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 guarantee. 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.
Patching Should be Expected
The cuffs of this sweater have been completely reknit from scratch several times, as well as the entire ridge around the waist. Like a nice pair of leather shoes needs their oil, hand knit wool needs some love, and the occasional trip to the shop.
How Often to Patch
This varies a lot from person to person, but for a regular beanie, it might not need a single patch in the ten years covered by the guarantee. On sweaters, I’ve personally needed about a patch every third year (per sweater), when I’ve been using one of them almost daily, out in nature, climbing, crawling and living life to the fullest. The most important thing is to patch it up as soon as it gets a tear, before the thread starts unravelling.
Patches Might Look Like Patches
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.
It think that is all you need to know to be ready to adopt a genuinely hand knit piece of apparel, and ensure a long and happy life for it.
