Getting creases out of Tapa???

I was hoping someone here could help with a problem I'm having. I friend gave a large 4'x6' tapa on my last visit to Fiji. I went to a shipping place on Viti Levu and they were supposed to roll it and ship it in a tube. When I finally got yesterday, almost 3 months later! They had folded it into a 12"x12" square and now there are creases in it.

Does anyone know how to get them out? I though maybe ironing them with a towel over the tapa might work. It's all traditionally made with natural dyes, so I'm afraid the patterns might run.

Please help!!!

On 2004-05-29 14:17, Kava Dan wrote:... creases in it.

Does anyone know how to get them out?

je'like how da buggah's made;
wet it, den beat'em!

Club soda?

On 2004-05-29 18:54, lanikai wrote:

je'like how da buggah's made;
wet it, den beat'em!

Thanks, Lanikai. But when there made, the tapa bark is not stained, will wetting them and beating it affect the stain? It was made by a friends wife for me, all the dyes are natural since they are on a fairly remote island. I guess I could test it on a small section.

On 2004-05-29 20:34, Kava Dan wrote:

On 2004-05-29 18:54, lanikai wrote:

je'like how da buggah's made;
wet it, den beat'em!

Thanks, Lanikai. But when there made, the tapa bark is not stained, will wetting them and beating it affect the stain? It was made by a friends wife for me, all the dyes are natural since they are on a fairly remote island. I guess I could test it on a small section.

will mo'olelo wit da kine kapa makers ohana islandside and tell ya what i find.

layters!

My advice would be a warm iron with light or medium steam. Iron the back side. Start easy so as not to release any dyes and keep increasing the moisture or heat until the creases are gone.

Good luck.

I don't know if this would work, but might be worth a try:

Lay it on a flat surface, put a piece of plywood over it. Then load the plywood with even weight (like a set of encylopedias or something). Maybe just the pressure for a few days would remove some of the creasing before you have to resort to heat or moisture.

I agree you should treat if like any fabric. Test a corner. Start on low heat and increase until you see results. It may bleed a bit, so watch what you iron it on.

[ Edited by: TNTiki on 2004-11-06 18:19 ]

On 2004-05-30 12:07, TNTiki wrote:
I haven't even heard the word "encyclopedia" in ages.

OK, you young whippersnapper, :P , get a load of this. I still HAVE a set of encyclopedias (copyrighted 19 and 69). And I still say linoleum (vinyl flooring), ice chest (cooler), & hotcomb (blow dryer).

Kava Dan, I thought of something else you could try if testing with an iron messes up the dye. A lot of frame shops have these devices that press things down real hard. I think they use them to get rid of air bubbles when they're glueing a print onto another surface. Maybe that could help get rid of the creases without heat. I don't know if any are as big as 4'x6' though.

[ Edited by: kctiki on 2004-05-30 13:40 ]

[ Edited by: TNTiki on 2004-11-06 18:20 ]

On 2004-05-30 14:13, TNTiki wrote:
Hey kc:

BTW, do you know what a drop cord is?

I don't know, will it take creases out of tapa?

Hey, when we misbehaved as kids & Pops thought we needed punishment, he would say, "Bring me an encylopedia. Let's see, I'm in the mood for G today." We'd bring him the the G encylopedia & he would make us sit & listen as he read out loud the longest article he could find in it, then give us a quiz.

Quote:

On 2004-05-30 14:13, TNTiki wrote:
Hey kc:

BTW, do you know what a drop cord is?

I don't know, will it take creases out of tapa?
.
If you drop it on it enough times.
When I started smoking, Ciggs were 25cents a pack. gas was about 18 cents and ahve you ever seen a black and white TV. It had these Knobbie things on the front for changing back and forth between the 2 channels. I think our phone was Plaza-11409.

Somebody gave me an old black & white TV for my first apartment. When the rabbit ears failed to bring in a clear picture you could whack it hard on the side with a long handled pliers & the picture sharpened right up. The cabinet was soon dented beyond recognition but damn it worked every time.

Warning, do not attempt this on tapa.

[ Edited by: TNTiki on 2004-11-06 18:20 ]

[ Edited by: TNTiki on 2004-11-06 18:20 ]

On 2004-05-30 20:29, kctiki wrote:

Hey, when we misbehaved as kids & Pops thought we needed punishment, he would say, "Bring me an encylopedia. Let's see, I'm in the mood for G today." We'd bring him the the G encylopedia & he would make us sit & listen as he read out loud the longest article he could find in it, then give us a quiz.

Knowledge as punishment... now that's strange! All I got was the spatula.
I'd much prefer Funk and Wagnell's.
:wink:

I would try the iron too but be careful of the steam.

My mom (the Punisher) would send us out to get "Switches" from the Cherry bush. If we didn't bring big enough ones we had to go get double size and then she beat us with the whole mess. back then wwe didn't have the laws to protect kids like we do today. I guess thats why our kids are so much better now..?

You could also just hang it uplike on a Cloths line with clothspins (we still have those today right?)and dampen it with a spray bottle of water and it should flatten out. I'm sure water will not harm it. Those guys who made it knew what they were doing.

On 2004-05-31 12:24, Benzart wrote:
You could also just hang it uplike on a Cloths line with clothspins (we still have those today right?)and dampen it with a spray bottle of water and it should flatten out. I'm sure water will not harm it. Those guys who made it knew what they were doing.

Ben, In Fiji, as well as most of Polynesia, the women make the tapa! :wink:The men drink lots of Kava!!!

Thanks for all the ideas, I'm feeling better about getting the creases out! :D

BTW: I remember B&W TV, cheap smokes and gas, ha, I remember when we use to pool our money, maybe $3 or $4 and cruise all night on it! Beer was under a buck a six pack and Tiki bars were on every corner!