What! I don’t have to dry clean?
A common belief regarding knitwear is that it must be dry-cleaned. Not all dry cleaners are the same, and some chemicals used can damage knitted garments. That being said, there are so many wonderful dry cleaners that know how to handle all types of materials. We are just offering our experience with JTK items. We have come to the conclusion that natural fibers prefer natural care.
HAND OR MACHINE-WASHING FINE KNITWEAR
The care label may read “dry clean only.” Still, hand washing or using your washing machine’s “hand knit” cycle for your luxurious Cashmere or any other fiber from our JTK collection will work wonders if done correctly. Here are our recommendations:
SOAK
Use only cold or tepid water, and never expose the wool to direct heat. Turn your sweater inside out and make sure all the buttons are done up. Per sweater, use a cap full of our handcrafted cashmere wash, mild detergent, or baby shampoo. Soak for 10-15 minutes and swish gently.
Using a washing machine, use the hand knit cycle on ‘delicate/cold,’ adding one cap of wash per sweater.
RINSE
Ball up the knitwear gently and squeeze out the water. Then, make a long sausage shape and squeeze out water from top to bottom. Rinse with clean, tepid water and repeat until the rinsing water is clear.
Allow sweaters to complete the hand-knit or delicate cycle for the washing machine.
SHAKE & LAY
After squeezing out the water, give the sweater a little shake to open it back up, allowing it to breathe. To do this, hold the shirt at the shoulder seams with one hand on either side of the neck opening and give a flit with your writs. Turn the sweater back to the right side. You can then provide the sleeves or body a little blocking to increase the length or lay it on a drying rack to dry.
When removing sweaters from the washing machine, give each one a little shake to open them back up and block them as necessary. Turn the sweater right side out, then dry them on a towel or over a drying rack.
DRY
Let the sweater dry on a flat surface, away from sun and heat. Do not tumble dry with heat, and go out for a walk. Only use heat if you need to shrink your garment a little, and only for a minute or two while you are standing there watching!
PILLING
Pilling is the tiny balls of fluff that build up over time. It is the cashmere fibers’ natural shedding. This should happen only minimally, and we suggest using a clothes shaver or a standard razor on a flat surface to remove the tiny pills.
SPOT CLEANING
Spot cleaning is so handy, and our fabulous cashmere wash has a natural lifting agent that works wonders on stains. To begin, use a clean white cloth and dampen it with tepid water. Add a drop of cashmere wash and apply the wash to the spot, gently dabbing until you see the stain lifting away. Repeat as necessary until the stain is gone, then use a clean part of the cloth and dab with clean water until all the wash is removed.
Use the dry part of the cloth to remove excess water, then lay over a towel to dry.