Okay lessons learned when dealing with silk fabric:
I hand washed my new surcoat the other day because I didn't see the sense in delaying the inevitable of it needing to be washed.
I used dove delicate care laundry detergent and hand washed it in COLD water only. Unfortunately the green silk was not precisely color fast and it bled a bit into the water, however I half expected that and didn’t let it soak very long so the dye bleed over onto the white silk is very nominal. That being said those of you interested in having silk in your surcoats I suggest the following pre-steps prior to making the garment:
- Pre soak the silk fabric in COLD water only and keeping the colors separate.
- Do not wring or twist the fabric but roll the fabric in a large towel to remove the excess water then let it hang to dry.
- Iron the wrinkles out with of the fabric when dry using the appropriate temperature settings on the iron.
Personally I think my surcoat looks perfect now that it has a touch of the worn look about it.
