Care Advice

To give your knits and wovens a long and beautiful life, we would like to offer some help regarding washing and care.

Keeping Fresh

Many of our garments are made of wool, cashmere, mohair, silk and camel and they should all be treated in the same way. These protein based materials seldom require washing. This is because dirt stays on the surface and unless your garment is stained, it is often just enough to let it hang it to air outdoors.

We recommend mild machine wash or hand wash in cold water. Always use a detergent especially made for wool and silk. It is very important that the detergent does not contain enzymes or bleach since it can make the fibers brittle and dull. Consider if you need to wash the whole garment, or just a part such as the cuffs.

When machine washing, be careful to use a wool program at maximum 30°C, fine wash detergent and a laundry bag to protect the buttons and surfaces. For cellulose fibers, use the fine wash program.

When hand washing, leave the garment to soak for a short time, but not more than 10-15 minutes. Never rub or wring – The small scales on the surface of the wool fiber will get stuck in each other causing the wool fibers to tangle permanently. This means the garment will shrink and get deformed.

Delicate linen shirts and cotton and linen garments we recommend to wash inside out and preferably in a garment bag as well.

After rinsing, remove excess water by pressing the garment, never wring. Pressing it in a towel can be helpful. Flat dry and avoid exposing it to direct sunlight. Let it dry at room temperature and never place it on a radiator.

Wearing and Storing

Avoid storing wool, cashmere, mohair and silk garments in built-in closets to prevent wool eating insects from accessing your clothes. Storing in plastic bags or containers is preferable.

For term long storage, we recommend first washing the garments, as clean wool is less attractive to bugs. Placing small bags of dried lavender among your knits can also have a good effect.

Be careful with wearing metal bracelets or watches when you wear all fine knitted garments and delicate fabrics. The rubbing of sharp metal against the surface of the fabric can cause pilling, or in worst case holes.

Avoid canvas bags or other bags with ”rough” surfaces. The heavy friction between the bag and the garment can cause pilling, even on a very high quality fabric. All sorts of velcro can also be damaging.

If your fine knitted garment should pill, simply use a new safety razor or a pilling removing machine and carefully shave the surface. This works best on plain and fine knitted garments. Plucking is an alternative for heavier knitwear.

Wash Instructions for Wool

Wool fiber seldom requires washing. That is because dirt stays on the surface of it, and unless your garment is stained it is often enough just to let it hang for a while in fresh outdoor air. For pure cashmere garments however, a slightly more frequent washing is better.

Washing wool garments is easy but there are some important things to keep in mind.

• Always use a detergent especially made for wool. It is very important that the detergent does not contain enzymes or bleach since that can make the wool fibers brittle and dull.
• We always recommend cold to lukewarm handwashing.
• If machine wash is needed make sure you use the wool program with low speeds of agitation and tumbling.
  

Hand Washing for Wool

When handwashing, let your garment soak in lukewarm to cold water for a short time, but not more than 10-15 minutes. Always use a mild detergent for wool without bleach or enzymes. Never rub or wring your garment during the process. Rubbing or wringing will start a felting process, which means that the small scales on the surface of the wool fiber will get stuck in each other causing the wool fibers to tangle permanently. That means the garment will shrink and get deformed.

Rinse your garment approximately three times with a lot of water until the water runs clear. After rinsing, take away excess water by pressing the garment. Never wring, as mentioned above. Wrap the garment in a towel to remove even more water. Spread out your garment to dry on a horizontal surface. Avoid exposing it to direct sunlight. Let it dry at room temperature and never put it on a radiator.

Further Tips for Prolonging Garment Life

Please use the repair kit for mending any small damages in knitwear. First fixate the loops at the edge of the hole, encircle the hole and gently pull together. Trousers can be repaired with the repair patch and a sewing machine or taken to a repair shop. A tailor can help you alter the size of your garments, if needed.

Did your cotton or tencel garments lose colour? Try re-dying it! A similar, slightly darker colour will give the best result.

Pulled out a thread or yarn? A needle threader can be a great help to pull it to the back side.

Discover the joy of caring for our clothes and prolonging the life of a garment!

Repair Service

Do you need repair yarn or a button or a fabric swatch for mending? We are happy to send free of charge anywhere in the world.

Would you like our help to repair a hole in a knitted  MASKA garment? Do not hesitate to bring it to our store in Gothenburg or contact us for expert advice or help. We perform repairs for a very moderate fee or free of charge. Please contact shop@maska.se, call or visit our store in Gothenburg. Welcome!