Can I wash a silk dress?

[igivein]

Just that really. I have a silk dress that's been hanging in the wardrobe for years (been too fat to wear it). I'm going to a wedding and would like to wear the dress, but it needs freshening up.
Can I machine / hand wash it, even though the label says dry clean only?

I used to sew with a lot of silk and always washed on a handwash programme. Though there are different types of silk- the very fine lingerie type silk washes better than the denser dupion type. Try pressing it inside out with a steam iron and see if it looks ok - that might freshen it up enough.

I wash silk, either by hand or in the machine on a delicate program. If I was worried I’d wash cold by hand, then roll it in towel and squeeze to remove the water, then dry flat.

it does depend on the construction though. If it’s lined or tailored with interfacing or anything like that, the different fabrics may react differently to the water, eg the lining may shrink slightly and then it won’t hang the same as before.

Similarly if it has pleats or similar, it may not come out as crisp as before.

the other potential issue is colour bleed if it’s patterned, eg a red pattern against white might bleed into the white. You reduce this risk by washing cold and quickly. You can also test for colour fastness.

Agree with the PP about the type and weave of the silk too. Some are more robust to washing than others.

Steam is a great way to freshen something that you are worried about washing. If you don’t have a steamer, Hang it in a steamy bathroom, then air it outside (out of direct sunlight), and that may be enough.

I have always washed silk blouses and unlined silk dresses by hand and then hang them to damp dry, followed by pressing with steam iron without any problems, shrinking or fading. Silk is much sturdier than people imagine.

But to be safe, have it dry cleaned.

Thanks all.
I decided that there was silk long before there was dry cleaning fluid, so I washed it in cool water and it’s worked fine (phew!)