How to Keep Your African Print Dress Looking Amazing

For a unique statement outfit, you’ll be hard-pressed to find something as gorgeous as an African print dress. 

Every dress is one-of-a-kind with its own story to tell, as every symbol and pattern used reflects the rich African culture and tradition. 

As African Ankara print dresses are worn by such celebrities as Beyonce, Rhianna, and the ever-elegant former First Lady of the U.S., Michelle Obama, these colorful garments have been in the spotlight. For now, they are becoming even more popular. 

If you are lucky enough to own such a fantastic statement piece from an African designer, you’d want to ensure that you keep it looking fabulous for as long as possible. Here are some tips on how you can do that: 

How to Keep African Print Fabric Soft

Your African print dress was carefully and thoroughly crafted to last for a lifetime of wear. But when you have worn it for a considerable length of time, you’ll start to notice that your African print dress has begun to stiffen.

You don’t want to throw it out just yet as it’s a nice piece, so there are ways through which you can revive it, making your African print dress look as soft as it was when you first got it.

Firstly, when you need to wash it, the best way to ensure that the color doesn’t fade is to wash it with cold water and avoid using a fabric softener.

The chemicals in the softener will affect the dye. They will compromise the beautiful colors in the African print fabric, so it would be good to say goodbye to fabric softener options.

Instead, hang your dress to dry, and it is also wise to hang it outside in the sun as the heat from the sun will help the material regain its original texture and shine.

How to Preserve the Print’s Gorgeous Colors

If you have a very intricate print on your dress, you’ll want to ensure that the colors remain vibrant and true to the African charm.

When you hand wash your dress, add a quarter cup of vinegar to the water. The acid in the vinegar will help remove any detergents and dirt that have built up over the wear and tear of the fabrics.

You’ll be able to go to the African print fabric store and get some native dress fabric conditioner. This will restore the fibers and keep the colors vibrant even after many washes.

Another way to give your dress a thorough but safe cleaning is to boil it in a large pan filled with water and 1/2 cup vinegar, again, to get rid of all the detergents and detergent build-up.

When it is boiled, leave your hot African print fabric to cool and then wash it in the washing machine with a water temperature of 100 degrees.

How to Dry and Iron Them Correctly

It’s likely that you don’t want to ruin your lovely dress by ironing it, but it is essential to do so. You don’t want the dress to become too wrinkled and attain the shrunk-in look. 

When you are ironing a dress, you’ll first want to use the steam button, and then you should also use a spray bottle and a clean, white cloth when you are ironing the dress.

You need to remove the wrinkles quickly because it’ll be challenging to iron out the creases if the dress dries too much.

When you are ironing African print fabric, you’ll want to iron it from the inside out as the inside of the dress is a lot softer than the outside.

Ironing African print fabric from the outside will leave the outside of the dress a lot stiffer.

African Print Dresses Deserve Some TLC

African print dresses are interesting and stunning garments that you can wear from the boardroom to the opera and the streets to the beach.

The versatility of these prints is truly incredible, and you can make one-of-a-kind outfits by mixing and matching them with other clothes and accessories.

Treat your dress with respect and properly maintain it, and you’ll have a dress that you can wear for a lifetime.

If you are looking for more African apparel in the U.K., Nkiti African clothing has some unique items for you. Check out our collection today and find an outfit that brings out the best in you!

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