Shirts

Washing

  • Before washing your shirt ensure that all buttons are undone. This will lessen the strain on the button shank stitches during the wash.
  • Once the buttons are undone turn your shirt inside-out. This allows the cleaning agents in your washing powder direct access to any underarm stains. It also offers some protection in stopping the Mother of Pearl buttons from chipping on the stainless steel drum of the washing machine.
  • Collar stiffeners should also be removed before washing. This helps avoid uneven wear to the collar points of your shirt.
  • Take care to read the garment washing instructions. Generally our shirts should be washed in water at a temperature of between 40ºC and 60ºC (104ºF to 140ºF).
  • If the weather is fine you should line dry outside. This will add freshness to your shirts. In adverse weather shirts can be dried in an airing cupboard. Please do not tumble dry your shirts. The stainless steel drum wears out the points of the collar and the cuffs. It can also chip the buttons.

Ironing

  • All pure cotton shirts are best ironed whilst still slightly damp from the wash. This is considerably easier than using a spray to re-wet it once it has already dried. If your shirt has dried-out unevenly then a very fine spray will still be required for the dried out areas. It is not recommended to try and iron a bone dry pure cotton shirt. This does not get rid of creases effectively and it might also cause extra wear to the collar points and cuffs when excess pressure is applied to the iron in an attempt to smooth the cloth.
  • The shirt should be fully unbuttoned at all times when ironing.
  • Lay the part of the shirt about to be ironed on a firm flat ironing board. Using a dry iron (or steam iron on a non-steam setting) press the cloth until dry and free of creases. If your iron has a temperature dial remember to adjust the dial to the ‘cotton’ setting. Do not iron over the garment label because this is not made from cotton and may be damaged when the iron is on a ‘cotton’ setting.
  • There is much debate as to what the correct order is when ironing a shirt. Opinions vary, but the general order should be: collar, cuffs, sleeves, yokes (shoulder area), front panels and finally the back panel. Once the whole shirt has been ironed go back to any part of the shirt that might need to be re-ironed because of creases created during the initial ironing process.
  • The collar is one of the thickest parts of the shirt and needs to be dampened on both sides before applying the iron. The back of the collar and neck band should be ironed first until flat and relatively dry. To assist the process pull gently at one end of the collar as you are pressing the fabric. When you are happy with the back, turn the collar over and repeat the process, pressing from the point of the collar to the centre. This will stop ugly creasing on the collar edge and is important because Foster Barry shirts, like all quality shirts, are made with non fused collars. Most importantly try not to apply too much pressure when pressing the collar tips; these are the most susceptible part to wear.
  • Our shirts, like all quality shirts, are made with removable collar stays. It is important to remove these before ironing the collar. Not removing the collar stays causes serious wear to the fabric on the points of the collar.
  • Button cuffs should be unbuttoned and double cuffs should be unfolded prior to ironing. In a similar way to the collar both sides of the cuff should be ironed, starting with the inside. It is very important that double cuffs are not ironed in the folded position. Doing this will lead to wear lines and splitting over time. As with the collar try not to exert too much pressure when ironing over the cuff points or edges.
  • With sleeves it is best to iron from the top down towards the cuff, creating a crease if desired.
  • Finally iron the two front panels and the back of the shirt. Pay particular attention to the shirt placket to ensure it does not crease.
  • Another often asked question is whether one needs to iron both sides of the shirt. We believe that if you have a good quality heat reflective ironing board cover then there is only a requirement to iron both sides of the collar and cuffs as these are by their nature the thickest part of the shirt.
  • When you have completed ironing the shirt it should be slipped onto a quality hanger (not a wire one from the dry cleaners) and fastened at the top button. This will allow any remaining moisture to evaporate and minimise creasing.

Dry Cleaning

  • If you chose to send your shirts to a dry cleaner always chose a quality dry cleaning company. Some dry cleaners use cheaper harsher chemicals, which although they clean well they also damage the fabric of quality garments.
  • If possible always opt for the ‘hand laundering’ service as this will help preserve the natural fabrics which can suffer from repeated exposure to harsh chemical treatments.
  • Remember to remove your collar stays before sending to the dry cleaners. Otherwise, you might never see them again; particularly sad if they were sterling silver ones!