How to Care for Hand-Knitted Items — Washing and Storage

You've spent hours — sometimes hundreds of hours — knitting something beautiful. How you wash and store it determines whether it looks wonderful for ten years or pills, stretches, and felts into a shadow of itself after the first season. The rules for hand-knits are different from anything you'd put in a regular laundry load, and they're worth knowing properly.

Understanding Your Yarn Before You Wash

The fiber content determines everything about how to wash a finished piece. Check the label on your remaining yarn (always keep a ball band for reference) and follow the fiber-specific guidance below. When in doubt, the most gentle option is always the safest.

Washing Wool

Untreated wool is the most commonly mishandled fiber. The two things that felt wool are heat and agitation in combination. Either alone in moderation is usually fine; together, they're irreversible.

To hand wash wool:

1. Fill a clean basin or sink with cool to lukewarm water — never hot. Add a small amount of wool wash (Eucalan, Soak, or a drop of pH-neutral soap like baby shampoo).
2. Submerge the garment fully. Gently press it into the water. Don't swirl, scrub, or wring.
3. Let it soak for 20-30 minutes. The soaking does the cleaning work; you don't need to agitate.
4. Lift the garment out with both hands, supporting its full weight. Don't hold it by a single edge — wet wool stretches easily.
5. If using a rinse-free wool wash (like Eucalan), you're done — no rinsing needed. If using regular soap, refill the basin with cool water at the same temperature and soak for 10 minutes to rinse. Avoid running water directly onto the fabric.
6. Press excess water out against the basin. Never wring.
7. Roll in a clean dry towel and press firmly. Unroll.
8. Lay flat to dry, reshaped to its correct dimensions. Never hang a wet wool garment — gravity will stretch it permanently.

Most wool garments need washing less often than you think. Wool is naturally anti-bacterial and odor-resistant. For sweaters worn over other layers, airing between wearings is often sufficient. Wash when actually dirty, not after every wear.

Washing Superwash Wool

Superwash wool has been treated to remove the scales that cause felting. This makes it machine washable — but with specific settings.

• Machine wash on the gentle or delicate cycle in cold water.
• Use a mesh laundry bag to reduce friction and protect the item.
• Use a small amount of wool-safe or gentle detergent.
• Do not tumble dry on high heat — superwash wool is heat-tolerant compared to regular wool, but high heat can still cause some distortion. Use the low heat setting or lay flat to dry.

One warning: superwash wool can grow significantly when wet because the scales that normally grip each other are gone. Lay flat to dry and reshape to the correct dimensions immediately after washing. If you tumble dry, remove while slightly damp and reshape.

Washing Acrylic

Acrylic is the low-maintenance option. It's entirely synthetic and has no animal fiber properties to worry about.

• Machine wash cold on gentle.
• Use any regular detergent.
• Do not tumble dry on high heat. Acrylic is heat-sensitive — high heat can permanently distort the fiber, causing the fabric to go limp and lose its structure. This is called "killing" the acrylic and cannot be reversed. Use low heat or lay flat to dry.
• Do not iron acrylic. If you need to smooth it, hold a steam iron above the fabric (don't touch) and let steam relax the stitches.

Acrylic is the best choice for items that will be washed frequently (children's clothing, kitchen items, baby blankets) precisely because it handles machine washing so easily.

Washing Cashmere

Cashmere is the softest and most delicate of all common knitting fibers. It requires the most gentle treatment and rewards careful handling by remaining incredibly soft for decades.

• Hand wash only — even in cold water on gentle, machine washing is riskier than hand washing for cashmere.
• Use cool water and a cashmere-specific or very gentle wool wash.
• Soak for 15-20 minutes without agitation.
• Rinse in water at the exact same temperature as the wash water — temperature shock can cause felting even without agitation.
• Press gently; never wring.
• Lay flat to dry away from direct sunlight (sunlight can yellow cashmere over time).

Cashmere pills more than most fibers — this is normal and not a flaw. Use a cashmere comb or fabric shaver to remove pills periodically. Cashmere actually becomes softer with careful washing over time.

Washing Mohair, Alpaca, and Silk Blends

Mohair — hand wash in cool water, no agitation. Mohair is a luxury fiber with a distinctive halo; rough handling destroys the halo. Dry flat, supported.

Alpaca — hand wash like wool, but alpaca has no lanolin and is often slightly more sensitive to felting than wool. Cool water, no agitation, lay flat to dry.

Silk — hand wash in cool water. Silk is strong when dry and fragile when wet. Support the full weight when lifting. Dry flat; silk wrinkles easily if hung while wet.

Storing Hand-Knitted Items

Always fold, never hang. A heavy wool sweater hung in a wardrobe will stretch from the weight of the fabric over time. Fold garments flat — shoulders aligned, folded in thirds — and stack them horizontally.

Clean before storing. Don't store items that have been worn without washing. Body oils and perspiration attract moths, and moths in a dark wardrobe can do significant damage over a season.

Breathable storage. Store wool and natural fibers in breathable bags or boxes — cotton storage bags, acid-free tissue paper, or open shelving. Plastic bags trap moisture and can cause mildew in natural fibers.

Cedar and lavender for moth prevention. Cedar blocks, cedar rings, or lavender sachets placed near stored woolens deter moths naturally. Replace or refresh cedar every season — cedar loses its potency when it dries out; sanding the surface briefly refreshes the smell. Note: cedar and lavender deter moths, but don't kill existing infestations.

What to Do If Moths Attack

Finding moth damage — small irregular holes in your knitwear — is genuinely upsetting. Act quickly:

1. Isolate the affected item immediately. Place it in a sealed plastic bag to prevent larvae from spreading.
2. Freeze the item for at least 72 hours (at -18°C / 0°F or below). Freezing kills moth larvae and eggs. After freezing, allow the item to return to room temperature gradually inside the bag before opening.
3. Wash the item as appropriate for its fiber type to remove any remaining debris.
4. Inspect every other woolen item in the same storage area. Moths spread.
5. Clean the storage area thoroughly. Vacuum every corner; moth larvae can survive in dust and fiber debris.

Small moth holes in wool can be repaired using a technique called reweaving or Swiss darning — duplicating the knit stitches with a tapestry needle and matching yarn to fill the gap. It's painstaking but effective for small damage areas.

A Simple Seasonal Routine

At the end of each season before you put heavy knitwear away:

• Wash everything, even items you've only worn once or twice
• Check for pilling and use a fabric shaver or cashmere comb
• Fold and store in breathable bags with fresh cedar or lavender
• Note any repairs needed so you know what to address before next season

Hand-knitted items are an investment of time and often of expensive materials. The few minutes of correct care after each wearing — and the hour or so of seasonal storage preparation — pays for itself in years of continued enjoyment. If you're finishing a lace shawl, see the blocking guide before storing it for the first time.

Unsure how to care for a specific fiber or fix a washing mistake? Get expert help from Emma in minutes →