Satin is a soft and delicate fabric that is commonly used in formalwear or as bedding. If you plan to work with satin in your fabric projects, it’s important to know how to handle and wash it correctly.
So, does satin shrink? Yes, satin will shrink if not handled correctly. The best way to avoid shrinking satin is to wash in cold water only and hang to dry. If you want to shrink your satin fabric, simply wash it in warm or hot water.
It’s important to wash, dry, and store satin properly to ensure the fabric maintains its original shape, appearance, and size. To learn more about preventing your satin from shrinking – or how to shrink it on purpose – keep reading below.
What Is Satin Fabric Made Of?
Although many people assume that all satin fabric is made from silk, it can actually be made from a variety of natural and synthetic fibers.
The name satin refers to the weave of the fabric, rather than the particular fiber. Satin fabric can be made with silk, cotton, wool, rayon, polyester, or nylon. It can also be a combination of any of these fibers blended together.
Why Does Satin Shrink?
The weave structure of satin reacts very poorly to heat. When exposed to heat, the weave will tighten, causing the fabric to pull tighter together and appear to shrink.
The exact amount of shrinking that takes place varies depending on the type of fibers that the satin fabric is made with. In general, you can expect satin fabric to shrink around 10-20%, though it could be less.
For example, polyester is a synthetic fiber that holds its structure well regardless of heat. It won’t shrink as much as other fibers, so polyester satin may only shrink around 5%.
In contrast, cotton is a natural fiber that is already prone to shrinking regardless of the weave structure. You can expect cotton satin to shrink on the higher end of that range, around 15%.
This is all caused by heat, so if you want to avoid shrinking satin, you can easily do so. On the other hand, if you are working with satin fabric that you want to shrink before using it, you can also easily shrink it.
Be aware that when you intentionally shrink satin, you can’t control the amount of shrinkage that occurs. We’ll cover this more in depth later on.
How To Avoid Shrinking Satin
Before we get to intentionally shrinking satin, let’s start with how to avoid shrinking satin.
Most people who buy a dress off the rack or a pack of bedding are buying it at exactly the right size they need. You want to avoid shrinking if you want the garment to fit right or you want the bedding to stay securely on the bed.
Here are some tips for avoiding shrinkage in satin:
- Don’t use warm or hot water. The heat from warm and hot water will cause the fabric to shrink. Even if it’s not boiling hot, warm water can still cause some shrinkage.
- Don’t use the dryer to dry your satin fabric. The heat from the dryer, even on a tumble dry low setting, can cause the satin fabric to shrink.
- Hand wash only. Even though you can wash satin on a delicate cycle with cold water in the machine, it’s best to only do that occasionally. Even if the heat won’t shrink the fabric, the agitation from the washing machine can pull and warp the fabric.
- Store it in a cool, dry place. You wouldn’t want to store your satin fabric near a window with direct sunlight or right next to a heating vent. Even these sources of indirect heat can cause your satin to shrink.
Using the tips listed above will help you avoid shrinking your satin garments, fabric, or bedding.
Can You Unshrink Satin Fabric?
If you already accidentally washed a satin garment in hot water, you may feel like you’re doomed to donate your now too-small satin dress.
Fear not! You can try to unshrink satin with a few simple steps:
- Soak your satin garment in lukewarm water with a small amount of baby shampoo for 20-30 minutes. Make sure the baby shampoo is stirred in the water to create bubbles before placing the garment in the water.
- Rinse the garment, then lay it on a flat surface. Gently pull at the fabric from all sides. Be sure not to pull too hard or you may damage the fabric. You’re working to slowly stretch the weave back out.
- Leave it to dry completely. You may want to use heavy objects to keep the fabric pulled out a bit to help it stretch more.
That’s it! Once your fabric dries, it should be a little bigger than it was before. This may not restore it to its original size, but it can help reduce the amount of shrinking.
How To Make Your Satin Shrink
Some people may need to shrink satin. If you’ve gone down a size and need to shrink a favorite dress, this can be a huge help to keep that outfit in your closet. There are a few ways you can try to make your satin shrink.
The first is to wash it in warm or hot water in your washing machine. The heated water in combination with the agitator can help your garment shrink naturally in the wash cycle.
If you do this, we do still recommend that you lay it flat to dry. Dryers can harm satin in more ways than just shrinking, such as causing the fabric to lose its shine, so be cautious of using the dryer.
You can also try simply soaking it in a bowl of hot water for an hour. This may seem counterintuitive since the way to unshrink satin is soaking in lukewarm water, but for this method, you would not include the baby shampoo.
Finally, you can use an iron. Now, if you plan to go the iron route, we highly recommend taking the satin to a professional tailor.
It is all too easy to damage satin fabric with an iron if not used properly. Tailors will have higher quality irons that they know how to use carefully with many types of fabric, so this will give you the best results.
Proper Satin Storage
To keep your satin safe even when you’re not wearing it, it’s important to store it properly. As we mentioned above, you never want to store satin near a heat source like a heating vent or in front of a window that gets a lot of sunlight.
Instead, keep your satin in a cool, dry place. It can be hung safely in a closet, though it may work best to keep it folded and laying flat in a drawer or on a shelf.
You also want to make sure it won’t get wet, so don’t place it on a shelf where you know you may have a roof leak. Try to avoid rooms that have poorly sealed windows, too.
If you really want to keep it safe, you can get a garment storage bag and keep it tucked away in there when not in use.
How To Wash Satin
The best way to ensure your satin is being washed properly is to consult the tag.
Tags on clothing always have the proper washing instructions. Some satin will be recommended for dry clean only, and some will be okay for hand wash and laying flat to dry at home.
If your satin garment says “dry clean only,” it’s important that you listen to the tag and take it to the dry cleaners. If you don’t, you can damage the fabric.
For washing satin safely at home, we recommend hand washing in cold water and laying the garment flat to dry. You can wash satin on a delicate cycle with cold water in the machine, but as we’ve mentioned, the agitator may still warp the fabric.
Whether you hand wash or machine wash, it’s important to remember to never put your satin in the dryer.
Should You Wash Satin Before Sewing?
When working with a fabric that is known to change shape through washing, it’s important to wash it before you start sewing.
Satin is known to shrink when not washed or handled correctly, so we highly recommend washing the fabric before you begin sewing. Once you take the measurements of the person who will be wearing the satin garment, you’ll be making the garment to fit them exactly.
If you sew it to their exact measurements and then wash it, it may end up slightly too small. Before you wind up having to make the garment all over again, it’s best to simply wash the fabric before you sew.
For best results, hand wash the satin fabric in cold water and lay it out flat to dry. This will help it maintain its best shape while also ensuring it has a chance to get any minor changes out in the initial wash.
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