Washing instructions

Why wash your finished knitwear?

Firstly, washing your finished knitwear makes it look more even and neat. If your project seems a bit uneven when you finish it – don't worry. A wash will help even out many of the irregularities. Secondly, some yarns in our assortment contain a bit of spinning oil and excess dye which will disappear after the first wash.

We ALWAYS recommend making a swatch before starting a new project. To get the most accurate idea of how the finished knitwear will look, you should also wash your swatch. Some of our yarns “bloom” after washing – this is true for Supersoft, Coast and Tides. It is important not to start knitting with needles that are to thin. If you are knitting with any of those three yarns your swatch should look a bit loose. Wash your swatch, lay it flat to dry and let the magic happen.

If you have knitted something with lace patterns, cables or something like that, we recommend blocking your finished project. The final result will look much better when the knitting is gently shaped and fixed as it dries. If your pattern has fine details, these will be beautifully highlighted after blocking.

To help you with this you can find blocking mats and T-pins right here.

 

With all that said, you don't need to wash your knitwear frequently. In many cases, simply airing outside will be sufficient.

 

Tips for washing your knitwear based on our experience

We have collected some of our does and don'ts for washing homemade knitwear. While we can't tell you exactly how to care for your garments, we can share our experiences and how we have successfully washed our own creations.

In most cases, we recommend machine washing your knitwear. We have found that a gentle machine wash can be gentler than hand washing. However, since washing machines vary, we always advise testing with a small swatch before washing your finished project. This could be the swatch you made anyway before you began your project.

 

Machine-wash

When we machine-wash our homemade knitwear, we do as follow:

  • The finished project is placed in a laundry bag or a pillowcase, secured with a rubber band

  • We have just one project in the machine at any time

  • For us it works best to use the wool or delicate wash program at 20-30 degrees Celsius. It is important that the program is not too long and that there are no temperature fluctuations between washing and rinsing. Therefore, we never run the washing machine with our homemade knitwear when it’s freezing outside. The ground pipes are very cold, which means there may be a risk that the rinsing water is very cold. To reduce the washing time, it is possible to activate a quick cycle option on our machines.

  • We set the spin speed to 400-600 revolutions per minute (RPM).

  • After washing our homemade knitwear, we lay it flat to dry.

 

Again, it's important to emphasize that we cannot tell you exactly how to do it. You need to experiment a bit until you find a washing program that gives you the perfect result. If you feel more comfortable washing your items by hand, then continue doing that.

 

In our opinion, there are clear advantages to machine washing. For example, if you have knitted something in multiple colours, there's less risk of the dark colour bleeding onto the lighter one. This is because the agitation and water changes in the machine help prevent colour transfer.

 

Hand-wash

From time to time, we hand wash certain garments - particularly those knitted in Cielo, Lucia or Titicaca.

When hand washing, we follow these steps:

  • Fill a wash tub with lukewarm water, maintaining a temperature between 20–30°C.

  • Place the knitwear gently into the water and allow it to soak for 5–10 minutes.

  • Refrain from excessive handling to prevent felting or distortion.

  • Gently press the water out - do not wring or twist the fabric.

  • If available, use a manual washing machine to spin out excess water gently.

  • You can also gently press the excess water out by rolling the item in a towel. This technique helps maintain the integrity and shape of the knitted piece during the drying process.

  • Lay the knitwear flat on a towel to air dry, reshaping it to its original dimensions.