How to Wash Silk Pajamas

By Tara Nguyen, Ph.D., Founder and Creative Director, Tara Sartoria

A woman in Boston wrote to me last winter to apologize. She had bought a silk pajama set as a birthday gift to herself, worn it twice, and then sent it to the dry cleaner because she did not want to ruin it. The dry cleaner returned the pajamas with a faint chemical smell and a slightly stiffer hand than they had on arrival.

She was writing to ask whether she had already damaged them. She had not. But she had spent forty dollars and three weeks of not wearing her favorite pajamas, when the right answer was a mesh bag, a delicate cycle, and a Sunday morning. This is the post she should have read before she paid the dry cleaner.

A Short Answer for the Person Skimming

Wash silk pajamas in a mesh laundry bag, on the delicate cycle, in cool water at 30 degrees, with a mild detergent designed for delicates or silk. Do not use bleach. Do not use fabric softener. Do not use hot water. Lay flat to dry, or hang on a padded hanger out of direct sunlight. Steam any wrinkles. The active time is about three minutes.

Tara Sartoria silk pajamas are made one piece at a time by master artisans in Vietnam's historic silk villages, woven on heritage looms, finished with French seams, and built to be washed. The dry cleaner is not necessary, and the chemicals it uses are often harder on the silk than your washing machine.

Why the "Dry Clean Only" Label Is Not the Whole Story

Most silk pajamas sold today carry a dry clean only label. The label is not a sign of quality. It is a sign that the manufacturer does not trust the silk or the seams to survive a wash. Thin silk and surged seams will fail in a normal wash. The label is honest about that limitation. It is also a confession.

Mulberry silk is naturally strong. The protein structure of the fiber holds up under repeated wetting and drying for a long time, which is why silk garments survive centuries in archaeological digs. The thing that destroys most modern silk in a wash is the seam construction, not the fabric. A surged seam frays at the edges when it gets wet and pulls apart at the inseam first. A French seam, fully enclosed on both sides, does not.

This is the reason I can tell customers honestly that our silk pajamas are machine washable. The 27 momme mulberry silk is dense enough to survive the wash. The French seams are built to outlast the fabric they hold together. The dry cleaner is not part of the care plan. The chemicals at the dry cleaner are often harsher on silk than the gentle cycle on a home machine.

What You Need Before You Start

A mesh laundry bag. The kind sold for delicates or lingerie. Five or six dollars at any drugstore. The mesh protects the silk from snagging on the agitator and from rubbing against zippers and buttons in the same load.

A mild detergent. Either a detergent labeled specifically for silk or wool, or a general mild detergent without enzymes or brighteners. Skip anything labeled stain fighter, color brightener, or with enzymes. Skip color-safe bleach. Liquid is gentler than powder. About a tablespoon is enough for a single pajama set.

A washing machine with a delicate or hand-wash cycle. Top loader or front loader, both work. The cycle should be cool water at 30 degrees with the lowest spin speed available. If your machine has a separate delicate cycle, use it. If not, the gentlest cycle available is fine.

A flat drying surface. A clean towel on a flat surface works. A drying rack with the pajama top and pants laid flat across the bars also works. Avoid hanging the pajama top directly from the washing machine, when it is heavy with water, because the weight can stretch the shoulders.

The Wash, Step by Step

Button the top all the way up before putting it in the mesh bag. This keeps the buttons from catching on the bag and keeps the placket from twisting during the cycle. Fold the pants once at the waist to keep the legs from tangling. Place both pieces in the same mesh bag, with no other items, and zip the bag closed.

Place the bag in the washing machine. Add about a tablespoon of mild detergent to the detergent compartment, not directly onto the silk. Set the machine to a delicate or hand-wash cycle, cool water at 30 degrees, lowest spin speed available. Start the cycle.

That is the active part. The cycle takes between twenty-five and forty minutes depending on the machine. Most modern washers will run a delicate cycle without supervision. You can leave the room.

When the cycle ends, remove the bag from the machine within an hour. Silk should not sit damp for long, because it can develop a faint mildew smell that takes a second wash to clear. Open the bag, lift each piece out gently, and shake it once or twice to release the major wrinkles before drying.

Drying Silk Pajamas Without Damaging the Fit

The drying stage is where most silk damage actually happens, not the wash itself. Three rules that matter.

Do not put silk pajamas in the dryer on a normal heat setting. Heat above about 40 degrees will weaken the silk fiber over time and accelerate dye fade. A ten-minute tumble on the no-heat setting to release water before flat drying is acceptable if you are impatient. A regular dryer cycle is not.

Do not hang the top from a hanger straight out of the wash. Wet silk is heavy and the weight pulls on the shoulders. Over many washes this stretches the shoulder seam, which is the one part of the construction that does not recover. Pat the top in a clean towel first, or lay it flat for the first hour, before hanging.

Do not dry silk in direct sunlight. Sunlight fades silk dyes more aggressively than almost any other fabric, especially deep navies, blacks, and forest greens. A shaded spot, indoors or outdoors, is the right place. If you must dry outside, hang in shade.

The simplest method, and the one I use, is to lay the top and pants flat on a clean dry towel on a bed or table for about three hours. The silk goes from damp to dry without losing its shape. After three hours the pieces can be moved to padded hangers in the closet, or steamed and worn the same evening.

Dealing With Wrinkles After the Wash

Silk wrinkles less than people expect, especially heavier silk. A 27 momme silk has enough body to hang most of its own wrinkles out on a padded hanger over a day. If the wrinkles are persistent after that, a handheld steamer is the right tool. Hold the steamer about six inches from the fabric, work top to bottom, and let the silk hang free as you steam.

A regular iron is fine in a pinch if used on the silk setting, which is the lowest heat setting. Iron the silk while it is still slightly damp from the wash, on the inside of the garment, with a thin cotton cloth between the iron and the silk if your iron tends to run hot. Never iron dry silk with high heat. The fabric will scorch and the scorch is irreversible.

If you do not own a steamer or an iron, hang the pajamas in the bathroom while you shower. The steam from a fifteen-minute shower will release most of the wrinkles in a silk set. This is the trick I use when I am traveling.

How to Handle Stains, Spills, and Bedside Accidents

Most stains on silk pajamas are coffee, tea, or wine, and most of them happen in the first hour of wearing on a weekend morning. The right answer is speed.

Blot the stain immediately with a clean dry cloth. Do not rub. Rubbing spreads the stain and roughs up the silk fiber. A few light dabs lift most of the liquid before it sets.

Rinse the back of the stained area with cool water from the inside of the garment, pushing the stain back out the way it came in. Do not pour water directly onto the front of the stain.

Wash the pajamas at the next normal wash cycle with a mild detergent. Most fresh stains lift in a single wash if you blotted promptly. Set stains usually need a second wash with a pre-soak in cool water and a small amount of detergent for an hour before the machine cycle.

For specific stain types, the longer article is here.

How Often to Wash, and How Long the Pajamas Should Last

Silk pajamas worn nightly should be washed roughly every five to seven wears. The right interval depends on how warm you sleep, how much you sweat, and how often you change your sheets. The wash should be timed before the silk starts to feel different against the skin, not after.

A well-made silk pajama set, machine washed correctly on a delicate cycle, lasts seven to ten years of regular use. The 27 momme silk softens slightly with wear, which most people describe as an improvement. The French seams hold up longer than the fabric they hold together. We have customers wearing pajamas from 2020 who report no visible change in drape or seam integrity. The math on cost per wear is very kind to silk pajamas that have been washed properly.

How Our Pajamas Are Made

Each pajama set is made one piece at a time by a master artisan in Vietnam's historic silk villages. The silk is woven on heritage looms, finished with French seams, and constructed to be washed. The fabric is 27 momme mulberry silk, denser than most luxury silk. Sizes run XS to 4XL as standard, with custom sizing available when needed. Every order ships in a silk pouch with a handwritten note. Free shipping in the US over $130. Free returns and exchanges, 30 days. 10% of profits fund women's education and entrepreneurship.

The Takeaway

Silk pajamas were made to be worn, and that means they were made to be washed. The right wash is short, gentle, and quiet: a mesh bag, a delicate cycle, cool water, a mild detergent, lay flat to dry. Skip the dryer. Skip the dry cleaner. The pajamas will last longer this way than they would under any other treatment, and they will be back in the rotation by Monday morning. If you have been keeping a set at the back of the closet waiting for a special occasion, the special occasion is Tuesday. Find your size when you are ready.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you really machine wash silk pajamas?

Yes, if the silk is dense enough and the seams are constructed properly. A 27 momme mulberry silk with French seams holds up to a delicate cycle in cool water indefinitely. Thin silk with surged seams does not. The dry clean only label on most silk is a sign the manufacturer does not trust the fabric or the seams to survive a wash, not a sign of quality.

What detergent should I use on silk pajamas?

A mild detergent without enzymes or brighteners. Either a detergent specifically labeled for silk or wool, or a general mild detergent without stain fighters. Skip bleach, fabric softener, and color brighteners. About a tablespoon per pajama set, added to the detergent compartment rather than directly on the silk.

How do I dry silk pajamas without ruining them?

Lay them flat on a clean dry towel for about three hours, or hang them on padded hangers once most of the moisture has gone. Skip the dryer on heat. Skip hanging straight out of the wash, when the silk is heavy and the shoulders can stretch. Skip direct sunlight, which fades the dye faster than almost anything else.

How often should silk pajamas be washed?

Every five to seven wears, depending on how warm you sleep and how often you change your sheets. The wash should be timed before the silk starts feeling different against the skin, not after. A delicate cycle in cool water with a mild detergent is gentle enough to wash silk this frequently for years.

Will the silk shrink in the wash?

Properly made silk does not shrink in a cool wash on the delicate cycle. The fabric is woven on heritage looms with enough stability to hold its dimensions through repeated washing. The shrinking that does happen to silk pajamas usually comes from heat, either in the wash water or in the dryer. Keep both cool and the pajamas keep their fit.