Silk is a delicate protein fibre like your hair, a good rule of thumb is to treat your silks like you would your locks.
Who doesn’t love the look and feel of silk? The fine delicate material makes its name as one of the most comfortable and ridiculously good looking fabrics around.
In honour of the staple Grana uniform we’d like to offer you some silk hacks. Here’s the best ways to take care of yours and keep it fresh.
Rule Number One
Like our label says, when it comes to washing your silk leaving it to the experts at the dry cleaners is the absolute best way to extend the life of your silk and keep its subtle lustre and delicate hand feel. However, if you ever find yourself in a jam then we have some quick and dirty tricks until you can see Dr. Dry-Clean.
Hand Wash
For a quick fix silk can be safely hand washed at home. First things first is to make sure to do colours separately and read the detergent label before using it on your silk. Words like “suitable for silk” and “delicates” are your best friends when it comes to washing silk by hand. Bleach will damage your silk’s fibres so it’s always a big no no.
This Is How You Do It
- Place your silk garment in cold water with a mild silk-friendly detergent.
- Leave to soak (no more than 5 minutes).
- Swish the garment slowly and gently.
- Use fabric conditioner in the final rinse (or even a small amount of hair conditioner to help keep its hydrated feel).
- Rinse well in cold water.
- Remove excess moisture by rolling it in a towel (wringing your silk out will damage it’s fibres… so don’t do that).
- Lay flat to dry. Try laying it on top of the same towel you used earlierand lay them on a drying rack. Avoid direct sunlight and heat.
Smooth As a Baby’s Butt
Most wrinkles in silk can be simply steamed out, but hey-oh not everyone owns a steamer. So a great steamer hack is to hang your silk in the bathroom and let the steam hit it while you take a hot shower (talk about productive).
Sometimes though we just can’t get away with it and must endure the most dreaded adult task of them all. Ironing. Here are a few tips on how to safely iron your silk:
- Flip your garments inside out and iron on low heat on the wrong side up.
- Iron silk once it’s dry and be sure to put a cloth between the silk and the iron.
- Do not spray or wet silk while ironing, it’ll make water-stains.
Hanging and Storing
To avoid ironing the best solution for your silk is to store your it by hanging it in a cool dry place. Silk creases so it’s best not to fold or leave it bunched up for long. If you’re storing your silk for a longer stint then make sure the garment is clean and stored in a breathable fabric bag (avoid plastic ones because they lock in moisture). Keep it away from the sun because as much as you love it your silk doesn’t, and it’ll fade the colour and weaken the fibre. Because silk is a protein, it can attract moths so if you add a natural moth repellant into the bag your silk will thank you.
At Grana we’re all about trial and error, and although we’ve put these methods to the test with positive results we can’t guarantee that they’ll work for you every time.