How to Wash Crochet Blankets

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Can I Wash a Crochet Blanket?

There’s nothing better than a owning a crochet blanket except maybe using it. With enough use the inevitable question comes up “can I wash my crochet blanket?” The answer is yes! You can wash a crochet blanket. In fact, after all the love and snuggles your blanket gets, you’ll want to wash it to keep it fresh and clean. In this article I’ll cover the important information you need to know when washing a crocheted blanket or crocheted throw.

washing machine dial set to cold to wash crochet blankets

Can You Put a Crochet Blanket in the Washing Machine?

Many people wonder if they can wash their crochet afghan in a washing machine. Some blankets can be safely washed in a washer and some cannot. In order to tell if you can machine wash your crochet blanket, you’ll need to know what type of yarn was used to make it.

If the yarn was 100% acrylic or cotton, it should be fine to go in the washing machine. If the yarn contained wool or another animal fiber, then you need to be careful. Unless wool yarn is specially treated, it can felt. Felting is a process that animal fibers go through when they are exposed to heat (hot water) and agitated. The fibers come together, and the piece of crochet shrinks and forms a durable fabric. Sometimes you want to felt crocheted fabric, but that’s probably not what you want to happen to your blanket. If your blanket is made from animal fibers, do not machine wash it!

a yarn label showing washing instructions for wash crochet blankets
This yarn label for a 100% acrylic yarn, says that it can be machine washed and dried.

In order to be 100% sure if you can machine wash your blanket, check the label on the yarn that was used. Yarn labels contain lots of useful information, and many of them will specifically list laundering information. If the yarn label says the yarn is machine washable, then the blanket you made with that yarn is machine washable too.

How to Wash Crochet Blankets

How Do I Machine Wash a Crochet Blanket?

Now that you’ve determined that your blanket can be machine washed, you may be wondering how to go about it. It seems odd to just toss it in the washing machine like any other piece of laundry. Here are some tips for machine washing your crocheted blanket:

Wash the blanket by itself.

Set your washing machine on a delicate cycle.

Use cool or warm water, not hot.

After your blanket comes out of the washer, you can lay it flat on some towels to dry. If you want to try putting it in the dryer, then set the dryer to a lower temperature and a tumble dry.

How Do I Handwash a Crochet Blanket?

If your blanket is made from wool or if you aren’t certain what type of yarn your afghan was made from, then you should handwash your blanket. I recommend using a delicate, no rinse product instead of your usual laundry detergent. One of my favorites is Soak Wash.

Blankets can be quite large. You can use a clean bathtub to handwash your blanket in. Just make sure it doesn’t have residue from cleaning chemicals or bleach in it. I prefer to use a collapsible wash basin. They come in a variety of sizes, and when I’m done, it folds down for easy storage.

red collapsible wash basin for wash crochet blankets

Fill a basin or bathtub with room temperature water.

Add your soap or detergent.

Swish and soak. Be gentle!

Rinse.

Gently squeeze out the excess water and lay out to dry.

I hope you found this article helpful. If you have additional questions about washing your blanket, feel free to contact us. And don’t forget to check out our crochet patterns for your next blanket project!