Wool Care
Your yarn will arrive in a skein, or hank. If you have a swift and winder you’ll probably know what you’re doing already! If you haven’t and skeined wool is new to you, gently slide the yarn band off and carefully untwist the skein. Look for the ties around the skein and check that the strands of yarn are all inside these ties. Place the skein over something like a couple of chair backs - pull the chairs away from each other to pull the yarn taut. You could also use a helpful person to hold the yarn over their arms, or you could sit with it around your knees. Once you have the yarn in place, carefully cut the ties. I like to pull the knot away from the yarn, so I’m not cutting the yarn itself. Find an end and wind the yarn into a ball.
If you would prefer to have your yarn caked for you please leave a note with your order.
For hand dyed yarn or knitted items I would suggest hand washing your finished items gently in cold water. If you choose to use a wool wash, choose one that is gentle, and a dedicated wool wash, such as Soak, or Eucalan. I just use plain water! Olive oil soap bars are ok, and, at a push, a gentle shampoo. Wool is more like hair than general clothing fabrics.
Hand dyed yarns may, on occasion, 'bleed' into your washing water - this is due to a little excess dye being left over from the dyeing process and should rinse out. You might find this with standard clothing - it’s a little like a new pair of jeans needing to be washed separately to start with.
Scented wool washes, lanolin, or knitting with hand creams, or even just the pH of our skin can sometimes cause the dyes to bleed - this is called 'crocking'. In the event of this happening with your yarn I cannot accept returns or refund your purchase.
All yarn has been hand dyed using professional dyes. Even skeins dyed together may not be identical, this is part of the beauty of hand dyed yarn! Blending skeins together by alternating rows one skein after another, for the full skeins, or just a few inches, can help when you are working with your yarn.