Lolita Fashion Fabric Guide

Most of the time, you can easily work out how to take care of a dress based on the care tag included. But what do you do if the care tag has gotten worn off, or is in a language you don’t know how to read? What if the piece is an indie designer or handmade piece, and didn’t come with a care tag? 

Here are a few general guidelines that you can use for taking care of your lolita clothing!

What do all those symbols mean?

Most care tags will have symbols on them which act as shorthand for what you can do to wash and care for your clothing. These symbols aren’t completely universal, but are generally pretty interchangeable between one country and the next. 

Translating Fabric Terms Into English

Because lolita fashion is an international phenomenon, sometimes, you'll receive a tag that isn't in English. To help with caring for your clothing, I've included a chart of terms in Japanese and Chinese, and their translated equivalents in English. These terms may also help you while browsing indie brands on Taobao or Japanese language lolita fashion shops.

Washing

When preparing an item for washing, the first thing you want to do is read the care tag. Most garment tags will tell you the best way to take care of your clothing. Often times, you can try handwashing regardless, but always check beforehand to see if the tags give you specific instructions just in case.

If you've commited to washing your dress (with or without the care tags' blessings), remove anything that could damage the dress while being washed, or could become damaged itself in the wash. This includes items such as detachable bows, decorative chains or brooches, or corset lacing, belts and waist ties. Metal items are particularly risky because they can rust after washing and discolour your items, so be sure to try and remove those if at all possible!

Overall, most current lolita clothing is pretty durable when it comes to washing but there are always going to be the outliers and older pieces that have colours run when they get wet, so it’s best to do a spot check before you just throw your dress into the washing machine. To do a spot test, get a cotton bud or light coloured wash cloth and water. Wet the corner of your cloth or one end of the cotton bud, and rub vigorously on an inconspicuous spot on the dress. The best place to test is often the facing material of the dress (if it matches the outer material), or somewhere covered by the dress trims or ruffles. You can also test on waist ties if the dress has those. 

If the cotton bud or wash cloth comes away clean, you should be okay to wash away! If the testing surface comes away stained by the dress’ dyes, you may want to take the dress to a dry-cleaner instead.

Hand Washing

So let’s assume that you’ve removed all the hazardous decorations and your spot test came back without any colour transfer! If this is your first time washing this particular dress, I would highly recommend doing a hand wash instead of machine, just to be sure that other parts of the material don’t bleed. To prep your wash, add a colour catcher or two to the bottom of your tub or basin, and then fill it up with cool water. Add your laundry detergent and mix thoroughly so that it’s fully distributed through the water. In general, I recommend a phosphate, scent free detergent, as they’re a bit gentler on your materials. Brands of detergent vary by location, so check for lists of detergents in your area that might be suitable for delicate or hand washing in particular.

After your detergent is fully mixed in, place your dress or skirt into the water and push down to submerge it. I generally prefer to use my tub for larger items so that I can spread the skirt out as much as possible to watch for dye transfer or leeching. Once the garment is fully saturated, gently agitate it through the water. I usually sort of swish it from side to side in each direction, and up and down, making sure to move the whole garment around. If you notice any colour bleeding into the water, you can add or change out colour catchers as needed. In my experiences, red and black (especially red-based black) pieces are the ones that tend to bleed the most. 

After swishing and scrunching the garment around for a few minutes, I will let the dress soak for 20 to 30 minutes in the water. At that point, drain the tub or basin, and rinse the garment thoroughly with cool water until it runs clean. If you have a shower head with a hose, you can use it to spray inside of the skirt portions to make sure that the linings are thoroughly rinsed as well. 

Once the water runs clean, press the dress into the sides and bottom of the basin to remove excess water. Do not ring, twist, or ball the dress up at this point, but gently “push” the water out by dragging your hand in one direction. Once you’ve gotten to this point, you can move onto drying!

Machine Washing

Most of the danger in machine washing is in the preparations, in my opinion. If you’ve safely hand washed an item before, and have already removed all of the detachable elements, it’s a pretty simple process. An extra precaution to take when washing in the machine versus hand washing is to make sure you have unhooked the hook and eye at the top of any zippers, or any buttons on collars or skirt waists. In general, this isn’t a big deal, but I’ve had machines agitate a dress hard enough that one side of the closure actually got pulled off. I also personally do not feel safe washing items with plastic boning in the machine, as many companies do not properly seal their boning ends or reinforce their channels sufficiently.

As with the handwashing, you will want to put colour catchers into the washing machine before adding your items. Part of why I recommend hand washing an item the first time is that you get an idea of whether the dress is likely to have a bit of colour bleed or need extra catchers just to be safe. So add as many catchers as you think you’ll need based on your previous washing experiences! 

When I wash an item in the machine, I always use a large lingerie bag or sweater bag. I have a few different ones, but my favourite is made from a fine, woven mesh instead of the large, open net. If you don’t have a specially made bag for this, you can use a large pillow case instead. Just knot the top closed firmly once your garment is inside, and you’re okay to go. 

Different washing machines have different settings, but I usually wash on the delicates cycle with cold water, and no final spin cycle. As with the hand washing, using a phosphate free detergent is a good idea for helping to preserve your fabrics.  In general, I do not use a fabric softener with my lolita main pieces, but do use a liquid fabric softener when washing my socks, innerwear, or blouses (which generally get tossed in with general washing instead of washed separately).

Drying Your Clothes

All of my lolita clothing, including blouses, socks, and so forth, get line dried after washing. Many people will put socks or blouses through the dryer, but I’ve had a few pieces shrink and have become a bit paranoid over the years, so just be wary! 

For main pieces, I will dry items flat over the top of a drying rack, or spread out in the bathroom on a towel if too large to fit nicely on my square rack. 

When pulling a sopping wet, freshly washed garment out of the basin or washing machine, I’ll have a few towels (in light colours, preferably) on hand to start the drying process. Lay out a towel or two as necessary, getting it completely flat. Place your garment on top of the towel, and spread the skirt as much as you can. Roll the dress up inside of the towel without twisting or wringing. Press down as you go. The towels should start to absorb the water from your garment, to get the drying process under way. When the towel starts to feel damp on the outside, swap it for a new, dry one. 

Repeat this two or three times with fresh towels, until the water no longer soaks through. Once the dress is “damp” rather than “soaking”, you can spread it out to dry flat on a fresh towel, or over a drying rack. While you’re doing this, try to arrange any lace, ruffles, or other decorative elements that couldn’t be removed before washing, so as to minimise the amount of time you’ll need to spend steaming or ironing later. Cotton cluny and tulle lace in particular can be pulled pretty vigorously to get them into shape.

In general, lolita skirts are too heavy to hang from the bodice or waist without spreading them out first; it’s best to expose as much of the dress to the air as possible. You can turn the dress over, or rearrange it through the drying process to speed things up. Once your garment is dry, you’re ready to move on to ironing or steaming!

Ironing

Most irons will come with a dial that lets you choose which setting is best for the material you will be ironing. Typically, ironing on the back side of the fabric is the safest means of pressing a garment, but you can iron on the front using a covering cloth if you prefer. Some garments are safe to iron on all surfaces, but you should test this out on an inconspicuous spot first. Much like with your bleed test, try ironing the dress’s facing, strap interior, or waist ties before moving on to the body of the dress. 

Before you iron your garment, be sure to test your iron on a piece of scrap cloth to ensure that it is clean, and that the steaming pores won’t blow calcified or hard water when you use it. If you have an issue with water hardness in your area, you can boil it, or use filtered water to reduce the issue instead. This will reduce stains and deposits on your clothing, and is just good maintenance for your iron in general. As you iron, move in long, smooth strokes. Wiggling the iron back and forth over one spot is tempting when there’s a stubborn crease, but this motion can distort the weave, and stretch the material. 

Develop an order to ironing your pieces. For example, with dresses, I iron the lining of the skirt first, then focus on ruffles and lace next, followed by the bodice. I move on to the outer body of the skirt towards the end, as it gets manipulated the most during the rest of the ironing. For blouses, I iron the collar backs and cuffs first, lace and ruffles next, and the main portion of the bodice last. Establishing a routine will help you finish faster each time you do it.

By and large, cotton fabrics take high heat more readily than synthetics, but also crinkle more easily as a result of their properties. When pressing cotton, it’s a good idea to use the steam setting, or to lightly spray cool water onto more heavily creased sections to loosen them up. When in doubt, use less heat than you actually think you’ll need, and be sure to check the care tag or information for your dress or material.

When ironing lace, make sure to use a lower setting, and gently pull the lace apart as you press it. This will help shape it and make it look crisp again. Once you’re done ironing, hang the dress up immediately. This will help prevent any creases from forming! 

A few extra little ironing tips: 

• Use bobby pins to hold pleats in place as you iron them. It won’t risk leaving a hole like with a sewing pin, but will keep your edges aligned and crisp. 
• If you don’t have a pin board, you can iron the back side of pile fabrics like velvet while sewing by putting your iron sideways on its back end, and running the back of the material against the exposed face of the iron between your hands. This will remove creases, without risking damage to the pile.
• If you are ironing as you sew, make sure to frequently press your seams to ensure things are in place as you work. Also, you will want to test on scrap fabric if you leave your iron on as you work, just to be sure you don’t end up staining your sewing as you go.

Steaming

Steamers are a safer option for releasing wrinkles from your dress if you’re unsure of its heat tolerance, because there is no heated surface being directly applied to your garments. Steamers release wrinkles in a way that is particularly suited to fabrics with a lot of drape, as it doesn’t leave the same crisp finish as ironing often does. Chiffon and other slinky polyester-based materials take particularly well to being steamed for this reason. Other fabrics which take well to steaming include various silks, wool, and velvets (which can be damaged by irons, which compress their pile).

An added bonus to steaming is that it can replace washing in the case of clothing that cannot be submerged in water or dry-cleaned (such as fabrics which use flocking or are made from velvet). It cannot eliminate dirt or stains, but does kill bacteria that are associated with odours. Some companies make special steamer solution to add a freshly laundered scent to the process of steaming, but this isn’t strictly necessary. 

As with ironing, test your steamer on some scrap fabric or a towel to ensure that you have a good flow from the steamer head, and that there are no blockages or build-up from hard water. If you have issues with hard water in your area, you can boil the water first, or use a filter to ensure your steamer will perform at its best!
When steaming, hold the fabric away from the lining and move the steamer downward, top to bottom. Do not tug on the fabric, because this can stretch the material and damage it. Be gentle! 

It’s okay for your steamer’s head to touch the fabric as you go, and some steamers come with special brush attachments to catch lint.

Just like with ironing, establishing a routine is a good idea to maximise your results. I generally follow the same order in steaming as ironing, though I turn the dress inside-out to do the lining, first.

Special Fabric Care

Some materials cannot be washed in a conventional fashion, and require dry cleaning or spot washing instead. If you’re not confident in your own ability to care for a garment or fabric, there is no shame in using an expert’s services!

As mentioned above, steaming can be used to deodorise and care for fabrics which are unable to be submerged in water or dry-cleaned. A few of these fabrics include materials that use flocking, fabrics that have a heavy pile such as velvet or velveteen, or delicate materials like silk. 

Velvet and various types of silk weaves can sometimes be washed by hand if you’re feeling up to it, but the timing on these materials is very important, and their drying is tricky. I recommend reading up on your fabrics via The Laundress in these cases. They have written extensive care guides to different materials, and offer tips, tricks, and countless Q&As.

When in doubt, always look for advice from the experts online! There are so many good resources available.

Why Should I Pre-wash?

If you’re planning to start sewing your own dresses, an important step to always remember is pre-washing your materials. Fabric straight from the store frequently comes with sizing in the fibres. Sizing is a compound applied to the warp yarns before weaving. It is used to stiffen the material during weaving and finishing, but often is left in afterwards to keep the fabric tidy. By pre-washing your fabric, you remove the sizing and get it ready to sew!

Another reason to pre-wash your fabric is to see how it fares under maintenance. If you’re sewing a garment with materials that won’t see much washing (such as velvet or silk), you can probably skip the pre-wash, but anything made with cotton or intended to be easy to wash and wear, should really be pre-washed in advance. It lets you make sure the fabric won’t shrink after being sewn, and will also let you see if there’s any bleeding of dyes for future washing or storage.

If you don’t pre-wash, you run the risk of garments shrinking more readily, and hems and seams puckering under the resulting tension. It’s a simple extra step that can make a very big difference to your final garment results.