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General Care
A few thoughts to help you get the most out of your hand knitted items:
DUST is a great destroyer of textiles. Closed wardrobes and drawers make better storage areas than open shelves.
STARCH is another destroying agent.
DIRT can also cause damage. The drastic action required by heavy soiling could well cause irreparable damage to the knitted fabric. Shaking and airing outdoors helps to lengthen the time an item can go without cleaning.
STAINS require swift action; once set, they often proove impossible to shift. Washing without treating them first or trying to remove them with the wrong agent may cause them to set. Many stains respond to cold water if quickly applied; dab, sponge or soak but do not rub. Avoid water, however, on oil-based stains such as: paint, ink, grease and lipstick; these should be treated with a solvent - applied from the wrong side to drive the stain out of the fabric and onto a clean, white cloth placed against the right side of the fabric. To soften a dry stain dilute equal parts of warm water and glycerine, dab on to stained area and leave for one hour. Rinse or sponge with lukewarm water, then wash or use a solvent as appropriate.
PILLING (those annoying little balls that form on the surface of some fabrics) can easily be removed with D-fuzz-it.
CLEANING. Always look at the yarn label for instructions. Unlabelled yarn should be treated with caution. Follow cleaning instructions strictly. Clean mixed fiber articles as required by the most delicate fiber.
DRYING. Do not tumble dry natural fibers, especially wool. Man-made fibers, even when tumble drying is recommended, should be carefully watched. Take them out before they are quite dry and lay them flat to finish drying. Use a cool setting only. Do not hang any knitting to dry. It will loose it's shape and a bad crease will form. The best way to dry knitting is flat.
IRONING. Knitting should not be ironed, but pressing is often recommended. The difference between the two is that while ironing you move the iron up and down against the fabric, but while pressing you rest it gently on the surface, then lift and rest again. Pressing is done wrong side upon a well padded surface and pressure should never be applied. Either use a steam iron at the proper setting for the fiber with a dry cloth over the knitting, or a dry iron and a wet cloth. Do not press elastic fibers. It is preferable that an iron should never be near knitting, hand or machine. Drying flat gives immaculate results and avoids texture flattening.
If storing knitted items for any length of time, shake and air outdoors away from direct sun.
Fold carefully - wrap with acid-free tissue paper, a clean cloth or a plastic sweater bag with plenty of holes; textiles need to breathe.
Use a moth deterrent if necessary.
Thank you for reading and enjoy your knitting! | 
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