How to Wash Velvet

Velvet is a warp-pile fabric, and crush marks are the pile lying in a new direction rather than damage. Steam from behind lifts most of them.

How to wash velvet

Care guidance by garment

Garment	Wash	Dry	Notes
Velvet	usually dry clean; cold hand wash for polyester velvet	hang; never fold while storing	mild if washing at all

Use a do not machine wash pile fabrics cycle and mild if washing at all. Never fold velvet for storage — the fold crushes the pile into a permanent line. Hang it, and hang it with space around it.

Drying and ironing

Dry hang; never fold while storing. For ironing: steam from the reverse, never touch the pile.

Silk and rayon velvet must be dry cleaned. Polyester velvet often survives a cold hand wash, but check before assuming.

How long it should last

Five to twenty years if hung and steamed rather than folded and pressed.

Quick reference