Our products are made of 80–100% sheep wool or merino wool (a specific breed of sheep), so they need a few more touches of care than your average cotton apparel.
P.S. Occasionally we sell other products than just beanies on Mom’s Market, and you might own other wool apparel, so we include instructions for them as well.
Washing Instructions
Washing machine settings
Use 40°C wool setting for regular wool.
Use 30°C wool setting for merino wool.
Use detergent specifically for wool, or no detergent at all.
The wool setting on your washing machine gently lulls your product into cleanness, instead of tumbling it around. If it goes all centrifuge on you, don’t worry. The wool setting knows what it’s doing.
Do not tumble dry
You may tumble dry wool if you want to, but it will come out as something entirely else. That process is called felting, and is not what we are going for.
Sweaters should not hang up to dry as its own weight will over-stretch it. We recommend laying it down, maybe across a washstand.
HAND WASHING
You may also go completely rogue and hand wash your items. Just make sure the water is not above 40°C for regular wool and 30°C for merino wool. We also recommend not to hand wash sweaters, since the gentle lapping of the washing machine actually tends to be more gentle than your own hands.
WASHING FREQUENCY
Wool is naturally anti-bacterial, so most of the time it’s enough to air it out. You are the judge of when washing is necessary, but the less you wash it the better it is for both the product and the environment.
Refitting a stretched beanie
If you happen to have lent your cap to a friend with a rather large head, or have worn it and as a consequence of your thoughtlessness it no longer clings to your head, then do not despair. Just dip your cap in warm water, squeeze it tight and let it dry without stretching it out. The wool will shrink back to perfectly clasp your head again.
Patching wool
We believe in longevity. With the choice of going handmade, we've made sure to add a way to patch up your product, when wear and tear catches up with it.
Red Hat Factory beanies comes with a 10 year limited warranty. There is a good chance your beanie might last that long without needing a patch, but with rough use, or if you have a wool sweater, patches might soon come in handy.
Carry your scars with pride
Yes. There are times we won't be able to perfectly patch it up, so like a scar, it's going to tell a story. This, in my opinion, is something positive. The lore of your wool product only grows. On beanies, I'd say that most tears can be mended rather seamlessly. Bigger wool products, like, let's say a sweater, will more easily look scarred.
The coloring of different batches of yarn might differ slightly, or your product might have lost color with age, so the patches may stand out somewhat, color wise. If the color of your beanie no longer exists, we can patch it up in a different color, or you can get another replacement beanie.