, enzymes and surfactants.

It would be best to do the mending before washing but in this case the thread color may be all wrong if you mend first.

Good Luck and let us know how it turns out. I'm sure your dil will be honored. ...remind her not to wash it afterwards that you have a special way of washing it since it can't go in the washer.

I would stay away from Biz or any enzyme cleaner...If any of the embroidery is done with silk .it will do a number on silk, as it is a natural protein like the stains Biz is designed to remove.
I have read that milk of magnesia....soak in a solution of it...like half and half...will remove the yellowing of cardboard and even whiten yellowed paper. I have not tried it but it can't hurt....also 10% hydrogen peroxide solution is a safe bleach.
Remember, wet fabric is weak, when wet don't lift it but support it....
People laundering 200 year old table cloths etc, make a mesh frame to support the item in the water....lift it out, let it drain, push the water out and set in front of a fan to dry.
I attended a seminar once on caring for antique textiles. Another thing stressed was rinse and rinse using distilled water until litmus paper tests neutral.
Hope the baby can wear the dress.....and hope it's still good for her children.

Milk of Magnesia! I have that! If it's safe, I'll try that. I have not seen 10% hydrogen peroxide, only 3%. I am showing it to her today, then bringing it back home to wash.

Linda is right there could be silk threads in which case stay away from modern day detergent and pretreaters, ect...unless you know its enzyme free.

MOM huh....that's a new one for me. I'll have to check the ingredients to see what I'm missing.

Restoration Linen Cleaner has been recommended on several boards I follow for cleaning antique linens, including christening gowns. Here is a blog that compares it to Biz and a couple of others: https://myplacetoyours.com/2015/02/new-gal-in-town-restoration-linen-cleaner-has-competition.html

Too bad the restoration cleaner has been sold out since 2015 :( have a few things I could use it on.

yes, I just wasted some time hunting for it! And looking at chemical equivalents. Looks like it is a combination of sodium carbonate and sodium perborate.

She loved the gown! And tried it on the baby, and it actually fit her just fine. I brought it home to wash, my husband will return it Friday.

LindaC, if you are still around, how do you get hydrogen peroxide in 10% solution?

Restoration is still available on Amazon. My MIL bought it recently and I just checked. Still there. Cursory glance- might be other sellers and sizes. Not sure.

I used to be able to buy 10% H2O2 next to the 3% on the shelf...but I see QVC has 12%....and 20% solution is sold for bleaching hair....just dilute it by half. But if you buy it in the beauty products, don't buy "cream formula"...just the clear stuff.
You can also buy peroxide gel for bleaching teeth.

For now, I'm out of time. My fault for not finding the gown earlier. I will have to do a better job after the baptism. It won't be another generation before it's needed again!

I ran across some blog a few days ago that suggested using buttermilk as being safe. I wonder what is in buttermilk that makes it work.

Looks like this Restoration product is sodium percarbonate and sodium carbonate. Sodium Carbonate is washing soda. I already have some. (I have not really used it, didn't know what applications were appropriate)

Sodium percarbonate is the most active ingredient in OxiClean. I have that too. So far on other linens (mostly dingy crochet and linen pillowcases), I've been less than impressed with it. I always figured it must be harsh, so I have not dared to try it on a family piece.

I am still trying to figure out what else to try, in the time I have left between now and 6 am Friday. :(

If you have a piece of gauze like material or scarf is it possible to tack it so that it would drape over the stained portion to help cover it up if it does not come out after a soak then wash? Perhaps in similar color either of the good or the bad portions.

"I ran across some blog a few days ago that suggested using buttermilk as being safe."

Just a reminder that because you read it on a blog, or the internet at all, does not mean it is good information. Buttermilk sounds harmless, though . .

Buttermilk is mildly acedic.....old wives tale says it whitens...both fabric and skin.
I would not use anything as alkaline as sodium carbonate....likely oxi clean is safer.

Oxiclean has more than 50% sodium carbonate in it.

Not sodium carbonate...sodium PER carbonate......different compound.

Still Oxiclean has more than 50% sodium carbonate.

Linda it would be nice if Oxiclean contained more sodium percarbonate but sadly it is loaded in carbonate mostly as a filler..a way to make money with less product.

I think you misunderstand....when exposed to water, sodium percarbonate breaks down into sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide.

Yes it does but much less.

What do you think has more carbonate. .

Sodium percarbonate

Or sodium percarbonate and half that much more of carbonate.

Sodium percarbonate on its own adds a slight higher PH

Add more carbonate and the PH is much much higher. Making it much more aggressive to old delicate garments.

OxiClean is supposed to be about half sodium percarbonate with balance filled in with sodium carbonate and inert fillers.

So which is milder / less harsh on fibers? sodium percarbonate, because it's pH is lower?

When all this is over, I will have to make a chart. Because I will never keep it all straight.

What about Sodium perborate?

On some other forum a few years back (I think if was an EBay vintage fabrics forum), cheap denture cleaner was recommended to me. That is sodium perBORate.

And . . . what about good old hydrogen peroxide? I've heard of people using it as a bleaching/whitening agent but never tried it, myself.

Right now, I only have access to 3 % hydrogen peroxide. I will have to look and see where I can get something stronger.

YLI Heirloom thread is an Egyptian cotton 100 weight that is lovely, or Kimono Silk is a 100 weight thread that is lovely but has a bit of sheen to it...

Sodium Porborate is or was the safe bleach of choice in Europe. Since it requires very hot temps I think 140F and above to really do some bleaching and the European washers doing boil washes it was perfect..it was also called the color safe bleach since its not doing damage in temps used for colors.

Sodium percarbonate Is the cold water bleach because it may take longer but will whiten in less than hot temps.

Sodium percarbonate would be safer for your vintage garment because the PH will be lower.

All the added sodium carbonate in Oxiclean raises the PH making it more aggressive.

There are times you need the PH higher in order to break the soils..such as in white socks but frankly if one uses a powdered detergent there's enough Sodium carbonate in it that all you need is sodium percarbonate.

Sodium percarbonate is cheaper than Oxiclean and your not getting 50% fillers. Add it to your whites with a powdered detergent and hot water and you will have brilliant SCREAMING whites.

But this is about your frigile vintage garment. ..I recommend soaking in tepid water with a spoonful of sodium percarbonate.

Cavimum. Peroxide is indeed a bleach. I understand it requires hot water but off the top of my head I can't remember the best temp..but I recently did a load of white kitchen flour sack towels and added half a cup of peroxide along with powdered Tide. The towels were wonderfully white and stain free. Try it.

A few months ago I spilled a cup of black coffee. I grabbed two flour sack towels to wipe it up but than set the towels aside for three days. So I put them in the kitchen sink added cool water and a spoon of Sodium percarbonate and a spoon of liquid detergent and went to bed. In the morning they were whiter than white and the water was crystal clear. Lol.

I buy and use antique fabrics and linens and I am not afraid to chemically clean and treat spots. While I hope to save and use them, if they get ruined in the process, they weren't usable the way they were. This is very different being a family heirloom as you want to conserve the gown. The cleaning process for this is somewhat controversial as to how many chemicals should be used or if any should be used. It might be worth taking to a textile conservator. Here are a couple of articles that may give some insight.

https://eic.rsc.org/feature/textile-conservation/2020240.article

https://www.bishopmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/cnsv-bleach.pdf

https://www.si.edu/mci/english/learn_more/taking_care/stains.html

http://textilelearner.blogspot.com/2014/04/chemistry-behind-yellowing-of-textiles.html?m=1

If you want to wash at home the Orvus would at least be neutral which works well for the cotton but may not be the best for the silk if the gown has that. The gown is at least 110 years old so I don't think I would bleach at all. I'm not sure bleaching will remove that type of stain so the risk of accelerated deterioration might outweigh the questionable chance of removing the stain. Even if it did remove the stain, it has accelerated deterioration.

How was the baptism?

It was great, Doris! Everything without a hitch. I did not get the gown as clean as I wanted. Hopefully I'll get back to it. Meanwhile I bought an archival box for it, and cushioned the gown with vintage linen tea towels (which I buy wherever I can).

What a nice event to be able to use the dress. I have two grandsons and they were way too big to use the only christening dress in the family.

I'm surprised that I haven't heard anyone mention 1c white vinegar to 1gal distilled water solution. If the stains are waterbased then that is the way to go. It may take more than a dozen rounds - soak in water, sponge with vinegar solution (don't rub), rinse, repeat. Be gentle, patient, and keep repeating. For more information contact the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute and ask a textile conservationist.

Another fan of Orvus Equine soap!