Silk is one of the most capricious types of fabrics, which requires a careful attitude, proper and very delicate care.
For most products made from natural silk, dry cleaning is recommended, as indicated by a special icon or direct information on the tag. Hand or delicate washing using special liquid detergents for thin, silk and wool fabrics may also be recommended.
Of course, if we are talking about a suit, an evening dress or a silk cloak, then dry cleaning is an ideal solution, since you will have to resort to it extremely rarely. But for blouses, tops and summer dresses, so that they are clean and fresh, regular care is required, and this is very expensive if you constantly give them dry cleaning.
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With detergents, too, not everything is clear. Well, if you use the same and know all its pitfalls. And, moreover, you always have the opportunity to experiment on small shreds of silk fabrics that have remained from previous sewing projects. Otherwise, the fabric or finished product, unfortunately, can be damaged forever. The main trouble is white stains, which cannot be removed after washing. These whitish stripes are noticeable in any color.
But there is one way that our mothers and grandmothers have successfully used and which remains relevant to this day.
My mother always washed her silk and wool dresses with hair shampoo. But why exactly shampoo? The answer was simple, silk and wool - these are natural fabrics and shampoo cares for them just as carefully as our hair. It delicately cleans, leaves no residue, does not destroy fiber and color, maintains softness, silkiness and beauty of the product.
Until now, for hand washing silk fabrics and products made from them, as well as some woolen items, I use the most common hair shampoo.
How to do this, I will show by the example of decoding a cut of a satin silk.
Step 1
Pour warm water into the basin with a temperature not exceeding 40 °.
Step 2
Put silk in water. The cut should completely get wet.
Step 3
Pour shampoo into your palm, approximately 1-2 teaspoons.
The amount of shampoo depends on the size of the cut or on the number of silk items.
Step 4
With your free hand, remove the fabric from the basin and immediately with light dipping movements (similar to those as if you were washing your hair) of both hands randomly distribute the shampoo throughout the cut.
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Step 5
Leave the silk in water for 15–20 minutes.
Step 6
Before draining the water, squeeze the cloth again, but in no case rub it! And rinse the silk well in cool water several times. The final rinse can be done using a small amount of fabric softener.
Step 7
Take the usual hanger.Wrap the bar over with a clean towel.
Hang a piece of silk over the towel without squeezing it. When most of the water drains, replace the towel and leave the silk to dry completely.
A towel will prevent creasing on delicate silk.
Step 8
After drying, iron the silk from the wrong side.
Easy sewing and interesting sewing projects!
The author of the master class and photo: Julia Dekanova
