Here’s a little quick and dirty (clean?) post about how I seasonally transitioning my knits and crocheted garments, and some advice if you’d like to do the same.

I like to use seasonal transitions as reminders to take care of my handmade pieces. I will be 100% real and say that I do not wash my knits near as often as I should. I believe in the antibacterial and stain-resistant properties of wool and no one has called me Pig-Pen yet!

I will preface by saying that the beauty of a heritage craft is that most of our “shoulds” exist because someone’s grandma was wise enough to pass along the information. It’s a beautiful tradition, but it also means that there can be many right ways to do things! The way you take care of your handmade clothes might look different than how I do it, and that’s ok! I’d love to hear how you take care of your clothes in the comments down below.

Many people like to give their wool garments a good wash before they put them away for the summer, but for me, I like to do my big clean at the start of September. I wear a good portion of my knits through the summer while camping or when it’s unseasonably cool (like we had this June). I’m always shaking out my knits, almost monthly, in terror of finding a moth, but I do my big clean in September. I like September because my knits have been sitting dormant for longer than usual, and if I clean my sweaters on a hot day they will dry much faster in the sun outside than on my living room floor!

First, I pull out all my knit garments and separate them by fibre content. I love doing this because it feels like a real dragon’s hoard of treasure when they’re piled up on my kitchen table. I begin by de-pilling any sweaters that are looking a little too scruffy. I have one of the Gleener Fuzz Removers with the interchangeable heads, I find it works quite well with a bit of elbow grease! I also take this time with my sweaters to admire all my handiwork… Dang I’m talented!

Once they are de-pilled, I wash my sweaters in cold water with like colours. I fill my sink and move the water around gently, using only my hands to scrub any parts that need a bit of extra help. There are lots of opinions either way about whether people choose to use Soak or Eucalan, but I actually use both depending on the sweater (yes, I would make a great politician!). I like Soak for most superwash knits but prefer Eucalan for my woolier knits- I like the lanolin content in there.

The whole process takes about a day- I’ve got a lot of sweaters! But everything dries quickly in the sun. It’s a lot of work but not as much work as actually making the sweater. I feel like I’m honouring all my hard work when I take the time to care for (and admire!) everything I’ve made.

I’d love to hear in the comments how you take care of your garments as the seasons change.