
Care
Instructions
How you care for your handwoven items will impact their feel and wear. Below you will find care instructions for garments of different fiber contents although many of the fibers I use have very similar care needs.
Protein Fibers
Alpaca, Camel, Cashmere, Wool, and Silk
All animal fibers are made up of proteins and therefore have very similar care needs. For this reason I suggest either using a wool wash (Eucalan, Soak, or my personal favorite Tuft Woolens) or you can use a surfactant-based dish detergent (Blue Dawn or Clear Palmolive). Do not use a dish detergent with "protein dissolving enzymes" as this will destroy your handwoven time over time.
-
Fill a basin with cool water
-
Add enough wash to get some bubbles
-
Submerge item in solution and allow to soak for 15 min
-
drain basin and rinse in cool water, do not twist the fabric to ring the water out
-
roll into a towel and stomp on it to remove excess water
-
lay flat to dry
-
Iron on Woolen setting to remove wrinkles
Cellulose Fibers
Cotton, Linen, Tencel, and Bamboo
Plant-based fibers are made up of cellulose and therefore have similar care needs. Handwoven items with cellulose fibers can generally be washed in a washing machine and dryer. Most cellulose fibers will want a cooler temp in both the washer and lay flat or hang to dry. Then use a medium temp iron to press out wrinkles. Cotton and Linen, however, do better on high heat in the washer and machine dried on high heat as well. Then iron on high heat to press out any wrinkles.