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Sand washing is a natural method used to produce soft touch garments. The process involves washing clothing with fine lava rocks or rubber/silicone pellets to remove stiffness and create a smooth, soft texture. Sand washing is suitable for a wide range of fabrics and has other benefits such as reducing shrinkage and producing a subtle sheen on silk. It can be done before or after dyeing the material.
As one of the methods used to produce soft touch garments, few methods use natural methods like sand washing. Here’s some insight into the sand washing process and how this method helps produce garments we love to wear.
Sand scrubbing is basically a process of washing clothing which is meant to remove any residual stiffness from the material used to make the garment. The purpose of sand washing is not to produce a garment that wrinkle easily. Rather, the goal is to ensure that the clothing is soft to the touch. After being treated for softness, the sand washed garment can still undergo anti-wrinkle treatments and manages to maintain the soft brushing sensation created by the treatment.
The same sandblasting treatment originally envisaged the use of very fine lava rocks. A quantity of lava rocks is placed in a container together with the finished garment. The container is then rotated, allowing the rocks to gently abrade the fibers of the garment. When the lava rocks come into contact with the material, the action gently buffs the fabric into a smooth, soft texture, resulting in a garment that always feels good against the skin, rather than scratching or irritating.
Over time, the use of rubber or silicone pellets instead of lava rocks has become common. In addition, the range of fabrics that can receive a sand wash treatment is much wider than in years past. Where once only natural fabrics were considered candidates for sand washing, it is now possible to achieve the same effect with different types of synthetics and blends.
Sand washing has other benefits as well. For example, garments that have been given a sand wash treatment are much less susceptible to shrinkage in the wash, even if the garment is made from cotton material that has not been pre-shrunk. The procedure has also produced some highly regarded silk choices, as it leaves the silk with a subtle sheen that is less noticeable than other types of treatments.
Some prefer to administer a sand wash treatment before dyeing the material, while others prefer to use the sand wash after the material has been dyed and made into a finished garment. Those who prefer to sandwash finished garments say the process produces a more accurate texture on the sandwashed garment, while there may be some slight irregularities if sandwashing is used on sheets of material.
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