craftgrrl | help.. washing instructions (Reply)

This is a terrible thing.. I have spent nearly 2 hours on my stupid laptop googling this topic... and really - I just want a PERSONAL experience with this matter... I made a bag for my aunt.. the outside is polyester/cotton mix and has craftfuse interfacing... well - she wanted this silk i had left over from something else i had made a bit ago for the inside.... okay fine... and she wanted picture frames... so i use clear vinyl and poly/cotton and more craftfuse... i didn't think much of it at the time!

here is my dilemma.... she wants to know how to wash the stupid thing... which i totally did not think about b/c well - i was in a crazy scientist/sewer mood at the time and the bag came out beautifully and i just don't want to scrap it so it's safe to clean...

silk says dry clean only
craftfuse is machine wash cool tumble dry low (uhh, i think.)
poly/cotton mix is machine wash warm, line dry
16 gauge clear vinyl is handwash cool, do not machine dry or iron

here's what i was thinking about sticking in the washing instrucions... handwash lukewarm with mild detergent, hang dry... iron with a low heat to smooth out any areas

well.. has anyone washed silk before with water? it could be dupioni or shantung or something else... :-/ i don't really.. know... and of course.. i didn't prewash the silk.. so i am double scared about that (well, not so much about shrinking if it would b/c the lining was made a little too big) but.. would it.. like.. come apart or like... something scary?

i figured handwashing was safer than machine washing but my aunt would prefer to machine was it - could she put it in a nylon net bag or something??... lukewarm isn't warm but it isn't cool and mild detergent won't hurt the silk... and hang dry - b/c welll... most of them say to not machine dry anyway

any help or suggestions or anything would be greatly appreciated... thanks you guys

oops.. sorry - forgot to mention.. dry cleaning isn't an option as she is sorta like.. allergic to whatever chemicals they use