CARING FOR YOUR WEAVER BIRD ITEMS
Wool has not evolved alongside the washing machine. It just doesn't know what to do when put into a full machine wash cycle.
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Some commercial wools can happily tolerate a machine Wool Cycle but Weaver Bird items, being handmade from the finest 100% Shetland wool, need a bit more of a gentle hand.
BLANKET SHOES and HOUSE SHOES
The lining is made from Wool Pre-felt - the last stage a wool reaches before it becomes a felt. Weaver Bird uses this pre-felt because of its soft snuggliness and because it moulds itself to the shape of your foot when worn. This lining will last for the lifetime of your Blanket Shoes if treated gently but in a wash cycle will disintegrate.
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The outside of the shoe is made from a more tolerant 100% woollen yarn which will shrink and wants to felt in hot water. But let's face it, sheep get wet all the time and it doesn't do them any harm.
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The key is to treat your Weaver Bird Woolly Shoes gently. If they do need a wash then gently hand wash in warm water with a touch of Fairy Liquid (other dishwashing liquids are available....) and some Ecover (other environmentally friendly handwash liquids are also available...). If you can, let them drip dry and then put them on the radiator. Gently massage them when you put them back on.
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Each time you wash your Woolly Shoes, be they Blanket Shoes or House Shoes, it will reduce their lifespan, it just will. If you find that your Weaver Bird woolly Shoes have reached the end of their life then it might be time to have a new pair, something that not only give you the opportunity to change the colour or style of your favourites, but let's be honest, supports handmade and looks after artists.
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Wear and tear is another issue, however, and one that leads us down a whole new path of tradition and handmade... Darning and Mending your feetwarmers is both soothing and environmentally worthwhile, let's go old school.
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Click here to read more about mending your woolly shoes...
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SCARVES
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Weaver Bird scarves and shawls can be hand washed gently and enjoy being drip dried. You can use a shower rail to do this in the winter or a clothes airer over the beth tub, in the summer what could be more lovely than a hand woven scarf hanging in the sunshine on a calm day in the garden. A gentle iron can bring them back into crispness and for those bobbly bobbles that are just going to happen, an electric or manual defuzzer is a wonderful thing to play with.
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BAGS
Weaver Bird bags can quite happily be gently handwashed. When they have been rinsed pop them into a spin cycle in your washing machine to get all the water out and then dry in the sun. Massage back into shape and don't foget that all important defuzzer.
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