Silk care | Imamother

amother

Sun, Feb 11 2024, 10:00 am

I had no idea my dress was silk and I washed it without checking the laundry instructions embarrassed

my dress shrank, but it's ok as it still fits but it also lost its shine.
Is there anything to be done or is it too late?
I have learnt my lesson!

zaq

Sun, Feb 11 2024, 12:47 pm

https://www.sleepysilk.com/blo.....-silk

However, this applies to silk bedding, not necessarily to clothing. I would bring the dress to a dry cleaner, explain what you did and ask if they can rescue your dress. They have access to treatments that you lack.

Amarante

Sun, Feb 11 2024, 1:31 pm

Actually silk is washable but it needs to be hand washed in cool water.

What isn't washable are certain types of clothing that have structure like jackets. Some dresses might also have construction that can't be washed or for other reasons.

When I was more ambitious I washed my all of my silk blouses and even ironed them. Now I don't because of the ironing but not because it was bad for the silk

Hand washing is actually less destructive to silk than dry cleaning. Same thing with wool as it is better to hand wash wool sweaters but you can't wash a wool suit or even a skirt and certainly you don't machine wash any wool.

zaq

Sun, Feb 11 2024, 2:10 pm

Silk fiber is eminently washable, but the limiting factor, aside from construction, is the dye. Not all silk is colorfast. Often, the more brilliant the color, the less likely it is to be washable. Also, tighter weaves are less likely to shrink than loose ones. I had a crepe gown with a lovely chiffon overlay that shriveled up and shrank to half its size the minute water touched it. As it was a clothing drive reject because it was badly stained and I was only going to use it for a Purim costume, it didn't matter to me, but I learned something.

Amarante

Sun, Feb 11 2024, 2:38 pm

zaq wrote:

For sure there are other factors as I only washed silk blouses and a few simply constructed skirts that were in the kind of silk typically used for blouses and skirts.

I wouldn’t have done it for chiffon or other ethereal type of silks.

And yes to the running although I confess that I often just went ahead with my silk blouses without testing. It has been awhile but as I recall I used a bit of vinegar to prevent running. Also now they make a Woolite which is theoretically supposed to be expressly for colors.

Sweaters I still hand wash and roll in a towel and block slightly because I like them washed rather than dry cleaned.