caring for fiber art

Aren’t you lucky;) you have a gorgeous one of a kind piece of fiber art! Whether it’s a lovely scarf or shawl that want to clean, of a piece of wall art thats a bit dusty… I’ve got you covered.

DUSTING FIBER ART

You will want to keep your fiber art pieces out of direct sunlight. As with most artwork that receives daily sunshine over time it could fade.

If you have one of my open air fiber art pieces, you may want to dust / shake it out from time to time. If it is a flat piece behind glass, you won’t need to worry about this.

Framed flat fiber art - I recommend using a clean natural bristle brush to lightly whisk the surface of the piece. Use a light hand, you don’t want to disturb the mounting. Canned air can also be a helpful tool.

Unframed fiber art - you can remove your piece from the wall and lightly shake it out outside to help remove any dust build-up. A natural bristle brush with soft to medium firmness can also be helpful.

If you have any further questions about caring for your fiber art or woven wearables, please email me at: jen@jencrowestudio.com

WASHING SCARVES

All of my one of a kind scarves should be washed by hand and laid flat for drying. They have all been washed by me in my studio prior to selling. This “knits” the fibers together and adds to the texture of my scarves due to the varying rates of shrinkage in the fibers I use. Most of this shrinkage will have taken place during my wet finishing process. It is possible the piece may incur a slight amount of shrinkage if you wash it in warm or hot water.

Washing - I recommend a mild liquid laundry soap created for delicate fibers, such as: eucalan, wooly wash, or woolite hand wash. You can hand wash my scarves but if you choose to wash yours in a machine, please wash on a cold or warm delicate cycle, not hot. If you machine wash your scarf please place the scarf in a mesh washing bag and zip it closed - if you do not wash it in a mesh/lingerie bag you risk it getting caught up in the washer and destroyed.*

*Please note that washing your scarf in a washing machine especially on warm will most likely cause parts of the scarf to shrink up more than others which adds to the intended ripple textural effect of most of my scarves. (Even though I have washed all scarves prior to selling, they may shrink up a bit more.) If you like this effect as I do you can further add to it by drying them in the dryer on low.

Drying - I recommend laying your scarf flat to dry, however… in some cases you can dry my scarves in the dryer on low. Please only choose the dryer if the listing or I expressly noted that the piece you purchased can be cared for in that way. I rarely create pieces solely of one fiber, such as cotton. 100% cotton scarves that I weave can be dried in the dryer, and I will clearly note that in the listing. (If you decide to dry it in the dryer, please keep it in the mesh bag you washed it in.)

SPOT CLEANING SCARVES

Try to blot any soiled area, and spot clean using a mild laundry detergent such as those recommended above. Do not scrub the area too hard. You could also soak the area for 15-30 and then hand wash the entire piece.

STORING SCARVES

I recommend storing your scarves folded in a drawer. If you can, you may want to include some cedar blocks in the drawer or chest where you store your knits and hand woven items to keep those pesky moths at bay.