long unconstructed gowns – flat storage or hanging?

[Jen Hughes]

Hello everyone! I have liturgical vestments that priests wear – think long graduation gowns of nicer fabric than what those usually are. In comparison to clothes with princess seams, etc, these hang in a fairly unconstructed manner. The National Park Service recommends storing these type of costumes flat in textile boxes. I don’t have shelf space for 5ft vestments to be lying full-length on my storage room shelves, so I thought I could fold them a little at the end, and pad this fold out with a lot of unbuffered tissue and a polyethylene roll-tube, if necessary. Would that work?

For any adventurous DIY folks, I am considering using polyethylene pool noodles in lieu of the roll tubes offered by archival suppliers: https://collectionsconversations.wordpress.com/tag/pool-noodles/. Has anyone heard anything negative about this method?

I could also hang the vestments from a well-padded hanger, but I worry about the heaviness of the vestments becoming a strain on the shoulder construction.

Thank you for your help with this!

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