Fabric Care Guide
Welcome to our Fabric Care Guide :
Caring for your Lets Earth piece properly is what lets it soften and settle into your home over years, not just seasons. Below is everything you need for cotton velvet and organic cotton, our two core fabrics, along with a note on how our hand block-printed pieces are meant to age.
If you have any questions about caring for a specific piece, write to us at hello@letsearth.com.au. We would love if you ask rathen than guess and try.
Caring for your Lets Earth Cotton Velvet
Quilts, Kimono Coats & Cushion covers
Cotton velvet is the fabric most of our collection is now built around, and it asks for a little more care than standard cotton weaves. The raised pile is what gives it that depth and softness, and it is also the part that needs protecting.
Kimono & Cushion covers Washing
1. Turn it inside out — this is the one non-negotiable step. It protects the pile from rubbing against the machine drum or other items.
2. Use a mesh laundry bag if doing gentle machine cycle (eg. Cradle) and wash separately from other items.
3. Cold water, delicate or gentle cycle. Hand washing in a tub by soaking and rinsing gently is the safest option and the one we recommend for kimono coats and cushions.
4. Mild liquid detergent only. Powder detergent can lodge in the pile. Skip fabric softener and bleach entirely — both flatten and damage velvet permanently over time by loosening the piles.
5. Never wring or twist. Press gently to release water or roll the piece in a clean microfibre towel to draw out moisture.
Velvet Quilts & Throws Cleaning
Cotton velvet quilted pieces with cotton filling are strongly recommended for dry cleaning when you want the full piece done.
At home you can spot clean any stains with mild detergent and a gentle sponge or microfibre cloth. Hand vacuum from a distance for any debris, dust, and lint.
Flat air drying your quilts & throws now and then, after gently shaking & fluffing it out, is recommended to keep the piece fresh and give the cotton inside room to breathe and settle.
Drying
Lay flat to dry, away from direct sun. Cotton velvet should never go in a tumble dryer as the heat and tumbling action crush the pile in a way that cannot be reversed.
Restoring & Grooming the Pile
Once dry, if the pile sits flat or disturbed, use an extra-soft velvet brush gently in the direction of the nap to bring the texture back. Avoid going against the way the pile naturally lays.
You can carefully snip away any loose piles that may arise due to wear and tear. Avoid pulling the thread and instead snip away gently with sharp small scissors as you would trim a hedge.
Natural velvet tends to carry pressure marks from anything it comes in contact with for a long time, or with some force exerted. The next section cover how to get rid of those marks.
Ironing & Steaming
Never iron directly onto the face of cotton velvet. If a piece needs it, iron from the reverse side only for Kimonos, or for the best results hand steam few inches away from the velvet fabric. This lifts creases without touching or flattening the pile.
You can also use mid weight linen or cotton fabric in between to gently steam ironing on the cotton velvet side, or a home remedy hanging in a dry spot during a steam shower!
Caring for Organic Cotton
Kimonos, Throws & Everyday Pieces
Our GOTS-certified organic cotton pieces are less fuzzy J, but a few habits will keep them looking and feeling their best for years.
Washing
• Cold water, gentle cycle or hand rinse wash.
• A mild, eco-friendly detergent — no bleach or harsh chemicals.
• Wash similar colours together to protect the dyes. Separate light and dark colours in wash.
Drying
Lay flat or hang to dry in a well-ventilated, shaded spot. Tumble drying isn't recommended; heat can shrink and dull the fabric over time.
Ironing
Low heat only, with a cloth between the iron and the fabric if the piece is block-printed.
A Note on Hand Block-Printed Pieces
If your piece carries a Dabu or hand block-print, in the mud-resist tradition our artisans in Bagru still practise, you'll notice the print softening gently over time with each wash. This isn't wear, but how certain natural dyes and handicraft behaves. It's the textile settling into the life it was made for, the same way it has for every piece to come out of that village for the last three hundred years. No two prints are identical to begin with, and none are meant to stay exactly as they arrived.
Caring for Cotton Voile
Ode Tree Throws & Quilts
The Ode Tree throw and quilt are made from cotton voile, a very soft, lightweight weave spun from finer cotton threads. That softness and drape come from the weave being looser than most of our other cottons, which means the piece asks for a gentler hand over its lifetime than a denser fabric would.
Even resting on a sofa, sustained pressure can gradually shift the cotton filling inside, revealing more of the fine weave underneath and, over time, areas that look thinner or threadbare. This isn't a fault in the piece, it's simply how a loose, delicate weave behaves under constant weight in one spot. A little rotation goes a long way: shift the throw or quilt every so often, avoid leaving it balled up or pinned under cushions for extended stretches, and give the filling room to settle evenly rather than in one place.
Hand quilted pieces with cotton filling and a fine fabric are always recommended for dry cleaning. At home you can spot clean with mild detergent and a gentle sponge. Flat air drying your quilts & throws now and then, after gently shaking & fluffing it out, is recommended to keep the piece fresh and give the cotton inside room to breathe and settle.
Storage Tips
Spot clean where you can. For small marks, a damp microfibre cloth and a little mild detergent will usually do more good than a full wash.
Store in the fabric bag we send with each piece, not in plastic. Cotton and velvet both need to breathe. You can store in acid-free tissue to avoid discolouration and direct exposure.
Keep pieces somewhere cool and dry. Moisture is the real enemy of natural fibre, not use.
Rotate what you use. Two quilts sharing the load will always outlast one quilt doing all the work.
Together, let’s cherish our earth and all that it has to offer. Lets Earth.