How to Iron a Silk Blouse

Silk is one of the most luxurious fabrics ever made, and feels as divine on the skin as it looks on the body. Unfortunately, caring for a silk blouse is far more difficult that your standard laundry. If you have been wearing your favorite silk blouse, wrinkles and all, for fear of burning a hole through the precious threads, a few tips can help.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Spray bottle
• Iron with steam setting
• Thick cotton handkerchief
• Hanger

1. Iron a silk blouse while the fabric is damp. You can iron after hand washing, gently wringing out any excess water, or simply use a spray bottle to keep the fabric damp as you go.

2. Turn the blouse inside out as you iron to protect the smooth, more delicate top surface. Fill your iron with water and turn it onto it's lowest steam setting.

3. Place a damp, thick cotton handkerchief over the silk blouse before setting the iron down, helping to insulate the temperature. Keep the iron moving at all times and remember that it doesn't take much time at all to work the wrinkles from the blouse.

4. Keep the silk and cotton handkerchief damp as you work, spritzing with a spray bottle. Once you have finished ironing, hand the blouse immediately to dry. Any fine wrinkles left in the silk should fall away as the blouse dries.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are simply too afraid to risk setting a hot iron on your fine silk blouse, you can use steam instead. More often than not, wrinkles quickly fall out of silk by simply hanging the blouse in the bathroom as you shower. If that is not quite enough, you can use a hand held steamer of the highest steam setting on your iron, passing the steam a few inches from the fabric while your blouse is hanging.