How to care for your John Smedley

Whether you chose New Zealand Merino Wool or John Smedley's Sea Island Cotton, which are John Smedley's essential fibres, astoundingly, for such luxurious fibres they are both machine washable and therefore, wonderfully easy to maintain.

For the best results with New Zealand Merino Wool, we recommend that you:

• Turn the garment inside out to protect the outer surface.
• Use a machine washable wool programme, which is usually 40°C gentle cycle.
• Use a mild detergent, preferably Woolmark approved.
• Avoid biological detergents as they may attack and affect the quality of the wool
• Dry away from heat, never on a radiator or in front of a fire, or in strong direct sunlight.
• To promote a smooth, silky appearance occasional steam pressing after washing is good for your wool. Use the steam or low setting warm iron. For dry ironing use a damp cloth to avoid glazing. Take special care on collars and seams.

Keeping your New Zealand Merino Wool and Cashmere in great shape:

• Remove surface soiling by gentle brushing, this will help prevent stains later on.
• Treat stains immediately with cold water, blot dry with a clean cloth-never a paper towel.
• Air wool after wearing, by laying flat, as this helps to get rid of odours, such as cigarette smoke.
• Always try to store lightweight wool folded and allow breathing space.
• Clean your garments before storing, as moths are attracted to body oils and dirt and not the actual fibre.
• Try some natural ways to combat moth attacks, by using cloves, lavender, rosemary, thyme, orange peel or cedar. But never in direct contact with the garment - simply tie up in gauze or a handkerchief.
• Try to rest wool between wearings for 24 hours to allow the fibres to spring back and preserve its natural resilience.

John Smedley's Sea Island Cotton may be washed on a more robust 40°C cotton cycle, however we recommend turning down to 30°C to help protect the environment. If your garments are heavily soiled you can still wash at 60°C

• Wash dark and light colours separately.
• Preferably dry flat.
• Re-shape and iron slightly damp, using a hot iron.
• Preferably store flat.

You may wish to wash your John Smedley knitwear by hand or dry clean. We would certainly recommend this for John Smedley Cashmere and Silks, so if you do, these are our recommendations.

Hand Wash

• Use water no more than 40°C and a mild detergent.
• Turn it inside out to protect the outer surface and make sure that if you are using powder, it has fully dissolved first.
• Soak for about five minutes to help loosen the dirt before gently squeezing. Never rub it.
• Rinse in warm water, then cold water and use a fabric softener if you wish.
• Remove excess water by placing between clean towels or use a short machine spin cycle. Never wring.
• Reshape the garment and dry flat.

Dry Clean

Dry clean sparingly, once a season is usually enough. Excessive dry cleaning can give a glazed appearance and over exposure to chemicals can degrade the fibre over a prolonged period.

Do not Bleach-with chlorine, ACE bleach may be used, but test on a discreet area first.

Following some simple guidelines will help to keep your garments looking good for longer.