I come from a very crafty family, which means I have dozens of hand crochet and knit items, including clothing for my baby. I want to keep these items clean and in good condition. I’ve had to learn how to best launder hand made clothing and blankets. There are a few different cleaning methods which I will share with you, so you can launder hand crochet and knit items like a pro.

Spot clean

This is the method I use most commonly. Spot cleaning is great when there is just a small stain or mark on your items. I will usually check things for a stain (or a few) and if there are just a few, I will use this method. To spot clean, I just get a small dish and put a squirt of dish soap in warm water and mix it up, then using a washcloth or paper towel, press into your stain, it will usually take a few minutes of dabbing the washcloth into the fabric. You can gently rub, but it can make the yarn pill, so reserve this for the toughest of stains. Once the stain is removed, press the area with a plain washcloth to get the soap out.

Sit in the sun

The sun is great at bleaching fabric. It works particularly well on poop and spit up stains. If your item isn’t white, you can still use this method, but you will want to use it sparingly since the sun can cause the yarn to fade. This is a very easy method, you dampen the item, and set it out in the sun for a few hours. This will work even on a fairly cloudy day since the UV rays are what makes the stain go away. These are present even when there are clouds.

Use a lingerie/mesh bag

If you have a tightly knit/crocheted item that you know is well constructed (as pictured above) you can use a washer. Just use a lingerie/mesh bag and put your washer on the delicate cycle. I always wash my items on cold with a gentle laundry detergent. After washing, take your items out and lay them out to dry. You want to lay these flat and make sure there aren’t any stretches or bumps on your item.

Clean in the sink/bathtub

If you have loosely knit/crocheted items, or you don’t trust your washer, you can hand wash your items in the sink or if it’s large, like a blanket, the bathtub. Fill up your sink with lukewarm water and a tiny bit of soap. I usually use dish soap, but you can buy special hand washing laundry soap and use that. Mix the soap into the water, then place your item into the sink. Depending on how dirty your item is, you will want to swish the item around to make sure you get water and soap in between all the fibers. If your item is particularly dirty, you will want to let your item sit in the sink for awhile before moving onto the next step. Drain your sink and turn on your water to low and gently rinse off your item. Make sure you rinse all your soap and dirt away. Lastly you want to gently wring out the item so it’s not dripping. Lay it out flat to make sure there aren’t any stretches or bumps on your item.

Now you can properly launder hand crochet and knit items! If you’re interested in making some crochet items, you can follow my winter hat tutorial here

How to launder hand crochet and knit items

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