I did this with an antique bride doll gown..it was stored in a bad place and had gone through a tornado, so it was not only yellow it was moldy! I wet the gown with warm water...all of this was done by hand...then I took a liquid dish washing detergent and put it directly on the gown and then rubbed it together with both hands until it made a nice lather, then I let it soak for an hour and then I rinsed it out, very carefully...this took me a good long time to do but it came out like new! Then I let it drip dry, but I rolled it up in a towel first to get out the excess water. Then when it was dry I iorned it between two pieces of "wax paper", this made it fresh and crisp, almost as good as new...my iron was on a medium heat! It may be easier if you are just going to cut the gown apart to make the Christining gown then wash all the pieces that you want to use seperately! Ironing them would be easier too! I did this many years ago on my antique bride doll and it still looks like new! I washed her satin dress and veil and they all had lace on them too! The only thing I couldn't save were her little shoes that has cardboard soles!! Good Luck with your project and I hope I have been able to help you in some way...just don't put it in the washer unless you can turn off the "spin" cycle that may tear it up and it will for sure put a lot of wrinkles in it! Don't use fabric softener it will make the fabric really limp and I don't think that is what you want to happen!