Care Instructions for some of the Traditional Cotton Printed Fabrics

Dabu, Ajrak and Khadi Printing

1.  Hand wash in cold water with mild soap, hang to dry and
press with a dry iron.

2. Machine wash in gentle cycle with
cold water and mild soap, do not put in dryer.

Silver and Gold Foil Block Printing

1. Do not wash or do not dry clean. Silver and Gold Leaf will tarnish and spoil if laundered.

2. Store these precious items in a cool dark place with leaf facing inward.

3.Rolling  is  preferable  to  folding  with  acid  free  tissue  or unbleached cotton between layers of cloth.

Hand Dyed and Block Printed

1. Hand wash in cold water with mild soap, hang to dry and press with a dry iron.

2. Machine Wash in Gentle Cycle with cold water
and mildsoap, do Not put in Dryer.

3. SILK Dry Clean Only

Cotton Bandhini

1. Hand wash in cold water with mild soap, hang to dry and
press with a dry iron.

2. Machine wash in gentle cycle with cold water and mild soap, do not put in dryer


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Care of Rayon Fabrics

Rayon has a low wet strength. Thus the fabric may shrink or stretch when wet. Dry cleaning is recommended. When hand washing, do not wring, use towel to take out moisture and dry flat.

Some dyes used on rayon migrate to the surface, when moisture contacts them, they form a "ring" which are difficult to remove. Thus it makes sense to protect the garment from moisture.

Also when pressing, avoid spitting by steam irons. Press on wrong side or use a press cloth to protect shine or iron imprints.

Rayon fabrics stretches during regular use or drycleaning. This tendency is more common in fitted garments.

In full bias skirts or dresses, uneven hemlines may appear in rayon crepe fabrics in damp climates. This happens because rayon is less stable when wet.

Yellowing in the rayon fabrics may occur due to oxidation of starch present in the fabric. This problem is noticeable in white fabrics. Wet cleaning, accompanied by bleaching will correct the problem. However this treatment can cause additional damage due to shrinkage and limpness.

View a fact sheet on rayon by Joyee A Smith here.

Care of Silk Fabric

Silk should be dry-cleaned, in most of the cases. Whenever in doubt, dryclean it.

It should not be machine washed at all.

Silk Shrinks when washed in water. It doesn’t itself shrink. It is the way the individual fibers are twisted together than causes the silk to shrink. Highly twisted yarns and loose weave cause shrinking when water releases twisting energy in the fibers.

Water also affects the texture and sheen of the fabric. Thus the firmness and color of the fabric is also affected by water.

When hand washing do it in this way:

Always wash silk in soft water. Add a pinch of Borax or ammonia, if the water is hard.

1. Put the silk in a tub full of lukewarm water and mild soap like Ezee.

2. Rub the silk fabric for a few minutes in the solution and drain.

3. Rinse in clear cool water until all the soap is gone.

4. Fill the tub again and put about a quarter cup of white vinegar.

Vinegar neutralizes any remaining soap and allows it to rinse out completely restoring the fabric’s natural sheen. It also helps preventing any damage from the alkali present in the soap.

5. Give the fabric a final rinse in clear, cool water to restore the vinegar smell.

6. Roll up in a towel to remove moisture then dry flat on a towel. Never wring it.

7. Avoid soaking silk as this may fade the dye.

Silk with doubtful color fastness may be steeped in cold water with a small amount of citric or acetic acid for 1-2 minutes before washing.

Please test this method on a small part of the garment before commencing the full-fledged washing.

Treating Stains

1. Use a capful of hydrogen peroxide and a few drops of ammonia added to the wash.

2. For recent perspiration stain dab a tablespoon of ammonia dissolved in half cup of water. Older perspiration can be removed with a vinegar solution. Unfortunately, perspiration stains on silk may not be completely removable.

Pressing

1. Silk should be pressed when damp never when completely dry.

2. Turn the item inside out and iron on the reverse side of the fabric.

3. Use a low setting and don’t use steam as it will leave watermarks.


Storage

1. Keep silk in a cotton pillowcase or other material that can breathe.

2. Avoid plastic which traps moisture and can cause yellowing and mildew

3. Use naphthalene balls to keep the bugs away from silk.

4. Avoid direct contact with wood

5. Wrap zari sarees in cotton cloth to avoid discoloring of zari.

General Care Instructions

1. Keep it away from heat or direct sunlight, it will yellow the fiber.