FIBER CHARACTERISTICS AND GARMENT CARE The first step in properly caring for your knitted garments is for you to READ and UNDERSTAND the directions and symbols on the yarn label of the yarn you used to create the garment. The manufacturers have put these pieces of information on the labels for that express purpose. This book attempts to provide you with the meanings of the various symbols. If you find other symbols on the labels that you do not understand the store at which your purchased the yarn should be able to help you in obtaining the information. The symbols may be only a part of the care information that is present on the label. Of particular importance would be any instructions from the manufacturer concerning the colorfastness of the dye in the yarn. If the label indicates not to wash the yarn then wetting a garment for blocking purposes will probably cause the dye to run it if is not colorfast. To insure the ready availability of this type of information, you may want to keep a notebook of the special instructions or keep an envelope containing the various yarn labels. The second step in properly caring for your knitted garments is to AVOID those EXTREME situations. Do not use extremely hot water when washing them. Lukewarm water is generally stated for all fibers. Do not use an extremely hot iron when pressing them. Pressing is generally recommended with a towel to prevent direct contact with the fibers. Do not let your garments get extremely soiled before you clean them. Expect trouble in removing a stain if it is extremely thorough and/or dark. Do not leave your knitted garments in direct sunlight for a length period of time because the sun rays act as an extremely effective bleaching agent. Do not hang your knitted garments because the extreme downward pull of gravity will misshapen them and possibly break the fibers. WOOL -- Wood does not soil readily and the removal of soil from wool is relatively simple. Grease and oils do not spot wool fabrics as readily as they do garments made of other fibers. Dry cleaning is preferable for cleaning wool. The washing of wool garments should be done with care to prevent fuzzing and shrinkage. Mild alkalis, soaps, and detergents used in home laundry cause little if any damage, if heat and agitation are kept at a minimum. AVOID: chlorine bleach, agitation, alkali, hot water. Before the garment is placed in the lukewarm water it is necessary that the soap flakes (& especially soap powders) be complete dissolved. This may require agitating the water with the soap, or dissolving the soap powders in hot water and then adding cool water to the solution until the desired washing temperature is obtained. NEVER RUB SOAP OR SOAP POWDER DIRECTLY ONTO THE STRANDS OF THE YARN. Squeeze the soapy water gently through the garment until clean. The secret to having a soft and pliable garment after washing is to thoroughly rinse it in lukewarm water to remove the soap. This is the one extreme situation that is desired. It is better to over-rinse than to leave soap in the garment. Support the garment from underneath when removing it from the water because the weight of the extra water will tend to pull the stitches and stretch the garment out of shape. Never "wring" water from wool garments. Squeeze it out carefully , then quickly roll it in an absorbent towel to take out as much water as possible before drying. Dry wool knit garments flat. Place the garment on a terry towel spread over a flat surface, and turn it over when it dry on the top side. Gently mold the garment to retain its original shape. Unless mothproofed, wool fabrics should be stored so that they will not be accessible to moths. Moth larvae will also eat, but not digest, any fiber that is blended with wool. Wool fabrics should be cleaned before storage and should be stored with moth crystals in a closed container. SILK -- Silk fibers do not shrink. They will swell a bit when wet. Silk fabrics do not soil readily because of the smoothness of the fibers. Silk is harmed less by strong alkalis than wool. Tussah silk is very resistant to alkalis. Bleaches should be avoided. Dry cleaning is usually recommended for silk garments because of the yarn structure or nonfast colors, or because the manufacturer assumes that the consumers wants to dry-clean expensive garments. The dry cleaner should put the garment in a mesh bag to protect it from machine parts that may snag it. To handwash silk, use lukewarm water and a mild detergent. After thoroughly wetting the garment, gently squeeze for a few minutes in the sudsy water. some color may be released into the water, but this will not harm color in the garment. DO NOT WRING the garment. Support the wet garment when lifting. Gentle squeezing is enough to remove soil. DO NOT RUB OR TWIST. Rinse thoroughly until the water runs clear. To dry, roll the garment in a large absorbent towel and firmly squeeze to remove excess water. Lay the garment out on towels, gently pat into shape, and allow it to dry. DO NOT stretch or pull the garment while damp. DO NOT dry in direct sunlight. Silk is sensitive to sunlight, which causes white silk to yellow and all silk to lose strength. White silk fabrics have a tendency to yellow with age. Silk fabrics are damaged by perspiration. Never hang a silk garment on a hanger. COTTON -- Cotton fibers are stable. They do shorten a bit when wet but on drying their original length is restored. cotton is harmed by acids, but it is not greatly harmed by alkalis. Cotton is resistant to organic solvents so that it can be safely dry-cleaned. Cotton oxidizes in sunlight, which causes white and pastel cotton to yellow and cotton to degrade. Cotton has very low resiliency. The bonds holding the molecular chains together are weak and when fabrics are bent or crushed, particularly in the presence of moisture, the chains are free to move freely to new positions. When pressure is removed, there are no forces within the fibers to pull the chains back to their original positions so the fabrics stay wrinkled. Wash cotton garments by hand rather than by machine. During rinsing, a softener should be added to put back the suppleness of the garment. To remove excess water, roll the garment in an absorbent towel. Dry the garment flat after lightly shaping. NEVER hand the garment as the weight of the water will stretch the garment. LINEN -- Linen is resistant to alkalis and to organic solvents. It is also resistant to high temperatures. Linen can be dry-cleaned or washed without special care and bleached with chlorine bleaches. Linen yarns are more resistant to sunlight than cotton. RAYON -- Rayon is harmed by acids, is resistant to dilute alkalis, and is not affected by organic solvents. Ray can be safely dry cleaned, which is definitely the safest method of cleaning it. Rayon is attacked by silverfish and mildew. Rayon is not greatly harmed by sunlight. Rayon has limited washability because of the low strength of the fibers when wet. Unless resin treated, rayon fabrics have a tendency to shrink progressively. NYLON -- Nylon has good dimensional stability in laundering and rapid drying with little wrinkling. Nylon has excellent resistance to alkali and to chlorine bleaches but is damaged by strong acids. Nylon is resistant to moths and fungi. Warm water washing is recommended because ht water may cause some wrinkling. Nylon has low resistance to sunlight. ACRYLIC -- Acrylic fibers are easy-care and crease-resistant. They wash easily in warm or cool water, and dry quickly (even spin-dry). A cold rinse should be given before drying, to avoid creasing. BLENDS -- Refer to the manufacturers label for cleaning instructions.