How to Care for Your Indian Ethnic Wear: Silk, Embroidery & Handloom Fabrics
Indian ethnic wear — especially pieces in silk, with hand embroidery, or in delicate handloom fabrics — represents a significant investment of money and, often, deep emotional value. A beautifully cared-for silk saree can be passed down for generations; a poorly stored embroidered lehenga can become unwearable within a season. At Kaash Collection, we want your pieces to last. Here's your complete care guide.
Storing Indian Ethnic Wear
The Most Important Rule: Never Use Plastic
Storing silk or handloom fabrics in plastic bags or plastic wrapping traps moisture, prevents the fabric from breathing, and can cause yellowing, mold, and permanent damage over time. Always store premium ethnic wear in breathable cotton muslin bags or wrapped in clean cotton cloth.
Folding vs. Hanging
- Sarees: Fold carefully along the original pleat lines and store flat or in a folded stack. Refold along different lines every few months to prevent permanent crease marks. Never hang sarees — the weight of the fabric stretches it unevenly.
- Salwar kameez and Anarkalis: Hanging on padded hangers is generally fine for lighter pieces. Heavy embroidered pieces should be folded or stored flat to prevent the embellishments from pulling the fabric.
- Lehengas: Fold the skirt gently and store flat. The dupatta can be folded separately and stored together.
- Dupattas: Fold loosely and store flat — avoid tight creases in embroidered or printed dupattas.
Preventing Pests
- Store neem leaves or cedar blocks (not mothballs — the smell is difficult to remove) in your storage to repel insects.
- Air your ethnic wear in indirect sunlight occasionally — direct sunlight can fade fabric but indirect sun airing prevents moisture buildup and pest damage.
- Never store ethnic wear in damp conditions — moisture is the enemy of silk and hand embroidery.
Washing Indian Ethnic Wear
Silk Sarees & Silk Fabric
Always dry clean for precious silk sarees — Banarasi, Kanjeevaram, and heavy silk pieces. For lighter silk blends, hand-washing in cool water with a gentle detergent (like Woolite) is possible, but dry cleaning is far safer.
Never wring or twist silk — squeeze gently and roll in a clean towel to remove excess water. Dry flat in shade.
Cotton Ethnic Wear
Most cotton Kurtas, salwar kameez, and casual ethnic pieces can be machine-washed on a gentle cycle in cold water. Always wash separately from other colors in the first few washes — natural dyes in Indian cotton fabrics (particularly block prints and handloom pieces) may bleed.
Georgette & Chiffon
Hand-wash in cold water with a mild detergent. Do not wring. Hang to dry in shade. Georgette and chiffon are generally fairly easy to care for — but avoid machine washing, which can cause snags and distort the drape.
Embroidered Pieces (Zardozi, Gota Patti, Mirror Work)
Always dry clean heavily embroidered pieces. Hand embroidery — particularly zardozi (metal thread work) and gota patti — can be permanently damaged by water. Even careful hand-washing can cause metallic threads to oxidize or loosen. Dry cleaning preserves both the fabric and the embellishment work.
Bandhani & Block Print Fabrics
Wash in cold water and mild detergent, separately, in the first few washes. Natural dyes in Bandhani and block prints are vibrant but may run slightly in early washes — this is normal and will stabilize over time.
Handling Wrinkles
- Silk: Steam lightly from the reverse side. Never iron silk directly — use a pressing cloth between the iron and the fabric.
- Georgette and chiffon: Steam gently — these fabrics respond well to steam and rarely need direct ironing.
- Cotton: Iron while slightly damp on a medium setting.
- Embroidered pieces: Steam only from the reverse side. Never iron over embellishments.
Shop quality Indian ethnic wear built to last at Kaash Collection — 405 Boulder Ct, Suite 200-I, Pleasanton, CA, or shop at KaashCollection.com. Use code WELCOME5 for 5% off your first order.