How do I wash and press a garment with trim on it?
Wash by hand in cool water with a mild detergent, never chlorine bleach, and dry flat away from direct sun. Press from the reverse through a pressing cloth at the lowest setting that works: metallic thread is usually metallised polyester and will melt long before a cotton iron reaches its own setting.
Written by Jugal Kachiwala, who runs the retail arm
Last updated
What you need
- A pressing cloth
- A mild, bleach-free detergent
- A flat drying surface
Step by step
- Step 1
Test on the offcut, not the garment
Wet a spare length, let it dry, and press a corner of it before committing the finished piece. Any dye movement, any shrinkage relative to the fabric, and any reaction to heat shows up here at no cost.
- Step 2
Wash by hand, in cool water
A machine drum abrades a raised surface and catches the edges of anything stitched on. Cool water with a mild detergent, worked by hand and not wrung; squeeze the water out against the side of the bowl instead of twisting.
- Step 3
Keep chlorine bleach away from it
Chlorine attacks the metallic coating on zari thread and dulls it permanently, and it weakens natural fibres before it lifts the stain. Nothing on a trimmed garment is worth bleaching; treat the mark, not the garment.
- Step 4
Dry flat, out of the sun
Hanging a wet garment lets the weight of a heavy border pull the hem out of shape while it dries, and there is no getting it back. Lay it flat on a towel, out of direct sunlight — strong sun fades dyed grounds faster than washing does.
- Step 5
Press from the reverse, through a cloth
Turn the garment inside out, lay a pressing cloth over it and press from the back. The iron then touches cloth rather than the face of the work, which is what keeps a flat trim flat and stops a raised one being crushed into the fabric.
- Step 6
Set the iron for the trim, not for the fabric
Metallic thread is most often metallised polyester, and a sequin is usually a polyester disc; both will melt at a heat a cotton or linen setting reaches comfortably. Start at the lowest setting that does anything and work up. Melted plastic on a soleplate transfers to the next garment.
- Step 7
Press around mirror and stone work, never over it
Mirrors and stones are rigid: they will not press flat, and an iron run over them presses their outline into the fabric or cracks them. Work the iron up to the edge of the work and lift over it, or press the piece face-down into a folded towel so the raised parts sink instead of flattening.
Words used here
- Zari
- Metallic thread, historically flattened silver or gold wound on a silk core, now most often a metallised polyester. It is what gives Indian borders their weight and their shine.
- Sequin work
- Discs stitched to a ground, flat or cupped. Flat discs lie quiet and catch light only as the wearer moves, cupped ones throw light constantly, and that choice changes a garment more than the colour does.
- Mirror work
- Small mirrors held to the cloth by a stitched frame, a Gujarati and Rajasthani tradition. The mirrors are rigid, so the trim will not press flat and will not take a tight curve.
- Polyester
- Holds colour and shape, resists creasing, and costs less than the natural fibres. It also melts under a hot iron, so press low.
- Jute
- A coarse natural bast fibre with visible texture, used where something should read as made rather than manufactured. It sheds at a cut edge and does not like damp.
In short
- Can I machine wash a garment with lace or zari on it?
- Hand washing in cool water is the safer answer. A machine drum abrades raised work and catches stitched-on edges, and hot water plus mechanical action is what dulls metallic thread and loosens sequins.
- What temperature can I iron a trim at?
- The lowest that works, from the reverse, through a pressing cloth. Metallic thread and sequins are usually polyester and melt well below the heat a cotton setting reaches — the trim, not the fabric, sets the ceiling.
- Why has my zari gone dull?
- Most often chlorine bleach, which attacks the metallic coating and does not come back, or heat that has taken the shine off the surface. Both are permanent, which is why the test length matters.
- Can I dry clean it instead?
- Often yes, and it is the usual route for heavy or mixed work — but tell the cleaner what the trim is, and keep the offcut so they can test on that rather than on the garment.
About the author
Jugal Kachiwala
Retail, Lami Trims
Jugal Kachiwala has worked with the output of Lami Trims' looms since 2023, and runs the mill's retail arm. The designs on this site come off the company's own jacquard and embroidery machines in Surat; these guides are the answers the shop gives buyers who write in asking how much to order, how to attach a border, or how to wash what they have bought.
General trade practice, not a house method — the steps say what to do and why, and they do not underwrite the result on somebody else's fabric, thread and machine. Test on an offcut first. The definitions are from our glossary.