More than any other fabric, silk is shrouded in myth about its supposed delicacy and difficult upkeep. 

"They say you shouldn’t soak it or even get it wet, that it must be dry cleaned, that your perfume will ruin it, the sun too, and ironing. In fact, don’t even look at it sideways."

Even our advice errs on the side of caution: Treat silk with care, especially the finer fabrics, and to take your really special silk clothing to a good dry cleaner.

At the same time, we know that you also want to use silk to make everyday pieces that are fairly easy to care for. 

Since we at Sartor pride ourselves on knowing what we sell, we regularly test our fabrics and for this article we’ve repeated our tests on a representative selection of our silk fabrics. Here is what we learned, complete with photos. Our results may surprise you.

Some silk fabrics are fairly easy to wash and care for. 

In fact, if you follow a few simple rules, you can care for the bulk of your silks at home. Even fine silk satin and silk chiffon came through the wash unscathed. For most of the silk fabrics we tested, washing softened them and shrank them just a bit – par for the course for more pedestrian fabrics like cotton and rayon. Here are a few general tips before you get started.

Nearly all types of silk fabric change after soaking in water. Most of them soften, some may shrink slightly or become less glossy, or stray filaments may rise from the surface. 

Of course, laundering changes any fabric. It’s just that when it’s a cotton t-shirt you kind of expect that the seams will creep and it will start to pill up. A silk blouse is different – you want it to look good for a long time. 

That’s one reason we recommend treating your special silk pieces with care and having them professionally cleaned.

Reduced tensile strength when wet is a general characteristic not just of silk, but of all protein-based materials (wool, cashmere, alpaca, etc.). For plant-based materials the opposite holds true. That’s why you can put cotton and linen in the high spin cycle and hang them on the line to dry. 

Wet silk is only 80% as strong as it is when dry, so its fibers can break more easily and stretch out of shape. That’s why you need to be so careful when washing, wringing and drying silk.

You can’t judge the washability of a garment just by what fabric it’s sewn from. Washing (or even soaking) can also damage interfacing, ornamentation, and embroidery. 

Tailored items like blazers or formal dresses with complex cuts, are often shaped with an iron while sewing and interfacing of any number of woven or non-woven materials may have been stitched in. Even if the outer fabric came through the wash without any change, the garment itself may lose its shape for good. 

Better pieces deserve a trip to the dry cleaner, as do suits or wool coats.

Can you hand wash silk? And can you wash silk in the washing machine? Let's look at the chemistry first. Since different fabrics are made of different materials, their pH value (their level of acidity) varies accordingly. You may have noticed that laundry detergents come with a variety of pH values. They can be alkaline or acidic. Most ordinary detergents are alkaline because most of the things we wear are made of plant-based materials like cotton and rayon.

Protein-based fibers like silk are sensitive to alkaline detergents. Most powdered laundry detergent is alkaline, as are washing soda, chlorine bleach, and some soaps. Alkalis weaken the silk filament, causing it to soften, lose its shine, and release stray fibers. 

Never wash silk in an alkaline detergent!

Use only laundry solutions meant specifically for silk or wool.

In a pinch, you can use a gentle silicone-free shampoo. Before using any laundry product, even those meant for hand washing, make sure that it is marked safe for silk and wool.

To test your laundry detergent, you can use litmus paper (pH indicator), which is available at most pharmacies and drug stores.

The bluer the litmus paper turns, the higher the pH (more alkaline and thus worse for washing silk). Ordinary laundry powder is highly alkaline (pH 11) whereas shampoo and laundry gel for silk both have a neutral pH (around 6). Classic laundry gel and hand laundering products are slightly alkaline (pH 7–8).

Be as gentle as possible when caring for silk – that means gentle detergents and gentle handling. 

Hand washing is best. Find a basin (or a clean bathtub) that will hold the garment with room to spare. Mix a bit of silk-safe laundry solution in tepid water (around 80°F / 25–30°C), submerge your garment and let it soak for 15 to 30 minutes. Then gently stir it around with your hands – don’t scrub or twist it. 

Drain the dirty water and add clean, fresh water (also tepid) and gently stir to rinse. Don’t use fabric softener – silk doesn’t need it and the film that it leaves on the surface will reduce the natural breathability and absorbency of your silk clothing.

Most modern washing machines have a gentle cycle that mimics hand washing, sloshing your clothes around in a fair amount of water. Go ahead and use it. Just make sure to set the temperature to a low setting (80 °F / 30 °C) and fill the machine to no more than half. 

Turn off the spin cycle entirely. 

If your washer has an extra water setting, use it. Water acts as a buffer between your silk clothing and the sides of the washing drum, so the more water, the less contact.

When machine washing especially delicate pieces, such as scarves and blouses, put them in a lingerie bag.

Never, ever, wring silk out. Don’t forget that silk loses much of its strength when it’s wet and wringing it out will damage it. 

Lay each wet piece on a clean, dry towel and roll it up. The excess water will soak into the towel. To finish drying, lay the garment flat. 

Press it while it’s still a bit damp. Damp silk is much easier to iron.

Because silk has a natural self-cleaning property, sometimes hanging it out is enough. A dress or blouse worn for three hours to the theater may only want a couple of hours on a hanger – ideally out of doors (summer or winter but sheltered from rain and sun). 

A good airing can even get rid of the smell of cigarette smoke or strong perfume.

Here at Sartor, we put our silk fabrics to the test.  In several weeks of rigorous testing, we hand washed samples of all the basic silk fabrics we carry. Some of them we really put through the wringer – submitting them to harsh chemicals and rough treatment. Here’s how it turned out.

Chiffon is one of the finest silk fabrics around, prone to rips, tears, and snags even when it’s dry. 

The white chiffon we tested seemed to melt away the second it hit the water – you could just barely see it was there. Once it dried and had been ironed, however, it looked just the same as it had before, but had softened slightly. The camera didn’t capture this very well, but it had a noticeably softer hand and a tiny bit more drape than before. 

The moral of the story: If you want to soften chiffon, give it a gentle wash.

Take extreme care when washing chiffon. As our second test showed, if you handle chiffon too roughly (scrubbing it, wringing it dry) the weave will loosen in some spots leaving blemishes that can’t be fixed. On the other hand, however, we have to take our hats off to the toughness of silk – the weave may have loosened, but the fabric did not tear. And it’s not as if we didn’t try!

Crepeline is similar to organza but has an even looser weave and is not quite as stiff. It won’t soften with washing either.

When we tried wringing out these two materials, both developed slight fractures that we couldn’t iron out. You can see how our attempt to correct the situation with a warm iron (wool setting) and steam turned out on the crepeline sample pictured. We managed to smooth out the puckered strip but its fractured outline remained in the fabric sample for good.

For this reason we don’t recommend washing garments made of organza or crepeline if you want to preserve their original shape (puffy sleeves, structured skirts, sculpted bows). However, if have an organza or crepeline underlayer in a linen or cotton dress where some crimps won’t bother you, go ahead and risk washing.

Though airy and lightweight, silk habotai aced our hand washing test. Laundering softened it slightly, otherwise it was unchanged. And habotai is easy to iron – a couple of passes with the iron removed all wrinkles.

So if you've got a silk scarf in this material, no fears. If it gets crumpled or needs a rinse, washing it is quick and easy.

For crêpe de Chine, as for other fabrics in the crêpe family (crêpe, georgette, crêpe georgette, crêpe back satin) a good wetting brings out the crêpe structure. 

Our sample went a bit wavy and shrank, in both directions, when we washed it because the water made the twisted crêpe yarns twist even more.

The good news is that ironing smoothed things out and the fabric even returned to its original size because the twisted silk yarns relaxed to their original state. 

The bad news is that our crêpe de Chine sample lost some of its original smoothness and luster. 

The choice is yours – if you have a simple summer dress made of crêpe de Chine where a slight change doesn’t matter to you, then washing is fine. Otherwise we recommend dry cleaning.

Silk charmeuse is a lightweight and silk satin a medium weight glossy fabric that at first glance seems like it would be tricky to wash. To our surprise, it came through our hand washing test with flying colors – the only change was a slight softening. 

This is another case where to wash or not to wash is really your call. For structured garments where you want to ensure that the original shape holds up, your dry cleaner is the clear choice. But for pajamas, pillowcases, bedsheets, or a simple top – where softening does no harm and may even be a plus – feel free to wash.

Duchesse is a stiff, glossy, deluxe satin of the kind used for formalwear and wedding dresses, though it also lends itself to use in household items like pillows or “cosmetic” pillowcases for skincare. The question is, can it be washed?
Our duchesse sample came through our hand washing test unblemished. It just got a bit softer. As with silk charmeuse, that may matter if you have a princess skirt that has to hold its shape, but for a pillowcase it doesn’t really make a difference. Just be careful when ironing – water will leave marks on satin’s shiny surface.

Dupioni is sought after for its brilliant colors and the papery stiffness that makes it so great for sewing full, stiff skirts and gathered dresses. 

Our sample softened considerably with washing, giving this stiff fabric an almost supple drape. So, unless you want to intentionally soften it, we don’t recommend getting it wet. Even steam will have a softening effect on it, so it’s a good idea to use a dry iron on this fabric. 

If you decide to go ahead and wash your silk dupioni anyway, note that its deep, brilliant colors may bleed. So wash it separately.

Taffeta is a fancy, papery-stiff fabric, sought after for wedding fashions and eveningwear as well as jackets and dressy suits. We were curious whether washing would make it lose its stiffness as it does with dupioni. The water did cause it to soften slightly, but not as markedly as dupioni. It even retained its distinctive rustle (or “scroop”). When caring for taffeta, you should keep in mind the character of the garment.

Washing didn't seem to affect our wild eri silk at all. Once it had dried, the fabric was a bit crumpled, but that ironed out easily. The only change we could detect after a thorough inspection of the sample, was a very slight softening.

Even the fabric's brilliant color was just as bright as before washing.

If you have voile in a silk cotton blend, you can pretty much wash it without any worries as long as you don't mind the following two things:

• Shrinkage – This fabric will shrink. If you need it to remain the same size and shape, don't wash it.
• Wrinkling – This fabric will wrinkle and must be ironed well. For some garments, or parts of garments, this may pose a problem.

Voile scarves, summer dresses, curtains, and similar items should be no problem to wash. But still be careful to avoid mechanical damage – voile is a delicate fabric with a plain weave.

Mulberry silk knits are soft and flowy by their nature, so no additional softening is noticeable after washing. Our sample was not even wrinkled much after it had dried. In our experience, this is a surprisingly wrinkle-free fabric.

If you plan to use silk jersey for lingerie or a nightgown, it is perfectly easy to care for.

But remember, this is a very fine fabric and if it is not washed gently, it can suffer mechanical damage. So if you wash, take proper care.

Our spun silk jersey did not change at all after washing. Because it is soft by nature, it can't really get much softer. It also kept its drape and its appearance unchanged.

Due to the nature of spun silk thread, washing should be done gently to prevent a fine fuzz from rising on the surface of the fabric, much as for cotton or rayon. Though spun silk jersey looks pretty sturdy, it should be washed gently – no rough handling, no spin cycle, no machine drying.

If you don’t mind the slight changes that washing silk can cause, let these test results be your guide. But before you toss your silk in the wash, test a small sample first. Better safe than sorry.