Silk

Silk is a protein fibre, like your hair, and it behaves like one: it dislikes heat, direct sun and being wrung. This guide does not promise it will stay new. It tells you how to let it age well.

Cold

Water, if you wash at home at all

Shade

Dry flat, out of the sun

Low

Iron heat, with a cloth between

Muslin

Wrap to store, never plastic

Dry clean when you can; at home, a cold hand wash with a silk detergent and nothing else.
Never wring or twist. Press the water out in a towel.
Reshape gently while damp, along the length and the width.
Dry flat in shade.
Iron on the lowest heat with a cotton cloth between the iron and the silk.

Wrap each piece in soft muslin or acid-free tissue; never a plastic cover, silk needs to breathe or it yellows.
Refold along different lines every few months so no crease sets.
Check the seams and the fall each season; a small tear mended early stays small.
Mend by hand with matching silk or fine cotton thread, or a tailor who works with silk.
Keep it out of direct light, even in the cupboard.

First wash cold, alone, with no detergent.
Never soak long. In, gently through, out.
Roll in a white towel to take the water out. Never wring.
Dry flat in shade. Silk marks in direct sun.
Wash separately from pale cloth until the water runs clear.

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