HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR WOOL KNIT ITEMS  

Choose Gentle Detergent

Regular laundry detergents are often too harsh for hand knits and delicate natural fibers, so choose a mild soap or shampoo instead. Ivory dish detergent or mild baby shampoo are safe to use on wool knits, and are inexpensive and widely available. Specialty detergents which contain lanolin are also available, such as Eucalan. Lanolin is a natural oil produced by sheep, which helps to preserve wool fibers and increase the water resistance of wool. Lanolin treatments are especially recommended for garments which will be worn as outerwear or as covers for cloth diapers.

Wash Carefully and Do Not Wring!

When hand washing your garments, do not twist, wring or scrub them. Agitate gently by pushing the garment down into the water and then lifting it out again. When you have washed and rinsed, gently press the excess water out into the empty sink and then roll your garment up in a clean towel. Squeezing the towel will remove most of the water from your garment, which can then be laid out on a flat surface, reshaped carefully and left to dry out of direct sunlight. Never dry a wool garment in the tumble dryer, as this will cause it to permanently felt and shrink to rather doll-like proportions.

Washing hand knit garments may seem like a lot of work, but you can be sure that even more work went into the process of knitting it. When you wash hand knits with care they will last through generations, so it's worth the investment of time and energy to find out what your garment is made of and wash it accordingly. If you're in doubt, always err on the side of caution and hand wash in cold water and hang to dry.