Free crochet granny square purse pattern

You’ve just invested weeks of your time into making that perfect queen sized throw for your brother’s wedding gift along with matching pillow covers and since you’ve had sweating hands, the blanket has been hanging on the rug and perhaps picked up pet hairs and you want to wash it before you wrap your gift.  Your first instinct is to toss the piece into the washer and dryers since you’ve made the blanket and pillow covers from acrylic yarn.  STOP!! Your instincts are not exactly correct here!! You’re piece is liable to cover only a full sized bed if you throw it in the washer and dryer!

First things first!

Hopefully you’ve saved one of the sleeves that the yarn came in – this sleeve should provide useful care information. If you’ve used a variety of yarns, hopefully you have one from each of them.  You search high and low but you can’t find them? Not to worry!  There is a practical approach to all of this!

Use Cold Water!

When in doubt you can always wash your crocheted items in cold water on a gentle cycle in your washing machine unless you know for certain that the yarn you purchased is only suitable for dry cleaning or other specialized cleaning procedures.  Using the gentle cycle, cold water and a very mind detergent to clean your crochet work can help prevent shrinkage in the wash cycle.

About drying your crochet

Again your instincts may tell you that the best method of drying is to toss the piece into the dryer with your favorite fabric softener sheet – not so fast!  Most crochet work will shrink and blocks will become distorted if you simply dry them as you would any other garment. Your best bet is to remove the item from the washing machine, set your dryer on a low setting and dry for about ten to fifteen minutes.  Once this is done carefully either lay out your work so that you can block it on an absorbent surface or you could also hang it on the clothesline – but this must be done carefully to avoid stretching. 

Hanging your crochet

This works very well if you have large pieces such as a bedspread or throw – in future articles we’ll discuss blocking for sweaters, doilies and other ‘delicate’ items.  Once you’ve removed the item from the dryer drape it exactly half way over the clothesline making sure that your corners match up.  If you’re working with a loose design this could result in some stretching but as long as the item isn’t dripping wet it shouldn’t. 

All bets are off!

If you’ve used a specialty yarn, yarn you’re unsure of the content of then all bets are off with machine washing.  If you’re the least bit in doubt, then you would be wise to wash the garment and lay it flat for drying.

Hand washing any item made from delicate yarns or crochet thread is absolutely a must! Don’t ruin weeks and even months of work by subjecting your hard work to the harsh action of your washing machine or the harsh heat of your dryer.