Crochet + Fiber · Reference
Care for natural fiber
Wool does not need washing often — it needs airing. When it does need a wash, heat and agitation are the two things that ruin it, and they almost always arrive together in a machine.
Step by step
Step 1
Air first, wash second
Hang the piece outside on a damp, cool day for a few hours. Nine times out of ten that is the whole job. Wool sheds odour on its own.
Step 2
Fill, then add
Fill the basin with lukewarm water — the temperature of your own wrist — then add the wash and swirl it in. Never pour soap straight onto the fibre.
Step 3
Submerge and leave it alone
Press the piece under and let it soak fifteen to twenty minutes. Do not rub, swish or squeeze. Agitation plus heat is felting; that damage cannot be undone.
Step 4
Rinse at the same temperature
Drain, refill with water at the same temperature, press gently, repeat until the water runs clear. A temperature shock will shock the fibre too.
Step 5
Press, never wring
Lift the whole piece with both hands so it does not hang by its own weight. Lay it on a towel, roll the towel up like a jelly roll, and press. Unroll onto a dry towel.
Step 6
Dry flat and supported
Shape it to size and let it dry flat, away from sun and radiators. A hanging wet blanket stretches out of shape permanently. Turn it once halfway through.
Step 7
Store it clean and breathing
Wash before storing — moths go for body oils, not clean wool. Fold with cedar or lavender in cotton, never sealed plastic.
If it goes sideways
A slightly felted piece can sometimes be eased back with a cool soak and gentle stretching while damp, pinned to size until dry. A badly felted one is now a different, denser fabric — make it into a hot pad and forgive yourself.
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