How to Wash Handmade Blanket

Driers are the surest way to shorten the life of a handmade gift (especially crocheted or knitted!) or to ruin them completely! Hand wash if you can, in the tub or sink with gentle soap. Rinse thoroughly and lay to dry on towels... avoid hanging. Depending on the size it may stretch it out. If it is small, hanging evenly over a shower rod in your bathroom or on a drying rack, if you have one, is fine!

If you would rather machine wash, use the gentlest cycle possible, baby detergent or Ivory-type and always use a Shout Color Catcher to catch stray dyes in the water.. especially if this is the first time washing it! (Never hurts to ask the creator of the gift what they suggest, either! They will probably really appreciate knowing how special their gift is to you so that's an added bonus!)

*Long-time Quilter*

I have several handmade baby blankets and I wash all of them on gentle cycle. I also use the Dreft soap. After I air-dry them, I put them in the dryer just to fluff and soften them. I haven't had any problems, so hopefully you won't either.

Meg M's advice is awesome. But I can attest that I have used the washing machine and dryer on my handmade (crocheted and quilted) blankets without problem. (I probably won't anymore!)

No guarantees, and you might want to ask the giver for any care advice (like if they used angora yarn or something), but I've washed my children's similar-sounding blankets without any problems. Use cold water and the delicate setting on the washer and dryer.

My mother crochets and I have blankets for each of my kids. As long as the yarn used is not very thin or made of wool-baby yarn is okay--you should be able to wash it on gentle cycle in the washer and then air dry. I sometimes put mine in the dryer but they are heavier material. The only time I ever had a "problem" was when I didn't notice a bib with velcro and it stuck to it but it did not ruin it in any way.