Except, what I was doing was the finishing work on the batch of hand painted silk scarves that I’ve been working on. They’ve been pre-washed, then dyed, then steamed. One last bit of work, and they are all set to go. When the scarves come out of the steamer, they are kind of cracky-crinkly. They’re pretty, but don’t have that lovely flowing and shining texture that you expect from silk.  

I put them into lingerie bags to keep them from tangling too badly in the wash. I don’t put more than 3 or 4 scarves in a bag, and try to put like colors together on the off chance that the dyes run into each other. This stuff helps keep the excess dyes from transferring to the silk. The washer is on hot, and is set to the delicate cycle. I want to avoid wrinkles setting themselves in the silk while I’m getting ready to do the ironing, so I hang up each scarf. While the scarves are damp but not soaking wet, I iron them dry.