FLAMINGO DESIGNS HELP CENTER

HAND WASH This is probably the safest way to wash silk garments, and the steps are easy to follow. 1. Submerge your silk in a basin filled with cool water 30°C. 2. Add a few drops of mild detergent and use your hand to mix it into the solution. Let the item soak for at least 3 minutes. 3. Using your hands, plunge the garment up and down to remove dirt. Rinse the silk under cold water until all the soap has been washed out. 4. Soak up the moisture using a towel. Never rub or agitate your silk. 5. Hang it on a drying rack and keep it away from direct sunlight. Note: If there is colour in the water, don’t worry! This is normal and it is simply the yarn releasing dye. You will not notice any loss of color in the fabric when you are finished. MACHINE WASH You can wash silk in a machine. However, you must invest in a mesh bag to avoid tangling and damages. 1. Sort your laundry. Never wash silk with heavy pieces of clothing like jeans. 2. Turn your silk pillowcase inside out and place it in an old pillowcase (that without zipper) or a Mesh Bag Bundle to protect it during the wash cycle. 3. Place your silk in the washing machine on a cold or warm delicate cycle with a maximum water temperature of 30°C. 4. Add a detergent that is specifically designed to care for silk garments. It's very important that don't use a detergent contain enzymes or bleach as this will damage silk. 5. Hang it on a drying rack and keep it away from direct sunlight.

Silk generally should be stored in a cool, dark and dry place with adequate air circulation. Being a natural fibre, silk needs to be able to breathe so avoid packing your silk garments away in tightly sealed plastic bags. For best results, hang inside breathable cotton bags to avoid unwanted creases and wrinkles. Here are some tips to maintain silk such as steam the silk to freshen it up quickly. Steamers do not just take away creases, but also kill off bacteria. Avoid exposing silk to alcohol-based products like perfume and hairspray. Do not hang the silk directly in the sunlight for a long time, the colours can change and turn yellow. If you get a stain do not try to rub it away with water. The colour will fade on the spot where the stain wash. Wash it instead (see the washing instructions below) Finally, silk should always be clean before storing away. You don’t want to hang up any silk that may be stained, dirty or carrying natural oils as this can degrade the fabric over time and lead to damage.

Hand touch Simply touch your silk and get a good feel for the smoothness of it. Real silk is completely smooth to the touch, with a soft and almost waxy feeling. Further to that, if you scrunch it up a bit in your hand, you should hear a crunching noise – that sound should tell you that it’s the real deal. Printed silk For extra peace of mind, rub the silk between your fingers for a little while. Real silk heats up and becomes warm to the touch – if it doesn’t change in temperature, it’s a fake. The ring test Take any jewellery ring that you’ve got to hand, and place it on your fabric. Gently pull the silk through the middle of the ring and see how it performs. Real silk should smoothly glide through the ring with no issues, whereas synthetic fibres will usually get caught on the ring or bunch up. silk ring test Note: The outcome of this test can also depend on the thickness of the fabric. The thickness depends on the Momme value, the higher the value the thicker. Generally, thicker silks will be more difficult to pull through. The burn test This isn’t a method that we’d really recommend unless you want to chance completely destroying your silk fabric, but the accuracy of the results can’t really be beaten. When burnt, real silk will smell similar to burning hair and produce brittle ash. Once the flame is removed, it’ll stop burning. If there’s no ash present and it smells like burning plastic, it’s not real silk.