I have a shawl made from unknown synthetic cloth. I need it to look 100 years old, faded and the like.

It is sitting in the sun for a while and will be for quite a while. Any other thoughts of getting it to look older?

Don't quote me on this...a diluted acetone solution comes to mind!

Cheers!

I have heard a solution of tea makes material look old.

Dirty Down spray. It’s what most professional prop makers use for ageing garments.

I was going to suggest taking dust contents from vacuum cleaner and rolling shawl into that. Would get it dusty, but not faded, so not really aged.

I'd never heard of Dirty Down spray, so I googled it. Found the company that makes it, along with various other products to age, dirty, and weather props. You should be able to use their stuff:

https://dirtydown.co.uk/


Coolest thing ever! Thanks for posting Nikc.

Thank you for help Gentlemen.

I tried Acetone sprinkling and left in the sun, no reaction results to either so far.

I did look up Dirty Down spray and am interested enough to order a can when I decide on the color to try.

I will post results when I try it.

You should try steel brush and/or sandpaper to physically alter the surface-aging is more complicated than just coloring. As for colors, try oil paints. Make a wash, adding a tiny bit of paint in thinner (to make essentially colored thinner) and paint, dab or sprinkle it on the cloth. Or get some powdered pigment (like Vallejo pigments for model building) and rub it on. Of course much depends on the use, pigments might rub off and end up where they're not supposed to, so not necessarily the best way.

I've heard that old tea -or coffee would stain it, to make it look old ? - letting it sit for a while and dry to set in. - possible??

So far I have left it out in the elements for 3 weeks, which has lightened it up a bit. The next step is to try the tea antiquing technique and leave it outside again.

Thank you for taking the time to share your ideas.

What colour is it now?

It is a mixture of reds, browns and gold. After putting it in the elements for weeks of sun it has faded a little bit and a few stains have taken root. So it has taken on some age character.

You might find this interesting:

http://drainmag.com/making-time-a-conver......ostumes/

Extant garments:
https://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_nkw=anti......7&_pgn=1

If you're on Instagram at all, accounts: mel_antique, mutabilis_34_montpellier_france, and jenean.jenean are great references to check out for extant well worn garments, too.

Thank you Magicalauri

You're welcome, Peter.