Care & Sizing

Sizing

Please refer to our size guide below as a general guideline on fit. All garment measurements are specified on each product page.
Our more oversized sweaters are sized S/M & M/L. Our fine gauge and more fitted sweaters are sized S, M, L and our Easy collection will be sized from S-XL beginning with Spring 2022.

 

 

Take care of your garments.

We want to pass on our knowledge so you can easily and comfortably care for your Wol Hide pieces. We believe that proper care can extend the life of your garments so you can get the best life out of them. Here are some of our suggested at-home methods for care.

Washing & Drying

Sweater Knits 

We suggest hand washing when they need a full cleaning and spot cleaning in between. A light steam or some time lying in fresh air can help refresh and sanitize your sweater in between washings. Our favorite soap to use is Eucalan, it is an herb based soap that protects against moths and does not need to be rinsed out. Accidental felting can always be a fear when washing sweaters. The combination of soap, hot water and agitation creates felting so as long as you avoid these three together or too much of any one of these, you should be good!

To hand wash, soak your sweater in cool, soapy water making sure the sweater is fully wet. Gently squeeze to get the soap into the fibers. Let soak. If using soap other than Eucalan, gently rise the soap without wringing the sweater. Lay in between 2 towels and gently roll up your sweater and apply light pressure - this is a safer way to wring out excess water. Lay flat to dry.

 

Easy Styles

To wash your cut and sew pieces, we suggest washing on a gentle cycle with cold water. This type of cycle is gentler on the fabric and prevents any bleeding of colors. We suggest air drying your pieces flat to insure they last longer and avoid any additional shrinkage. However, if you do throw them in the dryer, we suggest a low setting. Typically, we air dry ours and then throw them in the dryer for 10 minutes on low to fluff.
Please note that all of our cut & sew styles are pre washed so you shouldn't expect shrinkage when washing.

 

Naturally Dyed

A note about Indigo - Indigo may rub off on the first wear. Consider washing before wearing, and avoid white textiles for the first wear. 

To wash your naturally dyed pieces, we suggests using a pH neutral soap with like colors as these could bleed. The same machine washing process used for our other cut and sew pieces is fine for these pieces as well. Air drying will also help give the color a longer life. Just be sure to dry them out of direct sunlight, this can cause fading.

 

Storing Sweaters

• Pilling: To take care of any pilling, we suggest using  a defuzzing comb or a sweater stone.
  
  
• Hanging: We suggest you refrain from hanging your pieces. These pieces can and may stretch out if you hang them. If your pieces have stretched out at all, don’t fear, you can easily revive the fabric by giving it a little steam from a steamer or an iron.
  
  
• Steaming: If you’re streaming your sweater with an iron, be sure to keep the iron a couple of inches away from the garment, just let the steam lightly get into the fibers. You do not want to press the iron on the garment. It is best to keep the garment laying flat as you do this, if it’s hanging, this will encourage the garment to stretch out.
  
  
• Storing: In order to save your clothing from moth infestations or any other issues, we suggest storing your pieces in a plastic vacuum-sealed bag or sealed plastic bins during the off season. For extra protection, add a lavender satchet which will naturally repel moths from invading your pieces. Moths are attracted to dirty garments so it is best to wash or steam your pieces before storing.

Mending and Repairing

• Snag - A snag is the most common problem knit owners face. It is also one of the easiest problems to fix. Follow the instructions/examples below to repair your garment at home.
  
• Step 1: First try wiggling and maneuvering the fabric to get the snag out. Try pulling side to side.
  
• Step 2: If you still have a small snag, pull it through to the inside of your garment.
  
• Step 3: You can leave the end like this and it should work itself back to normal in a few wears. If you can see a hole from the loose stitch, you can also tie the end into a knot. Make sure the knot fits close to the fabric.
  
• Once you turn your garment back over, you should see nothing from the exterior.
  
  
  
• Small Hole - Fixing a hole in your piece can seem intimidating, but we promise you are able to do it! Follow the instructions/examples below to repair your garment at home.
  
• Step 1: Locate the two yarn ends that are loose and pull them through to the backside of the garment.
  
• Step 2: If you can, try to pull those ends (without pulling too hard!) until they’re long enough to tie into a basic knot. Then tuck the knot in so it’s invisible to the exterior of the garment.
  
• Step 3: If you can’t find the ends or if the ends aren’t long enough to tie into a knot, find some string or a similar yarn (we are using a different color so you can easily see the stitch).
  
• Step 4: Use your string or yarn to stitch along where the hole is. Make sure you are stitching outside of the hole and catching stitches that are secure.
  
• Step 5: Continue stitching both horizontally and vertically to the hole until you feel it is completely secure and closed up.
  
• Step 6: Finish the stitch by tying off the two ends in a basic knot. Tie again until it feels completely secure. Then snip cut off the excess yarn/string.
  
• Once you turn your garment back over, you should see a clean, mended stitch. We think these little repairs add character and show a long loved garment.
  

Mending/Repairing Severe Issues

• Follow @alterknitnewyork on Instagram and consider reaching out to them for more serious issues with your pieces. You can also visit your local tailor, they might be able to help with holes and other issues.