Caring For Your Silks & Knitwear
Anaphe promotes hand washing your silk items to stop the negative impact of dry cleaning chemicals.
Too many items are made to look old before their time, through excessive use of toxic chemicals and sheer over-washing. That lustrous and luxurious quality of silk (which is what makes it so wonderful to wear) can be lost over time with repeated harsh dry cleaning techniques.
If you’ve always dry cleaned your silk items as their care labels will often advise, then we are here to break it to you: Our silk items are in fact better cared for at home quick and easily.
Before you start a quick note; Every time you hand wash you'll likely see a little dye come out in the water, but the first time it will run more than usual. This is totally normal and nothing to worry about.
- Fill a basin with cool water and add 2-3 caps of Eco Wash for Silk & Delicates
- Turn the item inside out and gently submerge the garment and agitate the water with your hands to distribute the soap and water. (It is normal for a little dye to be released). Soak for 2-3 minutes, no more than 5minutes. If you have more than 1 item wash them separately to avoid colours running (whites with whites, blacks with blacks, colours separately).
- Rinse with fresh cool water until the garment is free from soap and then gently press between your hands or against the basin.
- To absorb excess water lay your silk over a towel and roll. Never wring or rub your silk as it will damage the fibres. Alternatively, you can hang to dry, making sure to position the item correctly on a hanger to prevent stretching.
So we now know the best way to wash our knitwear, but how do we prevent our garments from pilling?
Pilling, sometimes called bobbling, is when your woollen clothing gets fuzzy balls all over them, making your clothes look worn out. Pilling is caused by your clothes rubbing while your wearing it so it is more likely to happen around the elbows, armpits, and the sides of your woolly jumper.
But, don’t stress as pilling in your knitwear can be prevented - and below are three tips on how to do so.
Tip 1
Wash your wool garments inside-out to keep the visible part of the clothing from rubbing against other fabrics.
Tip 2
Wash wool garments separately, or even on their own, to reduce the chance of fabrics rubbing together - hand washing is also helpful for this. Using specialist wool detergents protects the fibres more than standard detergent, as they are more gentle and pH neutral - the delicates wash is great for this.
Tip 3
When pilling happens, use a Knitwear Comb to gently pull these bobbles away from your clothes until they look like new again. For this we have the Clothes Doctor Knitwear Combs in Beechwood
Please contact us for more information or if you have any questions
info@anaphe.com
NEXT: Here's what to wear over your silks during cooler months
