Care of Handwovens

With the proper care your handwovens can stay looking good for years to come. Here are some things you should know.

Handwoven Scarves

The handwoven scarves from Warped & Wonderful are made from a variety of materials, some more delicate than others. While some of them would stand up to the rigors of a washing machine, I recommend hand washing for all. This will help insure your scarf will look good for years to come. 

When you feel your scarf is in need of cleaning fill the sink with warm water and a small amount of detergent. Gently wash the scarf and gently squeeze the water out. Rinse a couple of times, squeezing out the water at the end of each rinse. I do not recommend wringing the fabric. This can add wrinkles to the scarf that may be hard to iron out. After the last rinse I lay the scarf on a towel and roll it up. More water can be removed by pressing on the towel with the scarf in it. 

You may either lay your scarf flat to dry or hang it on a hanger. Most scarves will need to be ironed after washing. Mist them with water and use the iron setting recommended for the fiber of your scarf.

Handwoven Collapse Scarves should be laid "flattish" to dry, you need to gently scrunch up the pleats so they retain their pleated appearance. Do not iron.

Cotton Baby Blankets & Cotton Crib Blankets

The Cotton Baby Blankets and Crib Blankets from Warped & Wonderful are meant to be easy care. This means they can be washed and dried in your machines at home. The cotton will stand up well to hot water washes with the rest of your baby's laundry. Do no bleach. Bleach will shorten the life of your fabrics and will alter colors. I prefer not to over dry cottons and take them out of the dryer while they are still a touch damp. I believe this extends the life of all cottons.

Cotton Kitchen Towels

Cotton kitchen towels are another easy care item from Warped & Wonderful. Machine wash in hot water and dry with confidence. Do no bleach. Bleach will shorten the life of your fabrics and will alter colors. Do not add fabric softener. This will increase the absorbency of all your towels, not just the handwoven ones.

I was talking to a customer who had purchased towels from me the year before. She was excited to tell me that "the towels really DO wash well!" One had snuck past her sorting efforts and ended up in the hot water wash with the store bought towels. It came out looking great.  

Wool Throws

The size of the wool throws make them a bit of a challenge to wash. Honestly, if you have a newer washing machine that has settings for washing wool sweaters I would use that. I used to own a "Calypso" top loading mashing that would spray water over the load and hardly agitate while washing. The spin cycle was very slow and my garments came out very wet still but in great shape. If you know your washing machine, you may be able pick a cycle that will not felt your wool throw.

For those of you with the older top loading machines, I would not recommend washing your wool throw in one of them. Instead, fill the bath tub partially full of water, add some detergent and then the throw. Gently wash the throw, drain and rinse a couple of times. Wring as much of the water out as you can (You might be able to utilize your washing machine for this step, just be sure not to let it spin too long or fill with water again.) and then find a place to hang the throw to dry. A bar or two over the tub would work. 

I would not put one of the handwoven throws in the dryer. I did some testing and while I never did achieve true felt, the test pieces kept getting smaller and firmer with each increase in washing and drying I did.