Help me arty, crafty type wonder women! Need to wash my birth sampler :)

[HonorMatopoeia]

Ok, so Dd2 is now 6 months, but it's taken me the last 6 months to sew her name onto it! It's now looking a bit grubby and I need to wash it. Asked at the local dry cleaners but they'd never done one before and I'd be so upset if it ran. So I think it's got to be handwashed. Has anyone done this and what washing stuff did you use? I presume a weak solution?
So scared to put it near water after all that hard work!

Ecover delicate handwash liquid is pretty good - I use it for stuff that's supposed to be dry cleaned and it's OK. Tepid wash and same temp rinse and dry flat?

What's it made from?

It's that Aida (sp?) stuff and normal embroidery thread,I'm afraid I'm not certain what either are made of.
Ecover sounds good.

I would use a handwash product, eg the fairy one, or a mild hair shampoo eg baby shampoo.

If it runs, it should run clear again IYSWIM. So if you wash it and it runs, keep washing it a few more times and you should wash out any excess colour.

One tip for stuff that might need to be washed is to wash all the fabrics/threads first, before you start.

Ooo, useful tip SL - will write that one down somewhere. I seem to be embroidering anything that sits still for a moment right now!

and when you iron it (cool iron - you will need to) do it on the reverse, so you don't squash the stitches and don't worry if you get burn marks, they wash out again.

Thanks GM

Dunno if you still need help, but the best way to wash embroidery/ xstitch is in cool water with a little washing up liquid and just swill it around in the water until its cleaner. Take it out of the water and roll it in a towel(white) to get the water out, dont wring it. When ironing lay a fluffy towel on ironing board, then your sewing wioth the pic face down and iron over the back with a cool iron. For future projects, if you store it in a pillow case it will stay clean until you have finished stitching.

Great advice, thank you iesha