Delicate, luxurious and surprisingly easy to care for, since it’s discovery thousands of years ago, silk has become a coveted fabric for clothing, accessories and bedding. Although at first caring for such an elegant material might appear daunting, it can actually be really easy. Read on to find out more about how to make your silk last for years to come.

Dry Cleaning Silk

Some Jasmine Silk products, such as our silk blankets need to be dry cleaned only. Dry cleaning can help break down oil and grease on the silk without affecting the vibrancy of the blanket through harsher machine washing.

Hand Washing Silk

Many people choose to hand wash their silk garments, as this helps you control how delicate the cleaning process is. You can also have more control over factors such as the temperature at which you wash the fabric – which can help keep its colours brighter for longer. When hand washing your silk, it’s important to remember to keep the temperature cool.

Machine Washing Silk

If hand washing seems too much work for you, you’ll be happy to know that all of our silk bed linen is machine washable. Simply set your washing machine to a temperature no higher than 30°C and wash your linen with a gentle, non-biological detergent. Tenestar is a non-biological detergent that has been specially designed for use when washing silk and is one Jasmine Silk would recommend when looking for a cleaning product for your silk.

Drying Silk

Never tumble dry or wring out any silk product. As tempting as it might be to do so, to get rid of excess water, wringing out silk can cause unsightly creases in the fabric as well as damaging it in the long run.

Instead, hang your clean silk in a shaded area to dry. This will allow any excess water to drain away naturally, as well as preventing fading from prolonged exposure to the light. If you still need to get rid of some of the residual water from washing, then rolling the silk in a towel or cotton cloth can help with this.

Airing out Silk

Some of our products, such as our silk-filled pillows and duvets, benefit from being aired out from time to time. Airing out your silk is easy and gives it a new lease of life. Just place your pillow or duvet somewhere out of direct sunlight for a few hours every few months. Make sure this is done in a shaded area to preserve the colour.

Smoothing out Wrinkles

Wrinkles in your silk can cause it to look worn and aged, but with such a delicate fabric it can be difficult to achieve a smooth finish without damaging the material. If possible, we would recommend using a steamer, or if you don’t have access to one then hanging the fabric near a shower can also be beneficial.

Irons can also be used on some products, such as our silk bed linen. This being said, it is important to set the iron on the lowest temperature setting and iron the linen, inside out, while it is still slightly damp.

For further information on washing silk, please visit: https://www.jasminesilk.com/silk-care/i59