Caring for your Hand Painted Silk Scarf

This scarf has been steamed and machine washed once to ensure colour fastness but thereafter I recommend hand washing in warm water with soap followed by pressing with a cool iron whilst still damp. Similarly, a very creased scarf can be refreshed with a light spray of water to dampen and then pressed.

A little history
When I was twenty I worked my Christmas vacation at Selfridge's in London. I sold men's shirts and ties. One of my colleagues was a fascinating fellow nearing retirement, who had lived and worked in India and Kenya. It was he who explained to me how to care for luxury and vintage textiles. His prized possession was a 1930s 'Noel Coward' style silk dressing gown. It never went to the dry cleaners and it was only ever gently washed by hand in cool water with minimal soap and then wrapped in towels to dry. Then when barely damp the silk dressing gown was lightly pressed with a cool iron. This may not be a museum curator's approach, but it is the best method to care for cherished silks that we wear in our everyday lives.