How to wash silk
Can you wash silk? And how? We decided to find out. See our great silk washing test.
Full articleProduct code 101-19-0003
Distinctive, natural silk in beige made from wild silk moth cocoons. Light and crisp fabric, perfect for tunics, skirts, and dresses.
Read moreShade: | natural |
Material: | 100% silk |
Width (cm): | 110 cm |
Width (inches): | 43 ″ |
Weight (mm): | 15 mm |
Weight (gsm): | 64 gsm |
Weight (oz): | 1.9 oz |
Drape: | stiff |
Care: | |
Availability: | seasonal collection |
Minimum order: | 0.2 m |
in stock 58.5 m
Tussar silk (also known as tussah, tassar, tasar, and kosa silk) is made from cocoons produced by wild silk moths. Cousin to the mulberry silk moth, the tussar silk moth creates a rougher, more “rustic” fiber. Its slight imperfections lend this silk a peculiar charm and beauty and fabric woven from it has a depth and texture reminiscent of wood grain. Tussar has a natural honey color (against light skin it appears “nude”) and a matte sheen.
Tussar silk shares most of the characteristics of classic mulberry silk: It’s light, breathable, and pleasant to wear. It is a bit stiffer, with a crisper hand, so it’s not a good choice for fluid pieces.
Tussar silk is perfect for light garments such as tunics, skirts, and dresses. The fabric is sheer, so you will want to use a lining underneath, or highlight its sheerness in creative layering. Tussar is also a beautiful fabric for light summer scarfs and is superb for home decor, where a set of tussar curtains can add an elegant touch to a rustic interior.
We recommend dry cleaning this fabric at a reliable dry cleaner. In our tests of how to wash silk tussar silk fabric stood up to gentle hand washing. If you risk hand washing, use lukewarm water and a delicate detergent for woolens; do not wring or squeeze dry; block dry on a flat surface. Dry iron on the lowest setting.
Yes. Silk is our specialty. All fabrics marked as "silk" in our shop are always made of natural silk. You can rely on the fact that is always natural mulberry silk unless we say otherwise. If it is a different type of natural silk (e.g., wild silk), we will say so. We describe the many types of natural silk in full detail in our post on types of silk.
Washing is generally not recommended for silk – it belongs at the dry cleaners. However, as our big silk wash test has shown, some types of silk fabrics can stand up to a gentle wash program or hand washing without harm if you follow the procedure described. That said, wash silk at your own risk. We definitely recommend testing in advance on a small sample of the fabric – because silk is a natural material it's not 100% predictable. Never use an ordinary laundry detergent – use a special detergent for wool and silk or, if there's no other option, a gentle, silicone-free shampoo.
The fabrics in our core inventory, seasonal collections and limited editions are from repeated production cycles that we have quality-tested – given proper care their colors should not bleed. Fabrics that are on offer while supplies last are one-off products that have not been individually tested, so we recommend testing on a sample. Silk may lose some color when washed in water that's too hot or with unsuitable detergent. Always follow the recommended water temperature and use detergents designed for washing silk or wool. Washing silk, though it is often no problem, is always at your own risk. Read more in our post on How to wash silk.
If you are not going to dye the finished garment, we recommend a high-quality polyester thread for sewing silk. If you want to dye the finished garment, be sure to choose a silk thread (polyester does not take dye). The choice of sewing needle and thread depends on the type and weight of the fabric – for sewing particularly fine fabrics (chiffons, georgettees, light satins, light crepes) a thinner polyester or silk thread and a corresponding thin needle are suitable. Do not use cotton thread to sew silk.
Probably the best way to tell is the burn test. Silk burns reluctantly, leaving a black crumb that you can easily crush between your fingers and smells like burnt hair. Be sure to test threads pulled from both the weft and the warp. In addition to the burn test, there are a plenty of other tricks – check out our post on how to tell real silk.
Can you wash silk? And how? We decided to find out. See our great silk washing test.
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