Yokosuka Jacket (a.k.a “Sukajan”) could be a very important piece in fashion! You will have so much more options of outfits if you have multiple Sukajans that are made by different materials! 

However, Sukajan is pretty delicate, and i’m sure some of you are scared of washing it at your house.

Today’s topic is going to be The Rayon. One of the most difficult Souvenir Jacket material to get it clean. Most of the time, clothes that’s made by the rayon are expensive, and i bet you would not want to ruin them by wash them at your house by yourself.

Don’t worry. If you got these key points that i’m about teach you, you wouldn’t have to be super nervous about it and spend extra money at dry-cleaning spot.

The Rayon does not go well with water

Before we jump into it, I’m going to explain what the rayon is.

The Rayon is made by Wood pulp, recycled fiber which is called “Cellulose fiber”. This fiber is used in a material like papers.

Unlike Petrochemical compounds (Ex. The Polyester), The Rayon is nature made.

It is even called “Natural origin fiber”, like for example if you put the cellulose fiber in the soil, it would dissolve back into the soil. Therefore, the cellulose fiber is Known as a very nature friendly synthetic fiber.

1. Amazing feeling on your skin

When describe the rayon, we can’t forget to mention it’s smooth finish and the great feels to your skin.

For fact, the rayon is made by chemical synthesis and meant to feel just like silk on the skin. The pH (Potential of hydrogens) of the rayon it self is mild acidity just like our skin. Therefore the rayon suppose to be nice to human skin as well.

Also, it is easy to dye with painting material, and it has glossy look in the material itself, so the colouring is much better than cotton.

If we go even more, the rayon material will stretch when it moves. Drapability is one of the many reason what’s so great about this material.

Because it’s made of the cellulose fiber, Moisture retention is super high, Just like the nature fiber, “The Wool”

That been said, you could wear the rayon made clothes almost around the year. Can’t forget to mention that the rayon deodorize itself.

2. Weak in water

On the other hand, the rayon is weak in water since it contains same materials as papers. Just like papers are easily breakable when it gets wet, when the rayon absorb water, it becomes fragile and could shrink after it gets dry.

This is why it’s so hard to wash the clothes that’s made by the rayon material at home. Also, after the rayon material clothes got wet, the paints could dissolve in the water and could leave few ring shaped stain.

It is called the “Water-spot Phenomenon”. You could apply a water repellent spray or, when you buy the rayon made clothes you could ask a local dry cleaning spot to add a water repellent process on the piece to prevent the stain.

How to wash the in the laundry machine / Important points

Let’s talk about few important points when you put a piece of clothes (that is made by the rayon material) in a laundry machine, step by step!

1. Take a look at the wash tag

Let’s take a close look at the wash tag at first. If it says “Unwashable”, don’t wash that piece at home and bring it to your local dry-cleaning spot. Even if it says “Washable”, use a wet towel to gently pat down the clothes if you only sees a little bit of stain.

If the piece is badly stained, use a delicate neutral detergent and put them in your laundry machine.

2. Be cautious of coloured pattern clothes

Being aware if the clothes you want to wash are coloured pattern or not is very important when it comes to the rayon material made clothing.

Like i stated in the last chapter, when the rayon gets wet, the paints in the clothes could dissolve in to water, and it could possibly colour stain the other clothes.

You could apply the delicate neutral detergent on a shady part of the coloured pattern clothes, and put a white cloth on that spot for few minutes to make sure the paint isn’t leaving a stain on a white cloth. You won’t have to apply ton of detergent since it is only to check if that coloured pattern piece would stain the white cloth.

If it stains a white cloth, wash that piece separately from other clothes.

3.Laundry machine settings

You have to make sure to use a delicate neutral detergent during wash. Normal detergents are slightly alkaline and it could ruin the shape by shrinking the material or colours could look little off on the clothes. So do not use it.

If you use water that’s over 30 degrees, it could also ruin the shape or colour of the clothes. Make sure to use tap water that is under 30 degrees.

Make sure to pick the right setting that is fairly gentle, like “Dry-clean mode” or “Hand-wash mode”.

4. Put it in a laundry net

When you use laundry machine at home, the clothes inside could damage each other by tangling together. If you are going to wash multiple clothes that is made by the rayon, make sure to fold nicely and put each one of them in a laundry net. If you could turn the dirty part outside, it is so much easier for the machine to get them cleaner properly.

5. Shorten up the time in the dryer

Trying to dry the rayon made clothes in a dryer could result the same exact failure like ruin the shape or colouring. Because the drying process in the dryer is little too harsh to a fragile material like the rayon. If you are going to dry them in the machine, stop the machine after about 10 seconds and take the clothes out.

How to wash them by hands / Important points

If you care about your clothes and wanting to prevent the shrinking or the ruined colour on your piece, wash them by your hands.

When you use your hands the process could cut short so you could wash them in shorter amount of time and most importantly you could wash them super gently.

1. Wash them gently

Same as when you wash the clothes in the laundry machine, use a tap water that is under 30 degrees. Dissolve delicate neutral detergent in the water and put the clothes in that water. 

Wash them by gently push the clothes up and down in the water. Don’t wash them by strong force or squeezing them hard.

2. Firmly rinse them

Keep refreshing the water in the sink and wash them until the bubbles in the water are gone. After that process is done, put the piece between the bath towel and take the water out of the clothes. 

Doing this process in a short amount of time could give a minimum damage on the clothes, therefore finishing this drying process in around 2 minutes would be the best.

How to dry them / Important points

After you are done taking the water out of the clothes, stretch them nicely to make sure there are no wrinkles when it’s done. After Shake the clothes gently up and down for few times, dry the clothes flat in a shade to prevent the smaller wrinkles.

1. Dry them flat, in a shade

Place the clothes in a windy and shady spot to protect the delicate rayon material from the sun, direct sunlight on the rayon could ruin the look. Drying them inside could leave a awful smell so make sure to dry them outside.

The rayon would shrink even its in the water for a short amount of time. If you can not flat dry them for some reason, you could also dry them normally on a hanger, because the weight of the clothes would pull the piece down and stretch them automatically and prevent the wrinkles.

2. Make sure the clothes are dry before you apply an iron on it

Let’s make sure the clothes are dry before you proceed to an iron work. The rayon material does not go well with water. If your use an iron on the rayon material while it still contain water inside could damage the piece. 

Set the temperature around 130~160 degrees (mid heat), then put a light colour cloth to make sure the iron does not touch the rayon directly. 

If you iron them in a high temperature, the heat could damage the material and give weird shine on the piece or could solidify the clothes so be very cautious of the temperature.

How to Store them / Important points

When you store the rayon made clothes, you have to be cautious of humidity and insect bites.

The rayon could shrink in a humid place. Dry them properly after washing the clothes and put it in a closet with desiccant to protect the clothes from humidity.

I’m sure You wouldn’t want those clothes to shrink and can’t fit in it the next time you wear them. So let’s protect them from the humidity.

Also since the fiber is really soft, be careful of insect bites on the clothes. Even you only wear them few times, wash and take the dust off the clothes if you are going to put the piece back in the closet for few months.

Put insect repellent with the piece to be even more cautious.

Summary

That’s all for “How to wash and store the rayon made clothes”

Knowing the characteristic of the rayon could keep them in a good shape for a long time. The rayon made Souvenir Jackets are usually pretty expensive. Make sure keep them in a good shape!