The Ultimate Guide to Rayon: Pros, Cons, and Garment Care Tips
Rayon is a versatile fabric that is commonly used in clothing production. It is made from cellulose fibers derived from wood pulp, making it a semi-synthetic material. While rayon offers several advantages in terms of texture and drape, it also has some drawbacks that need to be considered. This is everything you need to know about owning and caring for your new Ninth Isle Rayon Aloha Shirt, Dresses or Tops.
Pros:
- Color Quality: Absolutely great color quality! Every color can really shine on Rayon. Rayon as a material simply works well with the ink and is able to truly bind with the ink without dulling or diluting the strength of colors. Expect that the colors to last longer than standard cotton.
- Drapes Well: The Rayon fabric drapes and flows in a natural way that shows beautifully on photos. Since the fabric drapes beautifully, it gives your garments a fluid and elegant appearance.
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Soft and Comfortable: Rayon is known for its soft and comfortable texture, making it a popular choice for clothing items such as dresses, blouses, and skirts.
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Breathable: Rayon fabric is highly breathable, making it a comfortable choice for warmer weather.
Cons:
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Prone to Wrinkling: Rayon fabric is prone to wrinkling, making it necessary to iron or steam garments regularly. Iron on the lowest setting with the shirt inside out.
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Shrinks Easily: Rayon fabric has a tendency to shrink when washed, so it is important to follow care instructions carefully. NEVER wash it in hot water. High temperature is the natural enemy of Rayon. The shrinkage mostly happens when the fabric is heated, but even in cold water, it'll shrink some. If you want to wear any of your rayon clothes more than once, never wash it hot.
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Weakens When Wet: Rayon fabric is weakened when wet, making it more susceptible to damage during washing and drying.
Caring for your Rayon clothes is not hard, but it requires some extra efforts. Is it worth it? Absolutely. Can you just dry clean it instead? Even better! But if you rather not make the trip to the dry cleaners, you can just follow the instructions below.
Critical Washing Instructions:
Washing:
COLD WATER ONLY and preferably on gentle. There is no in-between temperature. It is either cold, or dry clean. Anything else will probably make the garment unwearable. Want to wash to achieve a better clean? Then wash it twice, but always in cold water. No point in having clean clothes you can't wear, right?
Handwashing is the very best as you can be extremely gentle while still achieving a high level of clean. Just don't go stretching the fabric. Luxury materials must be treated accordingly.
Drying:
Same was washing, NEVER hot. Rayon is never supposed to go in the dryer. In additional to shrinking, it will also wrinkle the material even more than normal. If you can't hang dry somewhere outdoors or in the house, then use the tumble dry with NO HEAT. Again, I mean absolutely no heat. The low setting does not count, it is still too hot. If using a machine to dry, it's going to take a while and quite a bit of electricity.
Recommended Wash:
Hand wash in the sink with detergent in cold water, no ice needed. Just do the basic wash, rinse it good, and hang it in the bathtub if you have no other place to hang it. Line dry or dry on a rack, please do not use clips as the weight of the fabric plus water will cause it to stretch in that one area. The way it dries is the way it wears.
Ironing Instructions:
Flip the garment inside out, set the iron on the lowest possible setting. Irons usually have a setting for synthetic or rayon fabrics, so use that. Just an FYI, if you've ironed silk and want to use that setting, please do not. Rayon cannot handle the heat that silk can. Rayon needs a heat setting below silk's setting.
Storage:
Please hang your now dry and ironed Rayon clothes in your closet. If you decide to fold to store your rayon clothes, just be prepared to iron it before wearing. In some cases, even if you hang it, you'll need to iron a little.
Comments
Kat C L Evans said:
Netzer, Darlene Lambert said:
This is perhaps the VERY best, well-written, TRUTHFUL fabric info and care guide I’ve ever come across. In my 78 years of doing laundry and carefully caring for my own and my family’s clothing, we’ve collected quite a number of rayon pieces, and many are favorites. In the past, I was careful to have all of our rayon and silk dry-cleaned, which was once reliable because years ago, I’d found an excellent, very professional shop near our home in Vancouver, WA. However, during Covid, our pro wanted to retire, and his children, all with professional careers and families of their own, did not care to change direction, nor did they care to cope with the paperwork, accounting, HR challenges, and long hours required to continue the very successful family business, so the owner had to sell the shop, all his equipment, and his fleet of several delivery vans. I continued to support the new owner, and though the very nice Indian couple tried hard, they just did not know how to care for all fabrics. There were also problems in communication because of their heavy accents, resulting in many misunderstandings of our needs or special care directives. After a couple of disasters resulting in the ruin of two beloved silk scarves and a down sleeping bag, and their inability to even consider cleaning my best suede jacket or any other leather goods, I reluctantly had to find someone else. First I discovered there are now VERY FEW full-service dry cleaners left in Vancouver or outlying towns. Secondly, NONE of the new shops have come close to the level of service we once cherished and supported for more than 40 years. They are not even friendly! So now, I’m caring at home for more and more of the wardrobe pieces I’d always sent out for cleaning before I retired. I enthusiastically thank you for this clear and informative posting of rayon-care instructions. And finally, I learned something new that I probably should have already known as a long time Pacific Northwesterner: Rayon contains WOOD FIBERS, and thus, it is a semi-synthetic fabric! Thank you again! Now it’s October, and I’m off to carefully wash my best white rayon summer slacks to put away until next year! I’d NEVER have trusted myself to do that until I read your helpful tips!
Netzer, Darlene Lambert said:
This is perhaps the VERY best, well-written, TRUTHFUL fabric info and care guide I’ve ever come across. In my 78 years of doing laundry and carefully caring for my own and my family’s clothing, we’ve collected quite a number of rayon pieces, and many are favorites. In the past, I was careful to have all of our rayon and silk dry-cleaned, which was once reliable because years ago, I’d found an excellent, very professional shop near our home in Vancouver, WA. However, during Covid, our pro wanted to retire, and his children, all with professional careers and families of their own, did not care to change direction, nor did they care to cope with the paperwork, accounting, HR challenges, and long hours required to continue the very successful family business, so the owner had to sell the shop, all his equipment, and his fleet of several delivery vans. I continued to support the new owner, and though the very nice Indian couple tried hard, they just did not know how to care for all fabrics. There were also problems in communication because of their heavy accents, resulting in many misunderstandings of our needs or special care directives. After a couple of disasters resulting in the ruin of two beloved silk scarves and a down sleeping bag, and their inability to even consider cleaning my best suede jacket or any other leather goods, I reluctantly had to find someone else. First I discovered there are now VERY FEW full-service dry cleaners left in Vancouver or outlying towns. Secondly, NONE of the new shops have come close to the level of service we once cherished and supported for more than 40 years. They are not even friendly! So now, I’m caring at home for more and more of the wardrobe pieces I’d always sent out for cleaning before I retired. I enthusiastically thank you for this clear and informative posting of rayon-care instructions. And finally, I learned something new that I probably should have already known as a long time Pacific Northwesterner: Rayon contains WOOD FIBERS, and thus, it is a semi-synthetic fabric! Thank you again! Now it’s October, and I’m off to carefully wash my best white rayon summer slacks to put away until next year! I’d NEVER have trusted myself to do that until I read your helpful tips!
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