For our 100% pure silk jersey gloves.
Silk is protein: enzymes, alkali, bleach, heat and sun break it down, and it is a fifth weaker wet than dry. The knit stretches under its own weight when wet and dries in the shape it is left in.
Prepare
- Detergent: pH-neutral, non-biological liquid. Silk wash or baby shampoo, a few drops. No bio, brighteners, softener, bleach or powder.
- Water: cool, under 30°C. Clean basin.
- Gloves: inside out, pins removed, any pulled thread worked back through from the inside.
- Colour: darks alone for the first washes. Never soak them.
Hand wash
- Dissolve the liquid fully before the gloves go in.
- Submerge completely. Partial wetting leaves a tide mark.
- Leave 3 to 5 minutes, no longer.
- Press and lift with open hands. No rubbing, scrubbing or twisting. For a mark, press neat liquid through from the inside.
- Lift out supported in both hands. Rinse in fresh cool water until it runs clear and the silk is no longer slippery.
- Nothing in the final rinse.
Machine
- Zipped mesh bag, inside out. Silk or wool programme, 30°C or cold, lowest or no spin, liquid only.
- Similar colours and weights only. No towels, zips, hooks or velcro.
- Remove the moment the cycle ends.
Dry
- Never wring. Roll in a dry white towel and press along the roll. Repeat if still dripping.
- Turn right side out. Lay flat on a fresh towel or mesh rack.
- Shape while damp: straighten fingers, open the thumb, smooth the palm, square the cuff.
- Shade, moving air, turned once. Allow a day. No radiator, sun, hairdryer, tumble, pegs or hangers.
- Store only when fully dry.
Recovery
- Tide mark or stretched shape: re-wet the whole glove, reshape, dry flat.
- Stiff or harsh: detergent residue. Rinse again.
- Shiny patch or surface fuzz: heat or abrasion damage. Permanent.
- Dye onto another garment: rewash it in cool water before it dries.