A Raya collection is judged in March and worn for years, and the difference shows up in the wash. The four fabrics that carry most collections, nidha, satin crepe, rayon and twill, each ask for different care, and the care card a brand prints should follow the cloth it chose at the brief. This guide sets out that care fabric by fabric, from the floor that cuts them, so a label can pass it straight to its customers.
How do you wash nidha?
In the modest-wear fabric guides, nidha is described as the easy one: machine washable in cold water, dried on the line, a cool iron only where a placket demands it (market reference). Its crepe texture is what makes it forgiving: the same structure that gives nidha its drape is what lets it resist creasing through a wash cycle. For a baju kurung worn through a season of open houses, wash cold, hang it, and press flat on low where the collar needs it.
How should satin crepe be cared for?
Satin crepe wants gentler hands because of its two faces. Fabric guides call for a hand wash or the machine’s gentlest cycle in cool water, never the tumble dryer, and a low iron worked from the reverse so the plate never touches the shiny side (market reference). The double face is the point of the fabric, a matte crepe outside with a satin sheen where the light catches it, and heat is the one thing that flattens it. Pieces cut in satin crepe are occasion pieces, and they are cared for the way occasion pieces usually are: less often, cooler, and hung between wears.
What does rayon need?
Rayon is the climate fabric, airy enough for humid heat and more absorbent than cotton (market reference), and its care matches its character: a delicate wash or hand wash, never rough handling. Rayon creases where the crepes shake it off, and the honest care card says so, because a guide that promised otherwise would be selling the fabric short. Lighter rayons are also the pieces most likely to be lined, and the lining follows the same gentle rules as the cloth it sits behind.
Is twill easy to care for?
Twill is the least on the card. Cold water, and the cycle does the rest: the dense diagonal weave shakes off wrinkles and stains, holds its shape through hard wear, and comes out ready to wear, which is why the pieces a collection expects to be worn hardest are cut from it. Our post on apparel that survives the wash covers that side of twill in full.
What should a brand put on its care card?
One line per fabric, in the order the collection names them. A collection carrying nidha and satin crepe, for example, prints two lines: machine wash cold, hang dry for the nidha pieces; gentle cycle, cool iron on the reverse for the crepe. The fabric. One card per cloth, written when the cloth is chosen. The full characteristics behind those lines sit in our Raya fabric guide.
Raya fabric care questions
Can nidha go in the washing machine?
Yes. Nidha goes through the machine on cold, dries on the line, and takes an iron at low where a placket needs it. Its crepe structure resists creasing through the cycle, which is why it is the low-maintenance choice among the festive fabrics.
Why does satin crepe need a gentle cycle?
Because its satin face is the part customers bought. Heat and rough cycles flatten the sheen, so the fabric guides call for low-temperature washing and ironing from the reverse of the cloth (market reference).
Does rayon wrinkle after washing?
More than the crepes, less than its reputation. A delicate wash keeps it presentable, and hanging between wears does most of the work. It is the trade for a fabric that breathes in humid heat.
Should a care card follow the fabric or the garment?
The fabric. A collection can carry several cloths across one size run, and the care card is drafted per cloth, when the cloth decision is made and before anything is cut.
The care card is drafted with the collection, not after it. Bring the fabric direction and the label plan, and the care lines are written before the first sample: start on the consultation page.