Care

Looking after handwoven silk

Handwoven silk is more forgiving than people expect and less forgiving than they hope. Almost every ruined drape we have seen was ruined by heat, by sunlight, or by being folded the same way for ten years.

Washing

Dry clean anything with zari, a heavy thread border, or a colour you have not tested. Beyond that, most silk survives careful hand washing better than it survives repeated chemical cleaning.

01Test any strong colour on an inside corner before the first wash.
02Cool water only. Heat is what sets a stain and dulls a finish.
03Use a mild, non-alkaline soap. Ordinary detergent strips the natural sericin that gives silk its hand.
04Move the cloth through the water; do not rub it against itself.
05Rinse until the water runs clear, then roll in a cotton towel to draw the water out. Never wring.

Drying

This is where most damage happens, and it is entirely avoidable.

01Dry flat, in shade, with air moving around it.
02Direct sunlight flattens Muga's gold and fades dyed Paat within a season.
03Never hang a wet drape. The weight of the water pulls the fall out of the weave permanently.
04Keep it away from radiators, hair dryers and car heaters.

Ironing

Silk wants a low temperature and a barrier. It does not want steam driven straight into it.

01Iron on the reverse, on the lowest silk setting.
02Use a clean cotton cloth between the iron and the silk.
03Work while the cloth is very slightly damp — that settles the weave rather than scorching it.
04Never iron directly over zari or metallic thread; go around it.

Storing

A drape that is worn twice a year spends 363 days in storage, so this matters more than anything else on this page.

01Fold in cotton or muslin. Plastic traps moisture and yellows silk.
02Refold along a different line each year, or the creases become permanent weak points.
03Keep neem leaves or dried vetiver nearby rather than naphthalene, which leaves an odour in silk.
04Air the piece for an hour once or twice a year, in shade.
05Store perfume and jewellery separately — both mark silk irreversibly.

Each silk also has its own guidance — Muga in particular wants washing rather than dry cleaning.

Care by silk