Sedonia’s Silks
Care of Your Hand-Dyed Silk Item

Many people believe that silk is a very delicate fiber that must require extra careful handling. In fact, silk is one of the strongest natural fibers. Your silk veil can be washed, ironed, used and abused and will only get softer and more floaty with handling.

Cleaning and Care
Your veil can be either hand washed, or machine washed on a delicate cycle. The dyes used to create your veil react with the protein in the silk fibers on a molecular level and are very permanent. However, the dying process may leave a slight residue of unreacted dye lingering the fabric. As a result, the veil may discharge some color during washing. This discharge is normal and will not result in the veil fading or bleeding, but you should wash the veil by itself or with like colors. Cold water should be sufficient (but keep in mind that the veil has already been subjected to near-boiling temperatures during the dyeing process so hot water will not hurt it). You can use any mild soap, detergent, or even shampoo. I generally hand-wash silk, blot it with a towel until damp, and then iron the veil till dry with a hot iron. If you let it air dry the wrinkles will be harder to iron out. Alternatively, your veil can be dry-cleaned (but a simple hand-wash is better for the environment). After your veil has been washed and pressed, it may seem a little crisp or stiff; some handling will restore its soft feel 100%. Make a small circle with your thumb and index finger, and pull the veil through several times (think of a magician pulling silk scarves out of his fist). Dance with it, scrunch it up, whip it around…soon it will be back to its soft floaty self.

Wrinkles and Static
Your veil will stay more-or-less wrinkle free if you hang it rather than fold it. If you can’t hang it, folding is better than wadding it up. If you wad it up, just iron it. If you have just a few soft wrinkles, hanging for an hour or so, or a few minutes in a steamy bathroom may freshen it up. Your veil can be ironed as often as you need; I always use the hottest setting with no ill effects. You can use steam or spritz with water if needed (use distilled water if your tap water is very hard). If you need to control static, a fine mist of water may help. Be careful with Static Guard – I use it in small amounts and hold the can several feet away. It can stain the fabric if you use too much or spray it to close to the veil.

Cautions
There are only a few things you should never do to your silk veil. NEVER use chlorine bleach on anything silk. The bleach will dissolve the proteins in the silk fiber, causing the fabric to either fall apart in small pieces, or become so weakened that it rips at the slightest touch. Avoid leaving your silk veil in direct sunlight for long periods of time. My silk dyes are resistant to fading in light, but no dye or fabric is completely impervious to the damage of sunlight. Finally, you should avoid getting sweat on your veil. A little sweat won’t hurt the veil; however, it could allow some unincorporated dye to discharge onto your costume (this would be most likely if your veil were a very dark color and your costume light or white, and you were at an outside summer venue for a long period with the veil tucked around your costume). The veil won’t discharge as long as its dry.

Disclaimer
Silk is strong, washable, natural fiber. The care instructions given here, however, are recommendations for my silk items and may not be appropriate for all silk garments. Silk clothing may be labeled “Dry Clean Only” for a number of reasons, including 1) the manufacturer is being overly cautious, 2) the fabric may be dyed with non-colorfast dyes), 3) the garment may include linings, interfacing, or trims that are not washable, or 4) the silk fabric may not have been pre-washed/pre-shrunk before the garment was made. Bottom line, don’t throw your $500 designer silk suit in the washing machine just because I told you silk is washable.