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Happy Tip Tuesday! I get asked pretty often, ‘how do you wash your amigurumi, especially if you use non-machine washable yarn?’ Well, that’s today’s topic!

I crocheted two owls that I used as cake toppers. Even though the icing was pretty hardened, one owl inevitably ended up with icing on his owl-butt. Ooops.

Even though this owl is crocheted with a hand-wash-only yarn… there’s no problem! Almost all messes can be ‘spot cleaned’ using water and a cloth (that is, unless you drop an amigurumi in a mud puddle… then he may need an all-over wash). I just dip a washcloth in a little bit of water:

And dab at the spot:

… until it’s clean!

Hooray!

Now, what if your amigurumi is really dirty? Here are a couple of suggestions:

• Try using a little bit of soap in your water for smaller (but hard to get out) spots
• Soak your amigurumi in a sink of water and wool-wash (like Eucalan). Gently squeeze all of the water out, and let dry completely.
• Animals made from non-machine-washable yarns can be machine washed without felting completely. The stuffing keeps the yarn from felting as much as loose fabric would. Of course, you may see some felting (due to agitation and hot water), but not as much as you may expect. Try machine washing on delicate with cold water… your amigurumi will come out clean as a whistle!

Here are handy links to all the crochet troubleshooting posts. . .

• How to Count the Number of Stitches in a Round of Crochet
• How to Hold Your Yarn for Crochet
• Am I Crocheting Inside Out?
• Help! Crocheting in the Back Loop Is Too Hard!
• What to Do If Your Foundation Chains Are Always Too Tight
• How to Work Small Pieces in the Round
• Tips for Crocheting Teeny Tiny Antennae
• How to Measure Gauge for Amigurumi
• Getting Accurate Row Gauge
• How to Clean Amigurumi
• Wrist Exercises for Knitters and Crocheters

Return to the main table of contents for Let’s Learn to Crochet Amigurumi.

Happy stitching!