Hand-dyed yarns maintain their colors if washed and cared for properly.

Storing Your Yarn

Skeins still waiting for the Perfect Project should be kept in dark, closed space, preferably in plastic box or bags. If textile-ating insects are found in your area, storingthe yarn tightly in closed bags may keep unwanted visitors at bay.

We recommend that you won't wind your yarn into a ball until you are ready to cast on with it. Yarn that has been kept too tightly on a ball might lose its elasticity which might affect the gauge. 

We recommend knitting up a swatch before casting on for your project. Swatching gives you a chance to see how your yarn will behave before and after washing. Below you can find some tips for washing your swatch. 

Storing the Finished Garment

We recommend storing the finished garment as skeins: in dark, closed space, safely in plastic bags in areas with textile-eating insects. The best way to store a woollen garment is lightly folded. Using clothes hangers might stretch the garment out of shape especially if it is made of heavy fibers (such as silk, alpaca etc). You can also store scarfs, shawls, ryas and other similar garments rolled up.

To Air Out a Garment

Washing a woollen garment is unnecessary if it is not particularly stained or dirty. Usually airing out does the trick. We recommend airing out your garments regularly by hanging them out in fresh air to remove any odors and dust.Freezing garments for a few days is another good way to remove any bugs. Keeping garments in the sub-zero temperature kills any insects or their larvae. At the same time the garments get freshened up.

A light wash in snow is also good for cardigans, scarfs and other garments that are not stained in use.Washing in snow is easy: Rub some snow to the garment by hand or by a brush and shake off. Leave the garment outside to air out.

Washing a Woollen Garment

The actual washing with water is needed when the garment has gotten dirty stained. We recommend hand-washing every item made of our yarns.

If your machine has a hand-washing cycle, it can be helpful for superwash yarns which won't felt.Hand-washing cycles differ greatly so when you are using yarn which might felt, you should make swatch and test yarn behavior in your washing machine.That way accidental felting can be avoided. Follow the directions in the manual for your washing machine and use a laundry detergent intended especially for wool.

Hand-Washing Items

Hand-washing is the easiest way to wash a garment without any fear of felting. We recommend hand-washing for all delicate fibers, especially silk, yak, alpaca and cashmere.

1. Soak the garment in luke-warm water without stirring the garment. Merely drop your item in water, and let it absorb the water on its own. You can add a small amount of detergent (such as Eucalan or mild shampoo) in the water. If your garment is heavily stained, you may try to rub them gently. DO not use any stain-removing products on wool. Use only detergents intended for wool and silk. We recommend washing with Eucalan, which we use to use wash our yarns after dyeing. It is a safe lanolin-based product which requires no rinsing.

2. Remove the item from the water and let the extra water drip off. 

3. If rinsing is necessary, soak the garment again in luke-warm water with no detergent or conditioner. Let sit for a while, then remove the garment and let the extra water drip off. To remove excess moisture, gently sqeeeze the garment in a large towel.

4. Dry flat. Spread the garment and shape when wet. Block any lace items to shape after washing.

Wash your gauge swatches similarly. To maintain straight edges on a swatch during drying, pin the swatch to a towel.