How do I care for garments made with Loopy Mango yarns?

We recommend dry cleaning or hand washing very gently in cold water and laying flat to dry. Exposure to heat and agitation will cause wool fibers to felt. Big Cotton and Summer yarns, both 100% cotton, are the exception and can be machine washed and tumble dried. Please see each yarn overview below for more details.

You may lose some softness from washing, even in cold water. We recommend making a small swatch and washing it first, so you can see if you like the result before washing the entire garment.

Store garments folded rather than hanging to help prevent stretching.

How do I deal with fiber shedding and pilling?

Our yarn is made with 100% natural fiber, so some shedding and pilling is to be expected with all of our yarns. For the least amount of shedding, we recommend Dream yarn. We find that dry cleaning merino wool garments can help reduce shedding.

If your merino wool garment develops pills, we suggest trimming the fuzz balls with a pair of scissors from time to time. Think of it like grooming a pet. We recommend using large-blade scissors so you can snip off multiple pills at once. It only takes a few minutes and your garment will look like new.

For more fiber-specific tips, please see the Mohair So Soft section below.

Do I need to block my project?

Most of our projects are designed to be worn right off the needles, so no blocking is required unless explicitly stated otherwise in the pattern. 

Mohair So Soft

Mohair So Soft, composed of 47% super kid mohair and 53% extra fine merino, is an incredibly soft, lightweight, and fuzzy yarn. With all of these wonderful qualities comes the natural tendency for the fiber to shed. While nothing will completely stop mohair garments from shedding, there are ways to help minimize it.

One effective technique is to freeze your mohair knitwear. Place the garment in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer for a few hours. Then take it out and give it a good shake. Freezing hardens the fibers so they are more likely to fall out all at once, instead of shedding on you throughout the day.

You can also be strategic about which fabrics you wear with your mohair pieces. Choose non-sticky fabrics such as silk, rayon, polyester, or leather, since these are less likely to grab the mohair fibers the way cotton can.

Care: Dry clean or hand wash cold, lay flat to dry. Please test any washing or drying method on a small swatch first to make sure you like the end result.

Big Cotton & Summer

Both of our 100% cotton yarns, Big Cotton and Summer, are un-mercerized and minimally processed. This means the yarns have not gone through the chemical mercerization process, which is often used to make cotton shinier and more rigid while reducing the fiber’s natural elasticity. Instead, our cotton is left in a more natural state, with a soft and supple handfeel.

Because these yarns are chunky, un-mercerized, and minimally processed in order to preserve the fiber’s natural softness and elasticity, they can be prone to shedding.

Care: Hand wash or machine wash cold, tumble dry. Tumble drying helps with shedding by pulling loose fibers out. Please test any washing or drying method on a small swatch first to make sure you like the end result.

Merino No. 5 & Dream

Merino No. 5 and Dream are both made from 100% merino wool. Due to the delicate nature of the superfine merino fiber used for these yarns, some shedding is possible. Chunkier yarns shed more than thinner yarns, so Dream sheds less than Merino No. 5.

Care: Dry clean or hand wash very gently in cold water, lay flat to dry. Please test any washing or drying method on a small swatch first to make sure you like the end result. Note that exposing wool to heat, such as hot water, or agitation, such as machine washing, will cause it to felt.