How do I wash a pleated skirt?

I would not wash a pleated skirt. Have it dry cleaned.

@chyna Thanks. Do you know if the pleats will come out if it is washed? I’m not saying I would just asking.

I can’t be sure for the fabric you are talking about, but I have washed a pleated skirt and it was ruined. Then I tried to iron the pleats back. It looked really bad.

@chyna – Ahh that’s what I’m thinking might happen. Thank you.

Just a tip: when you wear it, take it off as soon as you get home and hang it up so you won’t have to wash it as often.

Dry clean it, @chyna is right. She is right also that you should not have to wash a skirt very often. The garment doesn’t have a label with international care symbols?

Pleats are actually something that is ironed into the skirt, if you want to sit there and iron for hours and hours then yes you can iron them back in with a hot iron and some starch. However this is not taking into consideration what kind of fabric it is made out of, if its wool or silk I would definately have it dry cleaned… where you can not read the label I would take it to a cleaner just in case its a fabric that cant be washed.

@creative1: OP said above that “fabric is chiffon.” That is impossible to iron, even with the lowest setting possible.

I have a uniform pleated skirt and it goes fine through the wash.

If it is truly pleated, dry clean it. If it is a broomstick skirt you can wash in cold water, then while wet twist the whole skirt as if you were going to wring it out, but instead of wringing, let it dry twisted. I am assuming this is a poly chiffon. If it is a silk chiffon it must be dry cleaned regardless.

Even if the washing didn’t kill it, the ironing afterwards will probably kill you. Dry clean it for sure. I really loath ironing pleats.

The key thing is the fiber content. Don’t confuse type of fabric , i.e. chiffon with fiber content. Fiber is wool, cotton, silk (all natural fibers), polyester, nylon, acetate (all synthetic fibers) If a pleated skirt has 50% or more of synthietic fiber it can take what is called a “permanent pleat ”. The reason the pleat is permanent is because the fabric has been pressed at a very high heat which actually melts the fibers. When they cool they will not go back to their original flat form becasue they are permanently creased into pleats. But a silk or wool skirt cannot retain the pleats if washed. They need to be steamed back into shape at the dry cleaners (or by you, but this might not be too easy if you are not very talented with an iron, lol)
So check the label and see what the fiber content is. If you want to play it safe, just go with the dry cleaning.

@Earthgirl – U sure do know a lot about it thanks! I’m just gonna take it to the dry cleaners to be on the safe side.

partyrock Spunds like a good idea. It should say how to care for it on the label though. If it says dry clean only I wouldn’t take any chances on ruining it.

It’s al completely written in Korean which I do not undersand or have any Korean friends at the moment nearby :(

partyrock Where did you buy it? Do you know, that it’s illegal for the manufacturer to sell it in the US w/o a care label? Don’t worry, I won’t tell, lol!

@Earthgirl – It did have a label but it was completely written in Korean…...

partyrock It’s supposed to be in English accorrding to Federal Trade commission law

I quote from above:
“Disclosures must be in English. They also can be in other languages, as long as the English version is included.

This is a law put into effect to protect the consumer. Every garment sold in the US is subject to the FTC law. You must have bought this in a small boutique or something. I know about this because I had to learn it in design school. :)

@Earthgirl—Ohhhh I see !! So true!! Yeah the whole tag is completely in Korean :/ there’s no english on it whatsoever. Maybe I’ll message you a picture of the skirt. It is so beautiful and amazing.

@Earthgirl – I actually did by it in a boutique o_O !!

I’ve always been washing pleated dress and nothing has never happened to it. Just wash very gently in the sink in the warm temperature (more cold than hot) then wring it out a little very gently and hang it on the hanger under the bath to let drop the water off it, then let it dry off in the room.