When you have invested days, weeks or even months into a crocheted item, looking after it to keep it looking its best is important. You don't want to see your precious hand crocheted work shrinking, stretching or getting twisted out of all recognition! Thankfully many modern yarns are much easier to look after than some of the traditional fibers and advances in detergent technologies also means that laundry powders and liquids are kinder to hand crocheted items.

Washing Your Crochet
Most crochet will require washing at some stage. Whether you have created a wonderful item for a baby that required daily cleaning, or a special tablecloth that only gets used a few times a year, ensuring that your crochet is cleaned correctly is part of the key to keeping it look good. Here are some key points:

What yarn has been used? Keep a ball band from the yarn with a note of the washing instructions. This will help to ensure that the correct temperature is used. A handy place to keep this is by the washing machine – a single folder with ball bands and notes about hand crocheted items by the washing machine will mean that all the information required is readily available.

Type of crocheted item. Lacy items need to be washed separately or put into a bag or pillowcase to stop it from catching against other items. This could result in a pulled thread that could ruin the end result.

Hand wash – if in doubt then handwashing a crocheted item will help to ensure that it remains in top condition. This is useful if you are unsure what the yarn is and is also particularly useful with hand dyed yarns if you are not clear whether the dye is wash-fast.

Drying Crochet
Drying crochet correctly is also important – although often gets overlooked. It is important not to hang wet garments up with pegs as the weight of the water could pull the garment out of shape. The best way to dry any hand crocheted item is by laying it flat. Special drying boards can be purchased, however many crocheters improvise with great results.

Some crochet required being blocked to help is set back into shape. Lace in particular requires blocking to open up the lace pattern and to show it to its best advantage.

Looking after your hand crocheted items will ensure that they give many years of pleasure and continue to look as fantastic as they did when they first came of the hook