Hand Washing

Mum taught us how to gently hand wash our jerseys and cardys when we were young. She was very particular how we cared for them. I'm sure that was mainly because she had spent hours knitting them!!! I am grateful for many of the things my Mum has taught me. I in turn have taught our girls to hand wash - not often hand-knits in their case but lots of their lovely, delicate clothes benefit from the extra care. It also means they last, looking nice a lot longer.

For woolens use a mild soap based detergent like lovely floaty 'LUX FLAKES' and the water should be about body temp for both wash and rinse. Squeeze rather than rub to clean. To remove as much moisture as possible roll in a towel and squeeze. Dry flat on a drying rack/spread on a towel on a table or hung in such a way that they aren't folded or squished with a peg.

For my hubby's jersey (pictured), that I lovingly stitched, I hung it on one of Mum's old-school jersey hangers and let it dry beautifully in the spring breeze and sunshine. It smells gorgeous! I'm not sure if you can buy those special hangers now. When I was young, we would sometimes use and old pair of stockings, pegged at the neck and sleeve ends if all the hangers were in use. The jersey pattern is style 17 in Patons Book 1266 'Jet Men's'

Apart from the obvious benefit to the clothes, hand-washing is lovely water-play, therapy much like washing the dishes!!!