The Care & Winding of Hand Dyed Yarn

Winding Hand Dyed Yarn Before Use

Your skein of Yarn Love needs to be untied and wound into a ball before use. I recommend using a swift & ball winder for fast, tangle-free winding but if you don't already own these tools, follow these links to learn how to prepare your yarn for winding. 

How to wind a skein of yarn without any tools

This video will show you how to untuck your skein, locate the ties, and wind a ball without any additional tools. A hank is another term for a skein. 

How to wind a skein of yarn with an umbrella swift  

Umbrella swifts & ball winders are very economical. This video shows you how to use an umbrella swift & a ball winder for very fast, tangle-free winding. 

I recommend these umbrella swift & winder as they are heavy-duty & long-lasting.
This is the ball winder I use in the studio:

 

Budget-friendly swifts & winders: 
 

Washing Hand Dyed Yarn 

Your skein of Yarn Love has been washed and rinsed with our very special wool wash blend. It does not need additional washing - feel free to open it up & wind it right out of the skein.

If something has spilled on your skein of Yarn Love follow these steps to wash it before working up the yarn. 

Don't wash your hand-dyed yarn in skein form without first opening the skein and adding anti-tangle, figure 8 ties. Adding your new skein to water without these ties will result in a very tangled mess. 

Tying Your Skein Before Washing

If you need to wash your skein before use watch this video & add at least three figure 8 ties evenly around your skein.

  • Once tied, fill a sink or bucket with cool water and a small amount of low suds woolwash or castile soap. 
  • If you've spilled something greasy or staining on your yarn, try liquid dish soap instead. Add the soap after the water & gently swish to keep suds to a minimum. 
  • Gently press the yarn into the water until it soaks and drops under the surface. 
  • Allow to soak then gently lift the tied skein out of the water. 
  • Roll in a towel to press the excess water out.
  • Hand to dry.  

 

Washing after knitting / crocheting / weaving

Every skein of Yarn Love is dyed using lightfast & washfast acid dyes - these dyes are non-toxic and permanently set using food-grade citric acid.

To keep your hand-dyed yarn looking bright & beautiful for many washings to come follow these tips:

  • Hand wash for best results. Yarn Love uses fine, luxury fibers & washing machines are very hard on these delicate fibers. Keep your yarn & colors bright by hand-washing with very little agitation. 
  • Any wool fiber not listed as superwash on the label MUST be hand-washed or it will shrink.
  • Use cool water with a low suds wool wash or castile soap.
  • Don't agitate or rub when washing your garment. 
  • Spot wash any stains before washing the entire garment. Keep rubbing to a minimum.
  • Push the item under the water and allow it to soak for 30 minutes. 
  • Lay flat to dry. NEVER use a dryer. Dryers are very harsh on delicate fibers & provide wonderful conditions for felting / shrinkage. The hot dryer cycle can felt even superwashed wool fibers. 
  • AVOID traditional laundry detergents. Detergents are chemically designed to strip fibers & will strip the dye away from the fiber causing fading and potentially dye transfer staining.