I mentioned a while back that I would share how I wash, block and dry my knit projects. I follow the same process for almost everything I knit. Here’s my process:
I wash the final piece in lukewarm soapy water in my sink. I use the same clear environmentally friendly dish soap that we use for our dishes. I swish the knit piece around gently in the soapy water. Next I carefully remove the piece and squeeze it a tiny bit by hand being careful not to let the weight of the water or the motion of my hands pull it out of shape. Then it goes back into the sink to rinse. I try very hard to keep the temperature of the soapy water and the rinse water similar and I take care to never wring the piece to avoid any undue stress on the yarn.
After the rinse, I carefully squeeze it by hand again. Then I lay it flat on a towel on the floor, gently roll the towel and knit piece together into a burrito and gently press the rinse water out of the towel/knitting burrito by stepping on it. If a garment is large, I’ll repeat this process with a second towel and in rare cases a third towel. You’ll notice I keep using the words gently and care. After all the time and work invested in a hand knit, I really do try to take great care with each piece.
Finally, the knit piece goes on a sweater drying rack under the ceiling fan on the bed in the guest bedroom (with the door safely shut to protect it from curious cats) and gets blocked to measurements.
That’s my entire process. I know hand washing a knit garment sounds like it might be hard. But as you can see, it can be really simple and quick with very little hassle.
