How do I wash embroidered clothes?

Wash cool, inside out and on a gentle cycle, and the embroidery will normally outlast the garment.

Turn the garment inside out so the stitching is not abraded against the drum and against zips and buttons on other items. A mesh laundry bag helps further on anything delicate or heavily stitched.

Temperature. Cool to warm. Polyester embroidery thread is colourfast and strong and tolerates normal domestic washing. Rayon is more sensitive to heat and to bleach, and repeated hot washes dull it. If an item will be washed hot and often, it should have been stitched in polyester in the first place.

Detergent. Ordinary detergent is fine. Avoid chlorine bleach entirely, and avoid heavy optical brighteners on coloured work.

Drying. Line dry or tumble on low. High heat is the main cause of puckering appearing after washing, because the fabric shrinks around stitching that cannot.

Ironing. Press from the reverse, over a towel, so the stitches sink into the pile rather than being flattened. Never run a hot iron directly across the face of the stitching — rayon and metallic scorch, and polyester can gloss.

First wash. Any water-soluble topping fragments dissolve then, which is normal. Some marking pens need cool water only, because heat sets them permanently — rinse the marks out before the garment goes anywhere warm.

If puckering appears after the first wash, the cause was stabiliser or hooping, not the wash.