Indian Clothing Care

COTTON
is water-absorbent. Whites can be bleached lightly, but not treated, printed or colored cottons. Before washing vegetable dyed cotton, test for colorfastness by wetting a small corner to see if it bleeds. Soak in cold or tepid water, dry in shade and iron with hot steam.

DENIM
is easy to maintain and improves with washing. Wah in cold or lukewarm water. Don't put detergent directly on the denim, or soak it for long. Dry it inside-out. Both hand or machine wash (tumble dry on low heat) work well. For machine wash of darker denims, inside out is reccomended to keep color from fading.

KNITS
are made from looped fibres and can absorb air and water. Wash in cold water and dry flat. Iron on low heat and store folded on broad hangers.

LACE
is an intricate pattern made of synthetic or natural yarns, sometimes stitched onto a base. It can stretch and lose shape if handled poorly. Dry-cleaning is reccomended. Hand-wash at home with a sponge soaked in mild solution of liquid soap and lukewarm water. Spread the lace flat and blot clean. Never bleach. Ironing not reccomended.

LINEN
has poor elasticity, wrinkles easily, can be dyed well, dosent fade quickly and can tolerate high temperatures. Wash, wring gently and dry in shade. While Ironing, open collars and iron on fold, as prolonged folding can cause the yarns to break. Iron when damp with hot steam.

POLYESTER, GEORGETTE, CHIFFON AND ORGANZA
are synthetic, crease-resistant fabrics with an affinity for oil. Polyester is tough but melts under medium to high temperatures. Georgette, Chiffon and Organza are diaphonous and delicate. To wash, soak in lukewarm water with a mild detergent, dont scrub, rinse thoroughly, squeeze excess water and dry flat. Iron while damp on low temperature.

SILK
is strong, can be dyed easily, drapes well and dries quickly. All handworked and zari woven silk sarees and outfits should be dry-cleaned and stored away from direct sunlight. Most unembellished plain silks can be hand-washed using a gentle non-alkaline shampoo. Dont wring, but roll in towel to squeeze out extra moisture before drying. Iron on low temperature using a press cloth. Silk fades under direct sunlight.

VELVET
is made from rayon or acetate and ideally should be dry-cleaned.

WOOL
has high elasticity, is flame resistant and has high moisture absorbing quality. Wool should be professionally cleaned. If you must wash at home, use a mild liquid detergent and dry it flat. It can be steam pressed at very low temperatures, however some wools like angora shrink easily so ironing is best avoided.