Gift Tags - Twin Willows Farm

If you’ve decided to give a handspun gift this year, and you’ve read the article Giving Handspun Gifts, the next step is to educate the recipient about how to wash and care for this special present. Remember that most people do not buy wool or natural fibers and therefore have no idea how to care for them. Teaching how to care for these gifts will lessen the likelihood of heartbreak from a felted, shrunken, misshapen garment.

Feel free to copy and paste the information below into a card or gift tag to include with your gift.

Washing Wool Garments:
Fill your sink with lukewarm water and a healthy squirt of your favorite dish soap.<i>(Please do not use Woolite, it is formulated for synthetics despite the name.)</i> It is best NOT to run water on top of a wool garment, but to add the garment to the filled sink. Push your garment down into the soapy water and make sure it all gets wet with this pushing down action. DO NOT SCRUB or AGITATE! Scrubbing and agitation produce felt, which means shrinking and hardening your wool garment. Let the garment rest in the soapy water for at least 10 minutes. Drain the sink and gently squeeze out the water in the garment, but do not wring, just squeeze.

Remove the garment from the sink, refill the sink with lukewarm rinse water to which you may add a small squirt of hair conditioner if you like, when the sink is full add your garment. Let rest about 10 more minutes. Drain the sink and gently squeeze the excess water out, enough should be squeezed out that the garment will not drip. You can roll the garment in a large towel to remove even more water if desired.

Lay the garment out on a flat surface to dry. Pat the garment into shape and let dry at least overnight. Thick wools can take a full day or two to dry completely.

Storing Wool Garments:
Protect your wools from moths, especially during the summer months. If you don’t own a cedar chest, a cheap substitute can be made by purchasing those clear plastic storage containers that slide under the bed. Add a cedar or lavender smelling sachet to discourage moths. Be sure to store these bins where they will be out of direct sunlight! Sunlight can cause condensation and water collecting in the bins with no opportunity to escape can rot your clothing over time.

Twin Willows Farm - Gift Tags for Handspun Gifts