A few years ago the choir members at Mr. Aitch’s church gifted him with a beautiful sweater, tie and dress shirt.  The dress shirt is 100% cotton and not the wrinkle-resistant kind of cotton.

Though I appreciate the gesture, I do not like the extra work involved.  I have a love-hate relationship with that shirt.  It takes me twice as long to iron it than any of the other shirts.  And I don’t mean a quick press or touch-up.  I mean IRON.  As in dampening the shirt and using spray starch.  I really dislike the care and feeding of that shirt but it does look so nice when I’m finished with it and Mr. Aitch wears it.

Finding the right yarn for a project also means looking at the care and feeding of the finished item.  Acrylic?  No problem.  Cotton?  “Most” of the time it can be machine washed BUT dried flat after reshaping.  Wool?  Depends on if it is superwash or not.  Superwash can be machine washed and dried but best to dry flat after shaping.  Not superwash wool?  Hand wash gently in cool water, roll in a towel to get as much water out, reshape and dry flat.  Of course ALWAYS check the label to see how to take care of the finished item(s).

So when I needed a superwash wool yarn for my special project, I had to go out and buy some as I know the recipient (and his wife) would appreciate an easy care item over a handwash item.

I always include care and feeding instructions with my handmade things be them knitted or sewn.

Do you take those into consideration when gifting something you’ve made?