Swatchless

Did you get socks for Christmas?  If you are lucky, someone knit them for you.  Knitting socks takes a great deal of time and effort, so it is important to care for them properly so they will last a long time.

After you wear your hand knit socks several times, you’ll probably want to wash them.  There are a few things to consider before you do this.

Ask the following questions to the sock knitter.  They will be impressed you are taking so much interest!

MATERIAL

Are the socks made from wool? Wool is a fiber that has an amazing ability to felt.  If wool is agitated in hot water, the fibers grip to each other and mat together.  (more information and pictures here)

Is the wool “superwash”? Superwash wool has been treated to keep the fibers from gripping to each other if agitated in hot water.

• You should handwash all knit socks to keep them in good condition, and prolong their life.
• You MUST handwash all non-superwash wool socks, or else you might not be able to wear them again!

Felting can be done intentionally, like I did with my elf slippers

COLOUR

Some dyes are not colour-fast.  This means that the first few times you wash the socks, the colour may leave the socks, and could stain anything else washed with the socks.

• Washing socks in a sink/basin one pair at a time in cool water (with salt added) will help with colourfastness.

SOAP

You can use a small amount of detergent to wash your woolens, which will require a separate rinse phase but there are other options too.

Eucalan is a no rinse washing liquid

Soakwash is another option (lots of great info on their site)

I don’t have experience with either of these liquids.  I use a gentle laundry detergent.

How I wash my socks

1. Fill up the sink with lukewarm water.
2. Add a small amount of gentle liquid detergent.
3. Agitate the water to make suds before placing the socks in it.
4. Add the pair of socks
5. Let them soak for 10-15 minutes
6. Squish the socks gently with hands from time to time (no rubbing)
7. Drain the sink
8. Rinse in cool water
9. Squeeze out the water (no ringing)
10. Dry on a drying rack or a sock blocker (hang them from a clothesline if you don’t mind them stretching)

Tags: eucalan wool wash, felting, soak wool wash, sock blockers, socks, tutorial, washing wool

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 27th, 2009 at 7:40 pm and is filed under knitting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.