How-To....Hand Wash Delicate Vintage Clothing

To many of you, instructions for handwashing will be a little too basic.

But I'm constantly surprised (or perhaps that should be horrified) by the amount of people who don't know how to do this.

I won't go into care of specific fabrics today, I'm starting with basic instructions.

The very first thing I do, before I even start washing, is hang everything up to air it out. God knows what nasties and/or smells are lurking within! I'm lucky to have a very airy but protected laundry room with exposed pipes which make for fab temporary hanging racks.

My laundry room

First, fill a bucket or *clean* laundry tub with lukewarm water and detergent. See mine below. Whatever you use, make sure the surface is smooth, as you don't want to risk snagging delicate vintage fabrics. Use only cold water for woolens or silks.

I find a liquid better than a powder, as you can be sure it has all dissolved. You don't need any fancy detergent, if anything I think a generic (very cheap) brand is better, as it is less sudsy.


Immerse your garment gently into the water. Naturally different fabrics require different treatment, but there's no point being too rough.

Only wash one item at a time! You never know what might run, remember vintage dyes are far less stable than modern ones because they are plant/vegetable based.

Swoosh the garment carefully around the water. Don't rub or scrub, this may cause damage. I usually let each item soak for around 20 minutes, because who knows how long it is since it's been washed. I keep an eye on everything for about the first 5 minutes in case they run.

After washing, rinse your item gently.

 Pick the garment up carefully from the water! And don't wring it, you may cause damage or make more work for yourself later, when it comes to steaming and/or ironing. Make sure you rinse thoroughly, this is important. Soap suds left on clothes carry perfumes which can and will attract insects to your wardrobe.

For items with stronger fabrics, like cotton, crimplene, polyester and nylon, I'll put them on a hanger on the line, as you can see above. while you'll read everywhere that sun is bad for clothing, IMHO a little bit doesn't hurt. Sun brightens whites and kills insects and their eggs and larvae, which can all be invisible on vintage clothing.

And yes, I learnt that one the hard way! True story: the very first bulk lot of clothing I ever bought was when I was living with my mother a few years ago. Super-excited, I straight away brought everything upstairs into the lounge room to show her, where it stayed for a few hours, draped over the couch, until she got home. A few weeks later, I was checking one of the dresses and found a silverfish running around. I didn't think about the inside of the house, until a few days later my mother was vacuuming and lifted up the couch cushions...to find hundreds of silverfish!!

Needless to say, I have never brought dirty vintage into my house ever again!

But-back to the washing now. For delicate garments that need to dry flat, this is what I do.

Secure a sheet to an outdoor plastic table, set up my sweater-drying rack and a couple of towels and put the whole setup in a shady area.

This works well for woollens, silks and crepes which need to be dried carefully and pulled gently into shape.

Have you got any tips for hand washing?? Please share them in the comments.