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How to care for textiles and kākahu (Māori cloaks)
Tiakitanga o te Kahu Āku
Learn how to preserve fabric and other textiles.
Caring for textiles
Prolong the life of your treasured textiles and clothing by storing and treating them appropriately. This resource guide, from National Services Te Paerangi, shows you how.
For advice on caring for dresses visit The Australian Dress Register.
Handling
Textiles are particularly vulnerable to damage and deterioration. If in doubt, ask a professional conservator.
- Handle textiles as little as possible.
- Wear clean cotton or disposable gloves to protect textiles from grease, dirt, perspiration, and natural acids.
- Support objects carefully, evenly distributing their weight.
- Label storage containers clearly to reduce the frequency of handling.
Storing
- Store textiles in total darkness. Light (including from bulbs) fades and damages material over time.
- Use acid-free boxes to store your textiles. Don’t store in plastic – it can trap moisture and promote mould growth.
- Store items flat when possible, or rolled round a covered tube, face-down. If you have to fold textiles, do so carefully and re-fold them once a year.
- Keep the temperature and humidity levels stable. Changes in the environment can cause expansion and contraction, which can break fibres. Excess moisture can allow moulds and mildew to grow, and dyes to bleed. Excess dryness can make textiles brittle. Ideally, store at 12–18°C and 50–55% relative humidity.
- Keep storage areas clean, tidy, and well ventilated. Vacuum and dust regularly.
Cleaning
Wet cleaning or washing can have irreversible results. If in doubt, ask a professional conservator.
- If you are confident it will not cause harm, use a vacuum on a gentle setting with a piece of monofilament screen or nylon between the hose and the material.
Māori textiles
TaongaTaonga treasures made of Māori textiles are usually made from plant material, often harakekeharakeke flax, or animal material such as wool, feathers, or hair. Like other textiles, their preservation requires careful attention. This guide, from National Services Te Paerangi, shows you how to store and treat Māori textiles.
Case studies
See how Te Papa’s conservators treated these different materials:
Samoan titi (dance skirt)
Wedding dress, 1920
Kaitaka paepaeroa (cloak)
Stabilising black dyed fibres
Te tiaki pueru
Kia mau roa ai ngā taonga pueru, me tika te whakamaru, me āta tiaki hoki. Toro mai ki tēnei rauemi tohutohu a National Services Te Paerangi mō ngā whakamārama.
Kei konei anō, The Australian Dress Register ētahi tohutohu mō āta tiaki i ngā kākahu.
Te whāwhā pueru
Ka raru ngā pueru i te wā, i te mākū, i te pae mahana rānei. Ki te kore koe e mōhio, toro atu ki tētahi kaitauwhiro.
- Kia kaua e whāwhā nuitia.
- Ki te whāwhāngia, whakamaua ētahi karapu papahune, karapu maka noa rānei e haumaru ai ngā pueru i te hinu, i te paru, i te werawera, i ngā waikawa māori rānei.
- Kia āta takoto ngā taonga kei raru i te taumaha.
- Kia mārama te tautuhi ingoa i ngā papa taonga pueru, koi whāwhāngia anōtia.
Te pupuri
- Whakamarumarutia rawatia ngā taonga pueru. Tūturu, ka raru, ka māwhe te pueru i te mārama (i te tūrama hoki) ka maroke, ka pākarukaru ā tōna wā.
- Whakamahia ngā papa waikawa kore. Kaua e pupuri ki rō papa kirihou – kei mau te wai, kei tupuria ki te puruhekaheka.
- Pēnā ka taea whakatakotohia te pueru kia papa tahi, takaia ki tētahi rango rānei. Ki te whātui i te pueru, me āta mahi, kia kotahi te wā i ia tau ka whātuia.
- Me tau te paemahana me te takawai. Tērā ka raru te pueru i ngā panonitanga paku i te taiao, ka whakanuia, ka whakawhāititia rānei, i reira ka whati ngā weu. Tērā ka tupuria te pueru ki te puruhekaheka me he nui te pipiwai, ka totō te tae rānei. Me he maroke rawa, ka makuhane te pueru. Ko te paemahana e tau ai te pueru, kei waenga i te 12–18°C. Mō te takawai, kei te takiwā o te 50-55%.
- Kia mā te papa pupuri, kia tika, kia pai te uru me te puta o te hau. Kia auau te tahitahi me te hororē.
Te ūkui
Tērā ka raru rawa te taonga pueru i te horoi mā te wai, e kore a muri e hokia. Ki te kore koe e mōhio, toro atu ki tētahi kaitauwhiro.
Me he mōhio koe, e kore rawa tō taonga pueru e raru i te hororē, kia ngāwari, kia māmā te mahi a te hororē, me mau tētahi papa ngaiaku i waenganui i te ngongo o te hororē me te pueru.
Ngā pueru Māori
He mea hanga te nuinga o ngā taonga pueru Māori ki ngā rawa o te taiao, he harakeke, he rawa kararehe rānei pēnei me te wūru, te huruhuru manu, te huruhuru kurī rānei. Pērā ki ētahi atu pueru, ki te mau tika, me tika anō te mahi, me āta tiaki. Kei tēnei rauemi nā National Services Te Paerangi, ngā tohutohu e āta pupuri, e āta tiakina ai ngā pueru Māori.
He rangahau
Mātakitaki mai i ngā kairokiroki a Te Papa e āta tiaki ana i ngā momo pueru:
Samoan titi (dance skirt)
Wedding dress, 1920
Kaitaka paepaeroa (cloak)
Stabilising black dyed fibres