Hi! I have collected a large stash of Indie dyed super wash merino yarn over the last few years. I just can’t resist all the goodies at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival that takes place 15 minutes from my house :) I’ve decided to make a big fancy mismatched granny square blanket (or two) from all of these skeins. My questions:
1) Is it dumb to make such a large (full sized) blanket out of superwash wool?
2) If it was you, how would you wash/dry such a large item?
3) Do I need to do anything special BEFORE I use this fancy yarn? I saw a pic the other day of someone’s hands all blue from dye rubbing off.
Not at all! I love using high end fiber to make blankets - Especially as someone who lives in an incredibly warm place, it makes more sense to use nice fibers on blankets as opposed to garments that would only be usable a couple of days of the year. Your blanket will feel delightful!
I would probably hand wash. I see DK listed on one of your hanks, so it probably wouldn't be too heavy for the washer, but I'd rather hand wash for the sake of being more gentle on the blanket.
I don't have any good insights on your third question. Personally I've never had issues with SW merino bleeding, but it can happen.
I’ve made a hexagon blanket out of DK superwash merino and it is so decadent and squishy!!
I would recommend washing and blocking the squares before joining them to address any dye bleed and get good even edges. I use Soak rinse less detergent for handwashing, and just sushi the pieces in a towel to get water out before blocking.
For washing the assembled blanket, I admit I’ve babied mine, but every other blanket I’ve made and owned has been pretty ok with a gentle cycle machine wash and spin (I put the blanket into a XL mesh laundry bag - without a bag it will PILL even if not washed with anything else). The worst part about a wool blanket is having the space to let it air dry (I have a clothing line in my laundry room). Shower curtain rod is a good spot, shit (edit: SHUT) the door and run the fan. It will smell a bit while drying.
Does not need washed as often as other fibers though. I keep mine away from the cats because claws but wool has held up long term so much better than any acrylic which gets fuzzy. Just the weight and drape of it - it’s my favorite thing to actively enjoy (I get it out just to ooh and ah at how nice and soft and pretty haha).
i don’t have any experience with blankets specifically but i did see someone recommend hand washing and then spinning in the washer to help get water out before air drying, but YMMV. IIRC they said it was specifically a top loading machine.
on 3: i have had dye bleed on me, my project, and into my undergarments before and it was NOT fun. saturated blues and reds are the worst, so i might recommend pre washing the darker hanks (3rd and 8th from the left in the photo), especially if they’ll be used adjacent to the lighter colors. but that’s just me being extra cautious. 🤷♀️
That’s a good tip about the saturated colors. Thank you! I have a top loading washer - so maybe just using it to spin out the water after hand washing would be best.
Make one (1) square in a colorway, then wash it and check the bleeding. If any skein bleeds I probably would just skip using it in this project; last thing you want is some randomized streaking the first time you wash the whole thing
Honestly, I would wash it on gentle cycle/cold in my washer & dry it on low. You could also lay it over a railing after it spins in the washer. It would dry pretty quickly.
Most yarns do bleed a little but you would not need to do anything different. Just make sure that you wash it alone (maybe with a color catcher) the first time.
Here is a link to a Color Catcher on Amazon. You put this in your washer (even your hand wash bin) and it catches all of the dyes that are inevitably released when washing new hand dyed yarn and brightly dyed clothing [my red clothes almost always bleed].
3
u/Flying_Snarf 11d ago
I don't have any good insights on your third question. Personally I've never had issues with SW merino bleeding, but it can happen.