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So you’ve just spent hours creating the most perfect ‘fits-you-like-a-glove’ crocheted or knit item. You’ve blocked all the blood, sweat and tears out of it. You plan on wearing it FOR LIFE. Okay, but what do you do between wears? How do you wash your fibre-art so that it lasts a lifetime? Here’s the Do’s and Don’ts of Washing your Makes…

“You’re going to kill me!” were the first words out of my mother’s mouth when I showed up at their house on Christmas Eve. “I shrunk one of your sweaters!”

Meh, that’s no big deal usually- its happened to all of us. Its not something I’d kill someone for- especially not on Christmas Eve…

But when she pulled out my crocheted sweater that I’d painstakingly made only a few months before to find that it was now toddler-sized, it was a ‘laugh or else you’ll cry’ moment.

This pattern was originally the Classic Sweater by Rachel Choi of Crochet Spot. You can get the pattern here. It was kind of sentimental to me because it was made using the first yarn I ever bought myself… you know, the type of yarn you buy when you don’t know *what* you’re buying.

I was drawn to this Rico Creative Print yarn because of the sparkle and then realised that I wasn’t competent enough to actually use it when I bought it. Fast forward 3 years later, I made myself this lovely sweater… until its washing machine demise.

Don’t: Machine Wash

Becoming freshly-single means my mum is being more of a helicopter parent than usual, and she’s taken it upon herself to do my washing- bless her. She’s been on the ball but unfortunately this sweater made it in with my non-handmades and got spun around at 1200 RPM.

Felting bonds and compresses fibres to make a dense, flat, warm fabric, using heat, moisture and agitation. The compression is what ‘shrinks’ your item – effectively its been felted. Sometimes you’ll want this to happen, but more often than not… you won’t.

So the washing machine is the prime environment for acheiving the ‘felting trifecta’. If you wash above 30 you’re acheving ‘heat’, ‘moisture’… well thats self-explanatory, and ‘agitation’ is the spinning of the drum. Its a recipe for disaster – just don’t do it!

Do: Check Your Fibre Content

Synthetic fibres can take a lot more abuse than animal or plant-based fibres. If you want to risk the washing machine, check that its only things you’ve made that are synthetic or marked as ‘machine washable’. ALWAYS follow the label, but take it with a pinch of salt. Don’t forget, being touted as ‘machine washable’ is a yarn sales tactic!

Washing acrylic or synthetics? Read my article here as to why you might want to reconsider…

Do: Lukewarm Water

Given the felting trifecta above, eliminate the risk of felting by making sure your knits are soaking in lukewarm water. They don’t need anything super hot. Hot water is designed to kill some serious bacteria, but if you’re only wearing your stuff for short periods of time and its not getting overly dirty, lukewarm will do!

Hot water makes fibres contract, which is how things end up a little snug after being effectively ‘boiled’. You’ve seen what happens to spinach when it gets cooked… think of wool like the spinach of fibre! Too hot and poof! its gone!

Do: Add specialist Wool Wash

I used to use Baby washing liquid when I started crocheting – which is great but isn’t the most economical due to the quantity required, and the amount of rinsing you need to do to make sure your make isn’t full of suds.

In the last couple of years I’ve switched to using Soak Wash. Shameless plug time, because I genuinely believe this is the best thing to use. It requires no rinsing and all you do is add a teaspoon into a sinkful of lukewarm water and leave your item to soak for 15 minutes. You don’t touch it, just leave it be and 15 minutes later you have a clean, unfelted, perfectly looked after handmade item. Plus, the scent is INCREDIBLE. This one is Fig!

Click the links below to get your dose of Soak Wash:

UK / US / Canada (pssst, they all ship worldwide!)

I’ll be honest, at £15 a bottle this isnt the cheapest stuff around. But before you wince at the price, you get 75 washes out of each bottle – meaning each soak bath is around 20p. You don’t have to wash one item at a time either, and this stuff is great for delicates… here’s looking at you bras! Oh, and facemasks too!

Read my guide: How to wash your items in Soak Wash

Don’t: Line-Dry

Hanging things up entices gravity to agitate fibre. The ‘pull’ of this invisible force can mis-shape things as they dry, so its best to avoid doing this. Instead…

Do: Dry Flat

While its more space-hungry than line-drying, drying flat helps to ensure fibres don’t stretch out, and you can also block them this way if its its first foray into water.

If space is an issue, take a look at this flat dryer that you can hang anywhere.

Try: Freezing

Yeah, you read that right. Remember that heat causes felting, but its not the only thing to kill bacteria. Cold does that too! So if you’re looking to refresh your knits- whack them in the freezer! Any odours will be eliminated and you’ll be ready to go (well, once its thawed!)

Levi Strauss apparently hasn’t washed his jeans in over 30 years and swears by this method, and its something that is becoming more and more popular as the impact of acrylics and microplastics in fibres are becoming more prevalent in the environment.

Scientists have said that while freezing is a good shout, you should still wash your stuff- but this will aid you in doing that less often. A good alternative is putting things outside in the sun on a warm day as heat is more effective than cold at killing off germs! But if you’ve got a precious pair of mittens – pop them in the deep freeze drawer!

While my sweater is now cat-sized and a good family joke, I may frame it and gift it to my mum on Mother’s Day. I hope you never achieve such a fibre faux-pas and the tips above help your knits stay ship shape. If you have any other tips, drop them in the comments below – share the wealth!