Caring for Hand Knits

While I make a point of saying all my items are made of acrylic yarn (at least by default), which allows you to be pretty rough with them, I thought I would take this opportunity to explain how to prolong the life of your hand knits and how to care for other fibers.

Washing

Most people will recommend hand washing an item, regardless if it is machine washable (the yarn label will indicate this, and I will pass that information along with any item I make). If hand washing, gently agitate your item, but do not wring or scrub as it will cause distortion and wear. Rinse your hand knits with cold water until the water is clean. (Some wool washes say you do not need to rinse. I usually opt to rinse anyway.)

If you do choose to machine wash an item, I would recommend using the gentle cycle with cold or warm water as well as putting your item in a garment bag to prevent snags and pilling.

You will want to use a gentle detergent, baby shampoo, or a wool wash on your items. My favorite wool wash is Eucalan (which does have an unscented version, for those of you with fragrance allergies) and I use it for all of my personal hand knits. If you have a lanolin allergy, do not use wool wash--choose your detergent according to your needs.

Items made with acrylic can be generally thrown into the washing machine on a regular cycle. Hot water will not cause acrylic items to shrink. However, for longevity, I would recommend following the machine washing suggestions above.

Items made in cotton (or other plant fibers) can be machine washed as well in cold or warm water. Again, follow the machine washing suggestions above. Hot water can be used for particularly dirty items, but keep this in mind when it comes time for drying.

Items made with wool (or other animal fibers such as alpaca) will full (or felt) when washed in hot water with high agitation, causing shrinkage. Woolen items are best hand washed in cold or lukewarm water with little to no agitation. Hot water may be used, and is sometimes necessary with particularly dirty items, but make sure to avoid agitation. Superwash wool is designed to be machine washable (gentle cycle), but I would recommend erring on the side of caution.

Drying

Always support your wet knit items from underneath, as they will stretch when being held from the top only.

Not all yarns can be dried in a machine (this is also indicated on the yarn label and passed on to you with your purchase). If you do use a machine, taking the item out while still slightly damp will help keep the shape*.

If you are air drying your item, gently squeeze out excess water after washing. You may also want to roll the item up in a towel to further remove excess water.

I would recommend against hanging any knit item. The weight of the wet fabric will cause the item to stretch, and sometimes the items will stay in this distorted shape never bouncing back to their original form.

Most knit items benefit from blocking, or being laid out to dry in the desired form (you can use either a dry towel or a drying rack). Knit garments particularly are apt to stretch out as they are worn, due to gravity. Larger items may only get one wear before needing to be blocked back in to shape*.

*Small and infant items are not as susceptible to losing their shape, so if you do choose to completely machine dry or hang dry, you are not likely to have these issues.

Acrylic items can be put into a dryer, but keep an eye on them for pilling. While this is a normal occurrence with knits, and some commercial clothing, you may want to avoid it if possible. Pills can be removed afterwards if necessary with a tools like a sweater shaver or velvet clothes brush.

Cotton items can be machine dried. Sometimes this will actually help restore the item to its original shape. If you needed to used hot water to clean a particularly dirty cotton item, be aware that using a machine dryer may cause shrinkage.

Wool items should not be put in a machine dryer. They do best with the air drying method described above followed by blocking. Superwash wool can be machine dried, but again I recommend watching your garment for shrinkage or erring on the side of caution and skipping the machines.

Storage

Knit garments lend themselves to folding better than hanging (gravity strikes again). I would recommend not folding the same way every time to avoid potential permanent creases. Rolling is another viable option for storing your hand knits.

Acrylic items need no special storage beyond what I recommend above for all hand knits. Acrylic yarn is very resilient and since it is synthetic, it does not maintain moisture as long as natural fibers nor does it attract pests.

Cotton items should not be put away until completely dry. Damp cotton has the potential to mold, and nobody wants their special items lost to mold. Because of this, you also want to make sure your cotton items can be set out to dry quickly after washing.

Wool items again need the most care. Wool items are susceptible to moths. To avoid moths eating your items, make sure you wash them before storing. Routinely clean the area you store woolen knits (i.e. dust dressers, vacuum closets). You may also opt to store your items an an airtight environment, but make sure the bag/box you use is completely dry first.

If your items do get infested with moths, laundering them is the best attack. In this instance, you may want to take your item in to a dry cleaner, as woolen items should not be washed in high temperatures. Other options involve freezing the item below 18°F for several days or putting it in the oven at 120°F for at least 30 minutes. Afterwards, you will want to hang your item in the sun and brush it out.

What about dry cleaning? Most knit items do not need dry cleaning. However, rayon yarns may benefit from dry cleaning as the fibers get weak when wet.

What about stains? As with any other clothing, stains set over time. Due to the nature of yarn, stains may be a little more difficult to get out over time. Try to catch stains as quickly as possible and wash the item as soon as possible to avoid permanent stains. Keeping the stain moist, or using travel stain removers (e.g. Tide sticks, Eucalan wipes) also help prevent setting.