Washing handwoven garments and shawls

Goodness me it's dusty in here!  How long is it since I popped in?  Really?! Gulp.

I've recently sold a shawl and have also forced my woven creations onto various friends and unsuspecting relatives so I thought a post about caring for handwoven might be long overdue and timely.

Many of my weaves are done with wool and often have a silk content too.  Some are done with mainly a cotton content but with inclusions of mixed fibres.  Many people, me included, are naturally worried about washing this type of cloth.

I follow a fairly simple approach to washing these apparently delicate fabrics.  Generally, I place the item in a laundry bag so it can't move around too much.  I then wash it in the washing machine at 30 degrees on a hand wash.  This is the shortest programme on my machine and so far it has worked well for all my handwovens.   The spin part of the programme tends to be at a low revolution so I usually give a follow up spin at 800 or 1200 rpm.

When the shawl comes out of the machine I press it straight away using a cotton pressing cloth (a pillowcase works just as well) or a sheet of baking parchment (my preferred method) and a steam iron.  You may need to ease the shawl to shape as you go.  The idea is not to iron it with force but to press gently so it comes back into shape and any creases from the wash disappear.  I use a steam iron on a high enough setting to get steam.  It probably seems a bit strange to use steam over paper or cotton but I find it suits me.  It also means I can give the fabric a light iron over if I need to to help the drying process.  I leave it to you to gauge whether your particular fabric can cope with this.  I probably wouldn't put the iron directly on an all wool cloth.

Once the fabric has been pressed almost dry I hang it over a hanger or maybe on an airer, depending on the length, to finish drying.  All of my fabrics are washed as part of the finishing process and so far this gentle treatment has worked well.  My only catastrophe was a cowl that fell out of its pillowcase and ended up somewhat felted.  The upside was that I got some lovely, unexpected effects and it fitted far better than before its slight shrinking.

You can, of course, gently wash the item by hand in warm water and a gentle washing liquid.  Gently move the fabric in the water but resist the urge to squeeze it too much.  Rinse in water the same temperature as you've washed in and, if you have a spin dryer, give the item a short-ish spin.  You could still spin in a washing machine in a laundry bag.  Alternatively,  squeeze gently to remove the excess water and roll in a towel.  Press as already mentioned or, if it's too damp to press, lay it flat to dry a little and then press.  Always ease back into shape while damp.  (Yes, I know, the washing machine rinses in cold water but so far I've found the fabric is ok with this).

As a general rule of thumb you should launder for the most delicate fibre in the weave.  I do attach a tag with details of the fibre content in my weaves when I gift or sell them.  I am hoping to sell more weaves in the future and will give the proceeds after deducting the cost of the yarns to Evie's Gift, a special charity set up this year to support parents when their child is suddenly taken seriously or even terminally ill.  You can follow the link in the side bar to read more about this charity which was inspired by our niece who tragically died at the age of 13 of an aggressive brain tumour in January this year.

Last Sunday we were at Easton Walled Gardens Autumn Market on a demonstration table.   Usually there's several of us demonstrating various sewing skills but this year it was just me.  Easton very kindly welcome us every year and it's a lovely day out.  I took along little starter sewing packs that I made up from my stash with the hope that people might be tempted to 'take a stitch for a walk' and also took some of my weaving along.  As this was a demonstration stand I wasn't able to sell but people were keen to support Evie's Gift for which I was very grateful.  It is surprising and sad how many people have personal or family experience of brain tumour when you start talking.

Now I've found my way back here I'll try and come back with some more weaving photographs soon.  Yes, I know I've said that before, several times.  Life gets very hectic and social media takes time away from blogging but I have been missing blogging recently. A bientôt.