HELP!!! Bugs on my kimono!

[theresar]

my favorite kimono i bought here is a pre-WW2, just georgous. i had it hanging on a wall, on a bamboo pole. I took it down to dust it, and there was some kind of cacoon on it!!! and all these little bugs, look like gnats!!! (hope Japanesse people know what a gnat is)!! well of corse i got them all off, but no one ii know has any idea what they are! i have 2 other kimonos handing on the same wall, and neither has this!!

should i hand wash??? anyone ever had this problem? there don't seem to be any holes in the kimono.

[akihito89]

I would (after insuring there are no more bugs or cacoons, eggs or bugs) fold the kimono, wrap it with rice paper and store it in a cedar chest. Also, cedar smell awesome and repels bugs. After being in a cedar chest for a month or whatever, I'tll smell so good and you can wear it for a Christmas party. I wouldn't display an old/ valuable kimono for long term. I would for friends/relatives visiting, but not yaer-round.

You could freeze your kimono. Wrap it in rice paper, put it in a chest size freezer, and pull it out in 2 days. After 2 days at 0 degrees. Most bugs will die. This is kinda experimental, so I don't guarantee the results, however, I doubt thet you'd hurt your kimono doing this.

The bugs might be some sort of moth.

Live Long and Prosper

[bawsin]

Theresa,

Definitely sounds like clothes moths.

There's some good info here:

How to Deal with a Clothes-Moth Infestation
www.ehow.com/how_113375_deal-with-clothes.html

and also:
How to Protect Your Clothes from Moths
www.ehow.com/how_18286_protect-clothes-moths.html

The one thing I've heard about kimono is that if you store them in mothballs, you must take care not to have the mothballs or other repellent come into direct contact with the cloth - it can be very damaging. Make sure that the kimono and mothballs are wrapped and separated from each other.

Incidentally, it might not hurt to ask Ichiro san about this question, i.e. protecting kimono from moths (and what to do if you do get an infestation). It would make a wonderful topic for his weekly e-mail newsletter!

[akihito89]

I use chunks of cedar placed in all the corners of a large polypropylene box with a palowina rack that I sit kimonos on. Palowina has a nice smell, but cedar is stronger. Whenever I open the box, I'm hit with cedar smell and it rocks! I hope to buy Amish-made cedar chests for higher end shiromuku and the like. Of course, that's down the road.

[HikaruNoGo]

Are there bugs that actually eat silk? Everyone's mentioned that they found them with their kimono, I am getting a bit paranoid. I know that moths eat wool and leather, but what about silk?

So far I haven't found any critters in my kimono nor obi, but I want to start mothballing them if needed. I have found a few bug remains on a vintage doll's clothing I won from ebay, major yuck!

[akihito89]

Oh yes precious! Moths do feast on silk. It's not fun either unless you're a moth. Silk is protien, though I doubt you could benefit from eating it.

[HikaruNoGo]

No wonder they survive such harsh conditions. Kinda like how rats can eat soap and live. Ew. *sigh* Now I'm gonna smell like me grandma with all her mothballs.

[bawsin]

No wonder they survive such harsh conditions. Kinda like how rats can eat soap and live. Ew. *sigh* Now I'm gonna smell like me grandma with all her mothballs.

Well, that's why the secondhand kimono we receive always smell a bit mothbally! Most sellers know how important it is to protect their stock from insect damage. (As Akihito mentioned, insects enjoy chowing down on silk too, not just wool. I've even seen what looked like moth holes in jinken - rayon.)

Fortunately, if you plan to wear an item that's been in mothballs, it's usually sufficient just to give it a thorough airing for a day or two.

You also have the sweeter-smelling options of storing your kimono in a clothes chest made of cedar or paulownia ... if you can afford it Cedar shavings or blocks might work nicely, too, although I'm never sure just how much cedar is necessary to protect clothing (when the cedar is in pieces, that is!).

[akihito89]

If you want a cedar chest, you can get an Amish-made cedar chest for approxamately $70 or so.

www.lehmans.com/



Just follow these links.

The 2nd one is directly to the cedar chests.

www.lehmans.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=5561&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=679&iSubCat=852&iProductID=5561
Have fun!

[bawsin]

Quick postscript ... I sent an e-mail to Ichiroya asking whether a future issue of the Newsletter could address the question of protecting kimono from insects (and what to do if infestation happens). Just received a gracious reply from Wada san, saying that they will try to write about this topic in the near future.

So if you're not already getting the weekly Ichiroya Newsletter, you may want to subscribe - so as not to miss the authoritative answers to these questions! (The subscription page is at www.ichiroya.com/mail/join.htm.)

[Kiyoaki]

Akihito,

It's not supposed to be a good idea to store silk in an airtight container. The silk needs to breathe, so cloth or paper wrapping is best. Even if you store it in cedar or cypress (pawlonia), you still need to wrap everything in acid-free paper first, to protect it from the oils in the wood.

Kiyoaki

[akihito89]

Kiyoaki-san!

I haven't seen a post by you in soooo long I wondered if you were still here. I have some questions to ask you since you're the kimono wizard. anyway, in the past, I have used extra bed sheets to wrap kimonos. Is that cool?

[Kiyoaki]

Certainly! Sheets are suitable, as long as they are clean. They will also keep fine dust from settling on things. You're doing a double service by using sheets, but they can get expensive to use if you've got a lot of kimono.

Actually, I prefer the paper wrappers made especially for kimono. They have more body than a sheet, and are proportioned just right. Eventually they will get creased, but a set will last years if you are careful.

Kiyoaki