Fabric Care

Guide to Caring for Fabric and Curtain Cleaning

The trick to keeping your curtains and soft furnishings looking as good as new for as long as possible, is to care for your fabric.

We cannot emphasise enough the importance of following the Care Symbols provided by the fabric manufacturers and/or designers.

The tips and suggestions in our guide will definitely help prolong the life of your fabric.

If you have any useful tips that our readers might appreciate, why not let us know via our contact form.

Before you cut your fabric, check that the pattern is running straight. Sometimes, if the fabric has been stored a little twisted on the roll, it can become skewed. Lay the fabric out straight for a day or so to rest and gently ease it back so the pattern is square.
Consider treating your fabric with a Scotchguard™ Fabric Protector, which will help keep your fabric clean for longer but resisting spillages and staining.
Try and get a copy of the fabric care notes, found in the fabric pattern books. Alternatively, many fabric designers provide the care instructions for their individual fabrics on their websites.
Fabric is prone to shrink, fade and/or transfer colour in the wash. You can alleviate some of this problem by, never leaving fabric in the washing machine damp and, never drying it too quickly .. certainly not in a tumble drier!
Iron fabric whilst it is still damp - this allows you to gently ease it back into shape and minimise any shrinkage

Curtain Fabric Care

Always line your curtains, and preferably interline them too. This helps to protect your curtain fabric from fading, caused by the sun's damaging UV rays. Curtain lining also provides your curtain fabric with a barrier to some extent, from airborne dirt from draughts and open windows.
Do NOT hang curtains too near a hot radiator or condensation prone window, particularly if they are unlined. Heat, moisture and humidity are major culprits when it comes to shrinkage, soiling and general stability of your fabric.
Open your curtains during the day, whether it is sunny or not, and keep them as far back from the window as possible to protect them from fading in the sunlight. This is particularly important for unlined curtains.
Sheers, voiles and silks suffer the most with fading and, whilst they do look sumptuous lined and interlined, it may not be the effect you want. In which case, a sun canopy outside the window may prove beneficial.

Do NOT put large curtains in the washing machine as the fabric will rub together too much and likely cause damage to the surface, loss of colour, shrinking and creasing.
Vacuum your curtains once a week. Dust, cigarette smoke and airborne dirt from open windows cling to your curtains and build up unnoticed until suddenly, your curtains are dirty and need professional cleaning.
Interlined curtains are made from 3 different types of fabric .. the face fabric, the lining and the interlining - which all have different properties and rates of shrinkage. It is therefore important to have them professionally cleaned.
Professional on-site cleaning contractors or dry cleaning (preferably with a collection and re-hanging service) are the preferred solution for cleaning curtains
You should provide the curtain cleaners or dry cleaners with the fabric care notes so they can use the most appropriate process