Wool Washing and Handling Instructions

Here are some tips for the handling and care of your Long Way Homestead wool products, naturally dyed yarn and wool bedding.

 

Undyed and Naturally Dyed Yarn

HAND WASH: Fill a bucket or a sink with cool/lukewarm water and a small amount of wool wash like Eucalan and submerge your yarn or garment and let sit for 30minutes.

Drain the water and gently squeeze water out of your garment/yarn. Roll up in a towel to squeeze out extra water and lay flat to dry.

WATER: Dyeing is a chemical process (even natural dyeing) so the ph of the water and the minerals in it, or the soap you use can affect your woolens.

I recommend using lukewarm water for washing all your woolens.

COLOUR TRANSFER: Some yarn, even commercial yarn, will result in colour in the wash water. This is in not indicative of fading yarn - but excess dye. The temperature of the water may affect this (hot water) and any soap you may use.

We recommend knitting a sample for any projects utilizing light and dark colours in stripes or fair isle to see how they will interact during washing.

Occasionally natural dyes will ‘crock’ onto your hands while knitting with them. This does not mean the colours will fade or transfer when washing. The colour will be removed from your skin using warm water and soap.

How to Clean your Wool Bedding

Often we worry about washing wool because it has the ability to felt (or shrink) thankfully wool is naturally self-cleaning, so it doesn't need regular washing. We recommend reading through these washing tips and handling the washing of your wool items with care.

Wool will felt because of drastic heat changes and agitation. So we avoid hot water and any sort of wringing or agitation.

Use the power of the sun:

For general care and cleaning of your wool bedding we recommend airing it often (twice a year).

Hang or lay out your wool bedding on a breezy, sunny day for at least 3 hours. Bacteria is killed by the natural UV light from the sun and will make your bedding fresh once again.


Spot Clean
The best way to deal with a stain or spill on your wool bedding is to spot clean the area.

  1. Use a mild soap (like Eucalan wool wash) and lukewarm water and gently wipe or dab off the stain on your blanket or duvet with a cloth.

  2. Hang or lay flat to dry outside



Full wash

  1. Fill your bathtub or large sink with lukewarm water and a mild soap (like Eucalan wool wash)

  2. Gently place your blanket in the tub or sink and let it soak. You can gently push it under the water until it is fully submerged (30 – 60 minutes)

  3. Drain the water out. Do not twist, wring or agitate the blanket, you can gently press down the blanket to remove excess water.

  4. Lay the blanket on a dry towel and gently roll it up to remove extra water.

  5. Hang or lay flat on a drying rack in the sunshine to dry (do not use a clothes dryer).