Washing your homemade knitwear

When your knitwear becomes fuzzy or dirty, you will need to wash it. You need to be more careful when washing jumpers, hats and blankets that are knitted with yarns made from natural materials. Whether your knitwear is suitable for machine washing, and how many degrees it can withstand, differs from yarn to yarn.

Although there is a special program for wool on most new washing machines, it is not necessarily a good idea to wash your hand knits in the washing machine.

Washing wool and alpaca

If you have clothes or accessories made of wool or fine alpaca, then make sure not to wash these items too often. It takes quite a toll on the yarn when it is subjected to large amounts of water.

The unique thing about wool is that it contains a self-cleaning substance (lanolin), which means that you do not have to wash your wool sweater as often as you might with your cotton clothes. The same thing goes for alpaca, which contains sulfur compounds.

When you want to clean your homemade wool knitwear, you can just use a damp cloth and dap it on the small stain directly. You can also hang up your wool knitwear when needed.

It will clean itself when hung up in fresh air. This is the best way to preserve and care for your wool items.

Choice of detergent

It is important that you use mild and gentle products for washing your wool items. Detergents containing perfume or chemicals will ruin your knitwear. Enzymes will disrupt and degrade the wool's natural fibres. 

It is best to use a detergent specifically intended for washing wool. In general, you should always wash your wool knitwear by hand, as the winding movements of the washing machine can alter the shape of your knitwear. Make sure that the temperature of the washing water does not exceed 30 degrees. 2-3 teaspoons of wool detergent is enough for washing a pair of jumpers. You need to wash your homemade knitwear gently and carefully, as wool felts quite easily.

Once you have soaked your knitwear in the water, pick it up and press it. Leave it for about 20 minutes and wash it after.

Silk is washed and treated the same way as wool. It should preferably be washed by hand. Silk must never be steamed or pressed.

Washing cotton and linen

When washing homemade knitwear made of cotton or linen, you can use the machine's regular washing program at 30-60 degrees. Since yarn is available in many different materials, you should always consider the material your knitwear is made of. Special recommendations may apply for washing certain materials. Cotton tends to shrink slightly in the wash. You can put it back in shape before you leave it to try.

Whether you are washing homemade knitwear of wool, silk or cotton, do not put your knitwear in the dryer.