How to wash knitted baby clothes????

elfen

Put them on a delicate 30 wash (preferably wool cycle) Make sure they finish in the machine before you go to bed, then put them on something soft and flat that's near a heat source (if you have a worktop near a radiator, that's fine - put a towel underneath so they don't get too hot) and leave to dry. They should be fine after that (it's how I wash the stuff my mum makes me, and the usual washing instructions she gives people, although I know she makes the baby stuff in washable wool - usually a cotton heavy mix)

missm29

Couldn't decide where to post this, my new baby daughter has been made a number of beautiful hand knitted cardigans, dresses, shawls etc and i'm unsure how to wash them, so far i've hand washed, but wonder whether i could put them in the machine? should i use the 30degrees delicate wash?

pigpen

I put mine in the washing machine with the rest of the baby stuff on a 30' wash same as everything else.

I know my sister did the same and hers was mainly cashmere and baby angora yarns..

SilverBird_2

Put them in a mesh laundry bag and add to a regular cool wash.

Olliebeak

As somebody who makes lots of hand-knitted/crocheted shawls and baby blankets, I would recommend:

1. Handwashing in warm water, in a washing up bowl, with preferrably Liquid Detergent (do they still make Stergene? or Woollite?) well mixed into the water. If you have to use a powder make it something like gentle like Fairy, Dreft or Soap Flakes (if that's still available).

2. Once you're positive that the liquid or powder is well mixed in, put the item in the water and submerge it fully. Then 'squeeze' the item below the water to make sure that the liquid gets into all the stitches - be gentle with it. Too much pulling on the wet fabric can distort the stitches and shape.

3. To rinse, gently tip the bowl to try to pour off as much of the water as possible. Hold the item in the bowl with one hand while doing this. Add some cool water to start the rinse process. DON'T lift the item while it's still soaking wet. Keep rinsing and tipping the bowl until the rinse water runs clear. You can use some fabric softener in the final rinse if you like to BUT MAKE SURE THAT IT'S FULLY DILUTED IN WATER BEFORE ADDING TO FINAL RINSE WATER.

4. You will need to gently get as much water as possible out of the washing bowl before trying to do a final squeeze of the blanket/shawl. DO NOT TWIST THE ITEM - it's best to fold and squeeze then lift with both hands.

5. Using a very large COLOURFAST (preferably pale) bath towel, place the folded shawl/blanket down the centre. Fold one side over the item and then the other. Roll it up into a 'swiss roll' type of arrangement and all the towel to absorb as much water as possible out of the item. When it's unrolled, you will need to dry it flat for as long as possible.

For smaller baby items, one of those 'small items wash bags' comes in handy on a 30deg gentle programme.

Chipps

I always did our babies' knitteds in the washing machine (low temp delicate wash) - kids now aged between 27 & 19 - and I can't see that knitting yarns have got less washing-machine-friendly over the years!

tandraig

I do a lot of hand knitting too - and i usually pin a wool ball band to the item so that the recipient knows whether its machine or hand wash.
I have to say that nearly all baby yarns now are machine washable on delicates at 30 or sometimes 40 degrees.
if in doubt, hand wash the first time and note whether there is any shrinkage or distortion of the garment. if there is none then a delicates wash or wool wash is usually fine.

Penelope_Penguin

missm29 wrote: »

Couldn't decide where to post this, my new baby daughter has been made a number of beautiful hand knitted cardigans, dresses, shawls etc and i'm unsure how to wash them, so far i've hand washed, but wonder whether i could put them in the machine? should i use the 30degrees delicate wash?

Lucky you :T As this has fallen from the front page of OS, I'll add it to the existing thread to give you more ideas.

Penny. x