Fabric Care Guide

Below is a general guide to the care of the different types of fabrics you can find in Clothing Wear Australia dresses and other garments. A garment might be made up of different fabrics so these are not hard-and-fast rules, just general guides to each of the main fabrics available. The best guide to follow is the manufacturer's sewn-in care guide label. ALWAYS refer to this first as we can't be responsible for garments where these instructions have not been followed.

Fabric	Description	Suggested Washing	Suggested Drying	Suggested Ironing
Polyester	Durable, crease-resistant, fade-resistant	Cold or warm wash	Hang dry	Inside out, low temp, no steam
Nylon	Durable, light-weight, fade-resistant	Warm wash with fabric softener	Tumble dry, low temp	Inside out, low temp, no steam
Viscose or Rayon	Breathes like cotton, silky smooth	Hand wash or luke warm machine wash	Do not tumble dry or wring (or it will rip). Roll in terry towel, then hang dry	Inside out, no steam due to delicacy of fabric
Silk	Smooth, majestic fabric. Strong and similar in texture to hair. May fade from strong detergent or sunlight. Perspiration can damage so recommend wearing a singlet or camisole underneath	Dry clean only	Do not spin, tumble dry or wring	Do not iron. Steam instead (e.g. hang in bathroom while showering)
Satin	Shiny weave with dull backing. Very delicate. Typically made of polyester, nylon or silk	Dry clean, hand wash in cold water	Roll in towel to absorb excess water, then hang dry	Inside out, lowest heat setting, no steam
Elastane	Wrinkle resistant stretch fibre similar to lycra. Usually mixed with another fabric.	Warm machine wash	Hang dry	Refer to the fabric that the elastane is mixed with
Cotton	Comfortable and soft fabric but wrinkles easily	First wash by itself as colour may come out. Cold wash only to avoid shrinkage	Hang inside out - sunlight may fade garment	Inside out, high temp, with steam
Linen	Durable, cool fabric, popular in spring and summer garments	Hand wash in cold water	Do not spin or tumble dry	Inside out, high temp, with steam
Wool	Extremely warm, light weight and comfortable.	Read sewn in label - in general dry clean or cold hand wash	Do not hang dry - lie flat away from sunlight or heat	Never iron direct. Use wool setting. Iron on back side only covered with cloth and with steam
Acrylic	Light weight fabric that feels like wool	Warm machine wash, with fabric softener	Low temperature tumble dry or hang dry	Inside out, low temp, with steam
Denim	Durable, versatile, used in jeans and jackets	Cold wash inside out with fabric softener. No bleach!	Do not tumble dry. Hang dry inside out.	High temp (Cotton), covered with cloth
Acetate	Shiny, fade-resistant, silky like fabric, often used as a lining in jacket	Hand wash in warm water	Do not tumble dry or wring. Recommend dry flat.	Inside out, low temp, no steam. Cover with cloth as delicate.
Lurex	A Fabric brand, combining threads like cotton or polyester with a treated metallic layer. This makes the garment sparkle	Hand wash	Drip Dry	Do not iron due to the metallic thread

As a general rule, we recommend the following:

Always refer to the sewn in tags in a garment, as these are the manufacturer's instructions on an item
If a garment can be ironed, cover your garments with a light cloth when ironing to prevent damage.