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Care guide

How to wash it without ruining it

Hand-crocheted pieces last decades and survive almost nothing a washing machine does. Four minutes here saves a piece that took us three days.

Start here

What can and cannot be washed

Find your piece, read across. Where a column says with care, the note is not optional — it is the condition that makes the answer a yes.

Washing methods permitted for each type of ChicThread piece
PieceMachineHand washSpot cleanWhat decides it
Acrylic toys & amigurumiWith careYesYesCold, gentle cycle, inside a zipped mesh bag — and only for a piece with no wire, no glued parts and no jointed limbs. Dry flat, never in a dryer.
Cotton toys & amigurumiNeverWith careYesSurface wash by preference. Soaked stuffing takes two days to dry and mildews from the inside if it takes longer.
Merino wool piecesNeverYesYesNon-superwash merino. A machine cycle felts it to roughly half its size, permanently. Cool water, wool detergent, no agitation.
Cotton bags & totesNeverWith careYesThe lined base warps if it is soaked. Spot clean the panel that is marked and leave the rest.
Jute baskets & bagsNeverNeverYesNever submerge jute at any temperature. It loses its stiffness, dries misshapen and brittle, and does not come back.
Velvet piecesNeverWith careYesCold, ten minutes maximum, no rubbing at any point. Blot straight down to dry — pressure crushes the pile and it does not lift again.
Blankets, cushions & throwsNeverYesYesHand wash cool, then re-block while damp: lay flat, pull back to its measurements, dry pinned. Never hang it wet.
Flowers & wired stemsNeverNeverNeverWater reaches the floral wire, the wire rusts, and the rust bleeds through the petals from the inside weeks later. Dust with a cool hairdryer or a soft brush. Nothing wet, ever.
Accessories with hardwareNeverWith careYesDetach the finding first and wash the crochet alone. Metal left in water marks the yarn around it.
Baby piecesNeverYesYesMade to be washed often. Fragrance-free detergent, rinse twice, dry completely before it goes back in the cot.
  • Yes
  • With care
  • Never

Five rules, whatever you own

  1. Wash it far less than you think

    Crochet is not a t-shirt. Airing a piece for a day clears almost everything a wash would, and every wash costs it a little loft. Spot clean the mark; leave the rest alone.

  2. Cold water, always

    Warm water is what shrinks, felts and bleeds hand-dyed yarn. There is no piece in the shop that is improved by a warm wash.

  3. Squeeze, never wring

    Twisting a wet crocheted piece stretches the loops out of true along the line of the twist, and it does not spring back. Press the water out in a towel instead.

  4. Dry flat, never hanging

    Wet crochet carries several times its own weight in water. Hung by one point, it will keep stretching until it dries — permanently longer and thinner than it started.

  5. Out of direct sun

    Sunlight fades hand-dyed lots long before it weakens the yarn. A piece dried on a sunny sill for one afternoon can come back a visibly different colour.

By material

What each yarn will take

The yarn is printed on the tag and on the product page under Material. Where the fibre allows more than the piece does — a cotton flower on a wire stem, say — the stricter rule wins.

Cotton

Hand wash only

100% mercerised cotton

Water
Cold water, up to 30°C
Detergent
A drop of mild liquid detergent. No fabric softener — it coats the fibre and cotton stops absorbing.
Drying
Press the water out in a towel, reshape while damp, dry flat.
Ironing
Warm iron on the reverse, through a cloth, if it needs it at all.

What ruins itHot water shrinks it and hand-dyed lots bleed. Cold, always.

Merino wool

Hand wash only

Merino wool, non-superwash

Water
Cool water, 20°C or below, and the same temperature to rinse
Detergent
Wool detergent only. Regular detergent is alkaline and strips the fibre.
Drying
Roll in a towel and press. Never wring. Dry flat, away from heat.
Ironing
Do not iron. Steam lightly held above the piece if it needs settling.

What ruins itThis is non-superwash merino: agitation and warm water FELT it. A machine cycle will shrink it permanently to roughly half its size, and nothing reverses that.

Soft acrylic

Machine washable

Soft anti-pill acrylic

Water
Cold, gentle cycle, inside a mesh laundry bag
Detergent
Any mild detergent. Skip the softener — acrylic does not need it.
Drying
Tumble dry on low, or dry flat. Pull it back into shape while warm.
Ironing
Do not iron. Acrylic melts and the sheen never comes back.

What ruins itHeat. A hot wash, a hot dryer or an iron will glaze the fibre stiff and flat.

Velvet

Hand wash only

Polyester chenille velvet

Water
Cold water, no soaking beyond ten minutes
Detergent
A drop of mild detergent, worked through the water rather than onto the pile.
Drying
Squeeze gently, never twist. Air dry away from sunlight and radiators.
Ironing
Never. Any pressure crushes the pile flat and it will not lift again.

What ruins itRubbing and pressing. The pile is the product — flatten it and the colour goes with it.

Jute

Never submerge

Natural jute twine

Water
No submersion at any temperature
Detergent
A barely damp cloth. Mild soap only on the mark itself, never over the whole piece.
Drying
Air dry completely, stuffed with paper to hold its shape, before it goes away.
Ironing
Never.

What ruins itSoaking. Wet jute loses its stiffness, smells, and dries misshapen and brittle. A soaked jute piece does not come back.

By piece

What it is made into changes the answer

The fibre decides how a piece is washed. How it is built decides whether it can be washed at all — the half that gets missed.

Amigurumi & soft toys

It is stuffed with polyfill and fitted with safety-locked eyes, so the inside takes far longer to dry than the outside.

MethodSurface wash by preference: a cloth, cool water and a drop of detergent, worked over the fabric without soaking the stuffing.

  • Do not put an amigurumi in a washing machine. The drum pulls the limbs and the stuffing migrates into one end, and it does not redistribute.
  • If it must be washed through, squeeze — never wring — and dry it flat in front of a fan. Stuffing that stays damp for more than a day will mildew from the inside, and you will smell it before you see it.
  • Check the eyes and any joined limbs before handing it to a child under three, especially after a wash. Safety-locked backs are secure, but they are hardware and hardware is worth checking.
  • Keep it away from pets. A crocheted limb is one sustained chew from unravelling, and this is not covered by any return.

Bags & totes

The base is cotton-lined and the handles are reinforced, so a bag holds water long after the crochet itself is dry.

MethodSpot clean the outside. Empty it, turn the lining out and wash only the panel that is marked.

  • Never wash a bag with its lining in. The layers dry at different rates and the base warps as one shrinks against the other.
  • Do not overload it. A crocheted handle carries about 4 kg comfortably; hang 10 kg of shopping off it and the stitches at the join stretch open permanently.
  • Store it stuffed with paper or a soft cloth so the shape holds. A bag folded flat under other bags for a season takes a crease that will not steam out.
  • Keep it off wet ground and out of the rain. Dye transfer from a soaked bag onto light clothing is not reversible.

Home décor

These pieces are blocked and steam-set by hand — the shape is held by the finishing, not by the stitch.

MethodHand wash cool, then re-block: lay it flat, pull it gently back to its measurements and pin it until dry.

  • Expect it to relax the first time it is washed. That is blocking coming out, not a fault, and re-blocking while damp puts it straight back.
  • Dry it flat and never on a line. A wet cushion cover or throw hung by two points will stretch a hand's width and stay that way.
  • Rotate anything that lives in a sunny window. Hand-dyed lots fade unevenly, and a piece with one bleached side cannot be corrected.
  • Vacuum a blanket or rug on the lowest suction with the brush head off. A beater bar will pull loops straight out of the fabric.

Accessories

Most carry nickel-free findings — clasps, rings, pins — that rust or work loose in water.

MethodSpot clean around the finding. Where the piece detaches from its hardware, remove it first and hand wash the crochet alone.

  • Take earrings, clips and pins off before you wash anything. Metal findings in water will mark the yarn around them.
  • Perfume and hairspray go on before the accessory does, not after. Alcohol-based sprays dull the colour of hand-dyed cotton.
  • Keep keychains and charms out of a bag's bottom corner where keys sit — abrasion pills the surface faster than anything else on this page.
  • For hygiene, earrings and hair accessories cannot be returned once unwrapped. Check the fit before you remove the tag.

Flowers & stems

Never submerge

Every stem is floral wire, wrapped by hand. Wire and water are not compatible.

MethodDust only. These are the one thing in the shop that never gets wet.

  • Never submerge a stem, whatever it is crocheted in. Water reaches the wire, the wire rusts, and the rust bleeds through the petals from the inside out — usually weeks later, when nothing can be done.
  • Never put them in a vase of water. They are made so that you do not have to.
  • Dust them with a hairdryer on cool, held at arm's length, or with a soft make-up brush. Do not wipe a petal with a wet cloth.
  • Bend the stems at the base rather than mid-length, and bend them as few times as possible. Floral wire work-hardens and snaps at the fold.

Baby pieces

These are made to be washed — hypoallergenic polyfill, no loose parts, and yarn chosen because it survives being cleaned often.

MethodHand wash cool with a fragrance-free detergent, rinse twice, and dry flat.

  • Rinse twice, every time. Detergent residue is the usual cause of a rash blamed on the yarn.
  • Use a fragrance-free, dye-free detergent. Skip softener entirely on anything that touches a baby.
  • Dry it completely before it goes back in the cot. Crochet feels dry at the surface a good while before the core is.
  • Check seams, eyes and ties after every few washes, and stop using the piece if anything has worked loose.
Step by step

How to hand wash a piece

Twenty minutes of work and up to two days of drying. Do not start this in the evening.

  1. Test the colour first

    Press a damp white cloth against a hidden part of the piece for ten seconds. If colour comes away on the cloth, stop and spot clean only.

  2. Fill a basin with cold water

    Cold from the tap, never warm. Add a drop of mild detergent — wool detergent for merino — and mix it into the water before the piece goes anywhere near it.

  3. Submerge and leave it alone

    Press the piece under and let it sit for five to ten minutes. Do not rub, scrub, swirl or knead. Agitation is what felts wool and pills cotton.

  4. Work any mark with your fingertips

    Gently, and only on the mark. If it has not lifted after a minute, it is not going to — take it out rather than working harder at it.

  5. Rinse in water of the same temperature

    Refill with cold water and press the piece through it twice. A temperature jump between wash and rinse shocks wool into felting on its own.

  6. Press the water out in a towel

    Lift the piece supporting its full weight — never by one corner. Lay it on a dry towel, roll the towel up, and press down along its length. Never wring.

  7. Reshape while damp, then dry flat

    Pull it gently back to its original measurements on a second dry towel, away from sun and radiators. Turn it once a day. Give it 24 to 48 hours, and longer for anything stuffed.

Never, on any piece

Each of these is permanent. None of them is covered by a refund or a replacement — see clause 6 of the returns policy.

  • Never tumble dry wool or velvetMerino felts and shrinks; velvet pile crushes. Both are permanent.
  • Never use bleach or an oxygen whitenerIt breaks down the fibre and strips hand-dyed colour in patches.
  • Never dry cleanThe solvents dissolve the finish on velvet and stiffen cotton. No piece in the shop is dry-clean safe.
  • Never iron directly on a pieceIt flattens the stitch texture that the piece is made of, and melts acrylic outright.
  • Never soak jute or anything with a wire stemJute goes brittle and misshapen; wire rusts and bleeds through the crochet from within.
  • Never leave a piece damp overnightMildew starts inside the stuffing within about 24 hours, and the smell does not wash out.
  • Never pull a loose loop tight or cut itCrochet is one continuous thread. Cutting it releases the row, and the piece unravels from that point.

Spills, first minute

All of these are solvable wet and none of them are solvable dry. Speed matters more than technique.

Tea, coffee, juice
Blot immediately with a dry cloth, then dab with cold water from the outside of the mark inwards. Never hot water — it sets the tannin permanently.
Oil, butter, food grease
Cover the mark in cornflour or talc and leave it for two hours to draw the oil out. Brush it off, then spot clean. Do not add water first.
Ink or dye transfer
Do not touch it with water — that spreads it. Email us a photograph before you try anything. Most ink on hand-dyed cotton is not recoverable, and a failed attempt guarantees it.
Mud
Let it dry completely, then break it off and brush the residue away. Washing wet mud drives it into the fibre.
Anything on velvet
Blot straight down, never sideways, with a dry cloth. Rubbing a velvet pile does more visible damage than the stain.

Putting it away

  • Fold loose and store flat. Hanging a crocheted piece on a hook or hanger stretches it out of shape under its own weight over a season.
  • Make sure it is bone dry before it goes away. Anything stored slightly damp comes out smelling of mildew, and that is not recoverable.
  • Use a cotton bag or an open box, not a sealed plastic one. Plastic traps moisture against the fibre.
  • Add a cedar block for wool. Moths eat non-superwash merino and leave acrylic alone — if you own both, store them apart.
  • Keep pieces out of the sun even in storage. A shelf by a window fades a folded piece along the exposed edge only.
Before you send it back

Most of it is fixable at home

A loop has pulled out
Do not cut it. Work it back through the surrounding stitches with a blunt tapestry needle or a crochet hook, then ease the neighbouring loops back to even out the tension.
The surface has pilled
Shave the pills off with a fabric comb or a battery pill remover, lightly and in one direction. Never pull them off by hand — that takes fibre with them.
It has stretched out of shape
Wash it as above and re-block it: pull it back to its measurements while damp, pin it out on a towel and let it dry pinned. Most stretch comes out this way.
The stuffing has gone lumpy
Work it back into place with your fingers from the outside. Polyfill migrates; it does not degrade.
Something has come apart at a seam
Stop using the piece and send us a photograph. Seam failure inside six months of delivery is ours to fix — see the returns policy.

Not sure? Ask before you wash it.

Send us a photograph and we will tell you exactly what that piece will take. It costs nothing, we answer within a business day, and it is the cheapest thing on this page.

Ask the studioReturns & refunds