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How to Care for African Print Fabrics

Think “African print fabric” and you’ll probably conjure up an image of our beloved Madiba in one of his colourful, African shirts, or a wonderfully, brightly dressed Gogo in all her cultural regalia.

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How to Care for African Print Fabrics

African print fabrics are becoming more popular than ever, with people wanting to wear African print fabrics to make fashion statements that stand out.

African print fabrics are beautiful and unique, but they can be difficult to care for. If you're not careful, African print fabrics can easily become stained or damaged. We’ve put together a How to care for African print fabrics guide so that you can get the best out of your fabrics and help them last a lot longer.

How to Wash African Print Fabrics?

The key ingredient in how to care for African wax print fabrics is to wash them in cold water! Cold water is going to prevent your fabrics from shrinking and prevent colour-bleeding as much as possible. You can wash your prints either by hand or in the washing machine on a cold wash cycle. We recommend not washing any light colours with these fabrics because they are known to bleed. Rather wash like colours together, or, ideally, wash the fabrics on their own.

It's also best to avoid the spin cycle when washing these fabrics in the machine. Rather fold the fabrics into a dark towel and gently ring out.

When it comes to laundry detergent, we recommend using Skip for perfect best results. With Skip, caring for your African print fabrics is easy! Skip detergent is specially formulated to protect the colour and vibrancy of your fabrics while keeping them soft and durable. All you need is one capful per load in the washing machine or in a bucket of water (if you’re hand washing) for best results.

How to Dry African Print Fabrics?

When it comes to drying your African print fabrics, avoid the tumble dryer. The best way to dry them is to hang them on the washing line outside to dry in the fresh air.

How to Store African Print Fabrics?

Once your African print item has been washed and dried, it’s time to iron and store it. For ironing, take a dampened piece of cloth and lay it on the fabric first. Iron over the cloth and not directly on the print. Use a low to medium heat setting on your iron.

When you store these fabrics, it’s best to hang them up on a hanger so that they can maintain their shape and structure. If you fold them, they tend to crease and get deep lines in the wax fabric.

Take the time to care for your African print fabrics well and they will last a lifetime.

For more fabric tips and other great home care tricks, visit Cleanipedia today.

Frequently Asked Questions on African Print Clothing Care

Can you use fabric softener on African print clothes?

Yes. A fabric softener promotes longer lasting colour when washing your African print fabrics.

Can you iron African print garments?

You can iron African print garments - you just need to make sure you do it carefully. Place a piece of damp cloth on the fabric first and iron onto the cloth and not directly onto the fabric.

How to preserve the colours of your African print clothes?

The best way to preserve the colour of African prints is to wash them with a great detergent like Skip which is formulated to care for vibrant colours.

How do you care for African prints?

Read our guide on how to care for Ankara fabrics and other African print fabrics in the blog above.

Originally published