Caring for your WoolNeedleThread Bag

Just purchased your first WoolNeedleThread bag, or your first bag in a new-to-you material?

Firstly, thank you!

 You’ll find everything you need to know about caring for your new bag below.

With a little care, your new handmade bag should look great for a very long time. “A little care” doesn’t mean you need to treat it like glass. It does mean please don’t drop it in a puddle. Don’t stack bricks on top of it, don’t carry bricks in it. If it gets dusty, please brush it off to keep it looking clean. Beyond that, caring for your bag depends on the materials in it. Please read on…

Most bags should not be machine washed. There are a couple of exceptions: all-cotton bags like Sockses Boxes and Dumpling Pouches can be machine washed on gentle. Just be mindful of any fancy zipper pulls  – it’s best to put these inside a lingerie wash bag before washing. They can go in your machine on the gentle cycle/cold water. Please hang or dry flat – don’t put them in the dryer.

Is your bag another material, or a combination of materials?

Cotton & linen fabrics can be spot cleaned. My favorite method of spot cleaning is to put a tiny amount of soap in the palm of my hand or a small dish and dilute it well with warm water. I use an old tooth brush to apply a bit to any marks and scrub gently. Dab out the soap and carefully rinse if needed. That process has removed just about every kind of mark for me.

You can also use a warm iron on cotton and linen as needed to refresh the fabrics and remove wrinkles. Just be careful to avoid other materials, like waxed canvas, leather or faux leather, or webbing handles.

Waterproof canvas is a real workhorse. Spill inside your bag? Just soak it up with a paper towel. Wipe it with a damp cloth to remove almost anything. Stubborn mark? Try the spot cleaning method above. Do not iron waterproof canvas.

Waxed canvas & dry oilskin are cotton fabrics treated with wax to make them stronger and water resistant. Do not wash these fabrics, especially in a machine. Doing so melts the canvas out of the fabric and ruins them. They are naturally water and stain resistant and shouldn’t need much in the way of cleaning. Brush away any loose dirt or dust when you see it. If you really need to, you can spot clean as above but this will leave a water mark on the fabric. Once it dries, you can gently warm the fabric with a hair dryer to reset the wax and remove the mark. This is also a great way to minimize creases. Never iron these fabrics – you will ruin your bag and your iron! You can read more about waxed canvas on my blog here.

Cork, faux leather, leather, and vinyl fabrics should never be washed, dried, or ironed. Use a slightly damp cloth when needed to remove any marks.

Questions, or not sure which fabrics are in your bag? Please reach out – I’m happy to help!