10 tips to wash clothes with sequins, glitter, beads and more

Always check the label of the item you’re washing. It’s important to follow the care symbols to avoid shrinkage or damage to clothing. Here’s our laundry label guide.

For day to day washing loads, faster, hotter cycles will degrade the quality of the fabric and can lead to fading, shrinking or embellishments coming off in the wash (and potentially even ending up in our oceans). Set your machine to its eco setting or hand wash setting and turn the temperature down to 30 or below. If you’re not used to washing on low temperatures, we promise it will still get your clothes clean.

This may feel like a faff but it really is the safest way to wash clothes with sequins, beads or embellishments. Clean your bath or sink first. Then fill with lukewarm water and a dash of gentle detergent. Soak your clothes for 5 minutes. Swish the garment around in the water and use your hands or a brush to remove any really dirty areas. Squeeze out the water from the garment and drain the sink or bath. Then refill with cold clean water and swish your garments again until it feels like all the soap is out of the item. Repeat if necessary. Gently squeeze out excess liquid and hang clothes to dry.

Both can fade or wrinkle sequins and glitter.

Especially for embellished clothing, this will help keep designs and details intact and reduce the chances of them coming off in the wash.

Sometimes our clothes really aren’t in need of a full clean, especially if only worn for a few hours. Spot wash stains or under the armpits with soap and water in the sink and hang to dry. If you’re going to use a fabric freshening spray, only spray the inside of the garment. That’s because sprays can fade the colour of fabrics or sequins.

Don’t jump to putting stained clothes on a high heat wash which uses a lot of energy. There are lots of home hacks for stains, like soda water or salt for red wine so check youtube and each strain individually before washing as normal on a cool cycle.

If you’re feeling nervous about washing your clothes and don’t want to risk causing any damage, visit your local dry cleaners. The experts will know how to clean that silk shirt or get that stubborn stain out of your party outfit. They’ll also return your clothes in a sleeve that can help preserve clothes from moths.If you’re feeling nervous about washing your clothes and don’t want to risk causing any damage, visit your local dry cleaners. The experts will know how to clean that silk shirt or get that stubborn stain out of your party outfit. They’ll also return your clothes in a sleeve that can help preserve clothes from moths.

Avoid the tumble dryer and let them air dry instead. The fast spin of a tumble dryer can cause features like sequins to come loose and the high heat can also cause issues such as shrinking, fading and increased microfiber release. Hang them up to dry instead.

You don’t want to know how bad it smells when sequins melt. If you really need to remove wrinkles, hang your clothes up in the bathroom with you when you have a shower or invest in a clothes steamer (they retail for around £15). The steam will remove any creases without the risk of melting zippers or sequins or causing fabric burns.