This is the most frequently asked question that I have received since sharing this pattern: how do I wash the puff quilt?
Wellllll I recently tested out some different methods and I am ready to report back!
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The first thing that everyone is wondering: can I put the puff quilt in my washing machine?
I was originally intending to hand wash it in my bathtub first, but I knew I wanted to machine-wash it eventually to see what happened. My mindset was that I wanted to do “the worst thing I could do” to my blanket, so that I can share my experience with you. If something bad were to happen, I would rather it happen to my blanket than 100 other people’s blankets.
I put it in on a gentle, quick cycle with cold water. The cycle only ran for about 30 minutes. When I pulled it out, it was mostly fine, with the exception of 2 things.
1.) On the top row and the bottom row, the seaming between a few of the squares got stretched out (the middle of the blanket was completely fine). At the end of the day, this is not a huge deal to me, considering that I am the owner of the blanket and I can go back in and tighten these seams back up. But do I want to have to do that every single time? Nope. Now keep in mind that I used cotton yarn. Cotton yarn is known to not revert back to its original shape when it gets stretched out. This may not have been as much of an issue if I used mostly acrylic yarn.
2.) Poly-fil can sometimes get a little clumpy when wet, but I expected this! Only a few of my squares seemed to get clumpy poly-fil, but I just massaged those squares out a little bit and they were completely fine.
Then, I decided to see what would happen when I put it in the dryer. Again, I know that cotton yarn is fine to go in the dryer! I am unsure about other fibers, so check your yarn label! I decided to only put it in for about 15 minutes to get the initial wetness, and let it air dry the rest of the way. It turns out that putting it in the dryer actually helped re-fluff the poly-fil! However, putting it in the dryer will decrease the lifespan of the yarn over time, so I would only do minimal amounts of time in the dryer.
Final conclusions on machine washing and drying.
I don’t recommend putting this in the washing machine or dryer, especially if the owner of the blanket is not a crocheter and cannot fix the seams that become loose. For all future washes, I will spot-treat or let mine soak in the bathtub if it needs a full wash. In general, I am not planning to need to wash mine very often. I made my blanket knowing that it would be more of a statement piece and not an everyday-use blanket.
If you choose to machine dry it (remember to keep your fiber content in mind), keep an eye on it, and consider letting it air dry for some of the time. Machine drying your blanket too often will decrease its lifespan over time. When air drying, I recommend laying it flat, to avoid pulling.
How to hand-wash your Puff Quilt
1.) Fill your bathtub with approximately 6 inches of warm water.
2.) Add a touch of your preferred washing detergent, whether that be a sprinkle of powder or a small pour of liquid.
3.) Submerge your puff quilt in the water and let sit for 10 minutes.
4.) Before removing the puff quilt, drain the water from the tub. Once all the water has drained, press down on your puff quilt to squeeze out excess water.
5.) Lay your puff quilt out on large bath towels and press again to squeeze out excess water.
6.) Lay your puff quilt out on a dry, large towel and allow to air dry flat. I do not recommend hanging to dry, as the added weight may stretch your blanket.
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