How to Care for Cambric & Cotton Print Fabrics

A good cambric print is honest cotton with a print that has been given time to set properly. Treat it that way and it will hold its colour and its hand for years. Most of the damage we ever hear about comes from the first few washes, when the garment is new and the owner is least careful with it.

For those early washes, cold water and a mild detergent do far more good than they get credit for. Turn printed pieces inside out before they go in; it is the simplest way to keep a foil or a Procion print away from the rubbing that dulls it. Harsh bleaches and strong powders have no place near a printed cotton; they take the brightness off faster than wear ever will.

Drying is where Procion colour is quietly won or lost. Dry in shade. A long stretch in direct sun will fade a bright print over a season in a way that no wash does, and once it has gone flat there is no bringing it back. The shade costs nothing and saves the colour.

When it comes to ironing, work on the reverse, at a medium setting. For anything with foil, lay a thin cloth between the iron and the design; foil and a hot plate do not forgive each other. And for storage, fold and keep the cloth somewhere cool and dry. A breathable cotton bag is better than plastic for the long term; plastic traps moisture, and trapped moisture is how marks and musty smells begin.

None of this is complicated, and none of it is new. It is simply the care a quality cotton was always meant to have, and the same care that lets a buyer's customer come back and say the fabric lasted.