Slick silk shirt stretched - recommend rapid remedy?

June 6, 2006 7:24 PM

I hung my new silk shirt up to dry after washing it the first time, only noticing later that the tag specifically says "dry flat."

Now the fabric that supported the shirt's weight while it dried is all weirdly, badly, unattractively stretched out. It hasn't worked its way back into shape after about 24 hours. Is there anything I can do to encourage it to regain its previous shape?

posted by lekvar to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (4 answers total)

Try getting it wet again and dry it flat (on something absorbent like a bath towel), shaping it back if you can. I haven't tried this myself, but I think it would work better than waiting for the dry fibers to revert to their original shape on their own (which they won't).
posted by penchant at 7:40 PM on June 6, 2006

I've blocked woven silk as penchant describes, with okay results. Worth a shot for sure.
posted by padraigin at 8:27 PM on June 6, 2006

I did this once, too.

Following advice from a source I can't remember now, I threw it in a dryer with the setting of "air dry" (this means there is no heat involved) with a dry towel, for just a few minutes, and then (when it was still just a bit damp) proceeded to "dry flat" (shaping it a bit with tugs as it dried) as originally instructed.

Worked for me. No guarantees.
posted by trip and a half at 9:54 PM on June 6, 2006

Erm, I meant to say I wet it thoroughly before throwing it in the dryer with the towel.
posted by trip and a half at 9:58 PM on June 6, 2006