100% pure silk (eg georgette scarves)Hand wash separately in warm water with a small amount of gentle soap
- Gently massage the garment – do not worry if some excess dye comes out
- Add a small amount of white vinegar to your final rinse
- Do not ring out the water
- Dry in a shady area
- Iron on a low heat (silk setting)
Tip for silk:
The trick is a slurp of white vinegar in the final rinse for any silk item – it neutralises the soap and revitalises the silk.
Silk and rayon (ie velvets)
- Hand wash separately in warm water with a small amount of gentle soap
- Gently massage the garment – do not worry if some excess dye comes out
- Add a small amount of white vinegar to your final rinse
- Do not ring out the water
- Dry in a shady area
- Iron on reverse side on a low heat (silk setting)
Tip for velvet:
Ironing really brings out the sheen in velvet – of course make sure you iron on the reverse side (non-pile side). You can iron the velvet every so often to pick up the sheen.
Silk & wool; wool & cotton; and wool & other fibres (eg Nuno felted work)
- Hand wash separately in warm water with a small amount of dissolved, gentle soap or wool wash
- Gently massage the garment – do not wash vigorously
- Very gently ring out the water
- Gently staighten felt along length of fibre
- Dry flat in a shady area
- Do not iron
Tip for wool:
Be careful that you don’t continue to felt the wool by using hot water. Make sure it is only just warm to cold. Also make sure you don’t stretch the wool at right angles to the direction of
the fibre – this could make it tear. Stretch along the length of the fibre and be gentle. Of course you don’t need to stretch it at all if you like and you don’t need to wash it unless something has been spilt on it or
it has a build up of dust or dirt over time.
