• Wear your Wolvis with care. Care for your Wolvis. •
At Wolvis, we believe in timeless and long-lasting designs that come to life in colourful knits. The knits are designed with love by us in Ghent (BE) and knitted with equal love in limited editions by our manufacturer in Waregem (BE).
You too are part of this sustainable story. If you are kind to your knit, it will stay beautiful and undamaged forever and you will contribute to a better environment. Below we give you some tips on how to do this step by step.
Airing, steaming & washing
All Wolvis knits made from merino wool already contain a layer of lanolin. This lanolin is self-cleaning, antibacterial and water-repellent. Therefore, we we do not recommend washing your knit until it is really dirty or you want to store it for its summer sleep.
• Airing
Hanging your knit outside for a few hours can work wonders. It makes the piece fresh again and removes bad odours. Avoid clothes pegs, as they can damage your knit. Preferably use a wooden clothes hanger or hang it over a clothesline. Want some extra freshness? Then hang your scarf outside at night or during the morning dew.
• Steaming
Don't feel like running a washing machine for just one piece? Or is your knit not actually dirty but you just want to freshen it up a bit? An alternative and sustainable way to refresh basically all types of clothes is steaming. It makes odours disappear and your knit will feel like new again. It only takes a couple minutes, kills bacteria and uses much less water than a washing machine. By using a steamer, your knits and other garments will wear out less quickly, keeping them feeling like new for longer.
• Washing
Your Wolvis knits can definitely go in the washing machine, as they are already pre-washed to prevent shrinkage. If you do decide to wash the scarf, we recommend using a wool detergent and using either the wool wash cycle on your washing machine or wash your scarf by hand.
After washing, it is best not to let your woollen scarf dry on a clothing hanger or washing line, as the weight of the water will cause it to stretch. Instead, gently roll your scarf in a towel to get most of the water out and then lay it on a flat surface to dry.
• Removing stains
Rinse any stains immediately with cold or lukewarm water, but if that doesn’t work, try spot-cleaning. Apply some wool laundry detergent (or ox-gall soap) on the stain, and with a damp cloth and gently tap the stain without scrubbing or rubbing it.
Storing
Wool knits stretch easily, so it's best to keep them neatly folded in a cupboard or drawer.
Moths love merino wool as much as you do. So always store your woollen pieces together with a piece of cedar wood or dried lavender. The smell will deter the moths. If you plan on storing your pieces for their summer nap, make sure they are completely clean and best put them in a sealed box or bag accompanied by a piece of cedarwood or dried lavender.
Pilling, pulled threads & holes
• Pilling
Pills, or tiny fluff balls, are normal for any woollen piece and can appear over time, particularly in high-friction areas like the sides of a sweater that rub against your arms or the palms of your mittens. This pilling occurs because short fibers work their way out of the yarn twist. To remove them, lay the knit flat and gently brush off the pills using a sweater brush or a fabric shaver.
Unfortunately you cannot entirely prevent pilling, but you can minimize it by limiting friction where possible, for example by avoiding bags that rub against the knit fabric - the same goes for velcro that sticks to the fabric. However, it’s important to understand that pilling is not a sign of poor quality.
• Pulled threads
Sometimes your knitwear may get stuck on jewellery or other objects and pull a thread loose. If this happens, you can easily pull the yarn to the back of the garment using a crochet hook. Avoid pulling it too hard, and don’t cut the thread, since this will create a hole in your knitted garment.
• Holes
Holes can be mended easily, so don’t throw a garment away, simply because a few stitches have come undone. You can learn to mend it yourself – a process called ‘darning’ – or have it repaired by us. Send a picture of the hole(s) to info@wolvis.be and we'll see what we can do for you!
Find out more about our repair service here.
