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Technorati Tags: hand knitted cardigans, knitted cardigans, knitted cardigans tips, washing knitted garments

Please always follow any instructions on the garment or instructions that came with it. If you knitted the cardigan yourself, you’ll want to check the yarn label first for any instructions.

You shouldn’t use biological detergents on wool, angora, cashmere or any other animal fibres – they will damage the garments, which of course are made from biological products. And please don’t use detergents which have as ingredients “bleach” or “bleach activators”. And – of course – don’t use bleach!

Also, I recommend that you avoid washing your knitted cardigans too frequently if they are made of wool, angora or cashmere.

Angora cardigans: should only be hand-washed (not washed in the washing machine). Then leave them to dry on a flat surface.

Cashmere cardigans: cashmere should be kept out of extreme heat and sunlight. Some cashmere cardigans are dry-clean only – you’ll want to check the label for this.

Washing

Preferably use Woolite or a mild soap solution. You can check that any other detergent or powder is suitable for wool by reading the small print. Please don’t use biological detergents. Some detergents have a wool symbol on the package showing that they condition and protect wool garments.

Washing machine: use the wool cycle, and ensure that your washing machine is set to 40 degrees maximum. Then use a gentle spin at about 600rpm (no higher than this). You’ll need to check your washing machine’s wool program – it might require the spin speed to be controlled separately.

Hand wash: wash gently in warm or lukewarm (not hot) soapy water (for example with Woolite or with Lux flakes added). For mohair, use lukewarm (tepid) water.

When rinsing, don’t wring the garment – that would be likely to ruin it.

Rinse in cool water, and very gently squeeze much of the water out.

If you have a spin drier, you can use a gentle spin at about 600rpm (no higher), and a very short spin.

If you don’t have a spin drier, lay the cardigan in a towel, fold the towel around it, and gently press the towel to remove the water.

Drying

Don’t use high temperatures and don’t tumble dry – it could shrink or perhaps even burn a hole in the garment. Instead, after spinning, pull your cardigan gently into shape, and place it so that air can flow around the garment but make sure it is supported, so that it stays in shape. Draping it over a drying horse or laying it on a horizontal shelf made of rails (such as many airer-dryers are made of) is ideal.

If you look after your knitted cardigans carefully you’ll find that they can look wonderful for many years!

Please do bookmark this article using the Bookmark button below, won’t you. Also, you might like to see my blog post “How to wash knitted cardigans – the videos“.   If you subscribe to my RSS feed (click on the “RSS” 3rd line from the bottom in the left column) then you’ll know when new items are added to this blog .  Katy  x

Technorati Tags: cashmere cardigans, hand knitted cardigans, knitted cardigans, knitted cardigans tips, washing knitted garments

He and his officers wore fur-trimmed or braided woollen jackets to keep them warm in the harsh Crimean winter – they actually looked very different from today’s knitted cardigans.

The garment we now call the cardigan was worn in the British Isles and France by the 17th century. Hand knitting was common in Ireland and the islands of Scotland, where Aran designs may go back as far as the 9th century, and Fair Isle designs to the 15th century.

During the 17th and 18th centuries hand knitting became a widespread industry in the British Isles, and knitted cardigans and sweaters were commonly worn by fishermen and other outdoor workers.

In the 17th century knitting frames were designed and developed, but they were very expensive. Then in the late 18th and early 19th centuries the Industrial Revolution mechanised wool washing, dyeing and spinning, and today most knitted clothes are no longer totally hand-made.

During the 2nd World War (1939-1945) wool was scarce in Britain and a booklet called “Make do and Mend” was put out by the British War Ministry in 1943, encouraging people to knit garments by unpicking old clothes. Probably because of the lack of wool yarn, the British cardigan fashions of that time were typically short and tight. But in America both long and short cardigans were fashionable and long cardigans stayed popular for a long time: Marilyn Monroe famously posed on the beach for her last photo shoot in a long hand knitted cardigan with knitted belt, and possibly nothing else.

Amazon UK book…………………… Amazon.com book

In the 1970s this style made a come-back and it is again popular today.

There’s been a revival of hand knitting in recent years, and globalisation has led to the popularity of authentic designs, yarns and products from native peoples of many countries, which the Fair Trade movement has supported.  Thus we come up to date in this story of knitted cardigans.

Technorati Tags: history of knitted cardigans, knitted cardigans, long cardigans