Washing Silk isn't scary!!
This afternoon, after three years I decided to take the plunge and wash my handmade silk Wedding dress. After getting crazy quotes to have it professionally dry cleaned (as it was handmade and didn't have a care label) ,I got out my old text books from my textile classes and washed it my dress.
I have to say that it took Mum and I hours to make and embroider but it was a risk we pulled off and this is how I did it.
The dress was on the line for three hours and then finished off drying on the curtain rail in my bedroom before a press.
As my Mum says it's Indian silk, so it's a tough fabric. And I saved over £100 on dry cleaning. It worked for me!
This afternoon, after three years I decided to take the plunge and wash my handmade silk Wedding dress. After getting crazy quotes to have it professionally dry cleaned (as it was handmade and didn't have a care label) ,I got out my old text books from my textile classes and washed it my dress.
I have to say that it took Mum and I hours to make and embroider but it was a risk we pulled off and this is how I did it.
- First of all I filled the bath in warm water and added hand wash detergent.
- I laid the dress in the water and left it for ten minutes.
- Then I carefully rubbed the dirt and left it again for a few minutes.
- After a few more rubs I emptied the dirty water and filled up the bath again with cold water.
- After a rinse I took my very heavy Wedding dress and rolled it in a beach towel and ran downstairs to put it on the washing line.
- On the line, I resized it by stretching the silk so it retained the original shape. Silk is tough so it took the shape perfectly.
The dress was on the line for three hours and then finished off drying on the curtain rail in my bedroom before a press.
As my Mum says it's Indian silk, so it's a tough fabric. And I saved over £100 on dry cleaning. It worked for me!