The best way to wash a hand knit item depends on the content of the yarn used to knit it; however it is safest to hand wash in cool water and lay flat to dry.
Whether you have invested many hours of work in your own hand knit garment, or have received one as a gift, it is important to care for your hand knits properly in order to ensure their long and happy life in your wardrobe. Whether your garment is best washed by hand or can be thrown in the washing machine depends on many factors, so it is important to do a little research before washing your hand knit garment for the first time. Here is a short guide to get you started.
Determine Fiber Content
The fiber content of the yarn your garment was knit with determines the best way to care for it. If the fiber is wool, you'll need to either look at the yarn's ball band or ask the person who knit it for you whether the wool is superwash or not. Superwash wool can be machine washed on the gentle cycle in cold water, but regular wool must be washed by hand in cold water, otherwise it will felt and shrink due to the wool fibers rubbing up against each other. Cotton yarn can be washed in the washing machine on either cold or warm, just as cotton clothes can be. However, if you're worried about the yarn pilling or unraveling, it is still best to wash your item on the gentle cycle. Acrylic and other synthetic yarns can be washed and dried in with your regular laundry as they are very hard-wearing and do not shrink.
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.
