Solnce wraps arrive in the loom state unless otherwise specified. It is important to wash the wrap before the first use. The first wash is the last step in finishing the wrap and making it ready to use. Washing will set the fibers, soften them and prevent thread shifting in such yarns as linen and hemp. The wrapping qualities of the material will be revealed.
Solnce wraps have two types of care: Hand wash and 40 degrees Celsius machine wash.
Hand wash
Solnce wraps containing any percentage of silk, wool, or any other fiber from animal hair should be washed only by hand in lukewarm water. Use liquid detergent suitable for wool without lanoline. Do not use bleach because it dissolves wool fabric! Follow these steps:
- Fill the bucket with lukewarm water - 25-30 degrees Celsius.
- Put your wrap into the bucket and let water slowly penetrate the material.
- Soak for 5 minutes.
- Gently move the material in the bucket.
- Take the wrap out of the bucket. Press some water out. Do not wring.
- Change the water to clean. Make sure the temperature stays the same as the previous bath - 25-30 degrees Celsius.
- Put the wrap back into the bucket and gently move the wrap in the water.
- Repeat steps 6 and 7 until the water is clean.
- Fold the wrap into the towel, press gently to remove the excess water.
- Dry flat. Do not tumble dry.
Machine wash 40 degrees Celsius
Solnce wraps containing only plant fibers (cotton, linen, hemp, bamboo, kapok) may be washed in the washing machine at up to 40 degrees Celsius. Use liquid detergent and do no use any softeners. Use enough of the liquid detergent, not just "a drop" or "a little bit". It is necessary to use enough liquid detergent to dissolve all the leftovers of the production process. Use gentle cycle on your machine, but make sure it is long enough with a proper rinse. Do no use short cycles for the first wash. Wraps containing any percentage of linen or hemp should not be washed on high rotations to prevent the permanent crease in the fibers. Use up to 800 rotations for linen and hemp.
Do not soak your wrap in water or vinegar for several hours before the first wash.
Bamboo
There are two ways of processing the bamboo plant to create yarn. The first is a mechanical process, creating what is informally called bamboo linen, and the second, more popular approach, is the chemical process used for producing rayon or viscose fabric.
Mechanically produced bamboo - natural bamboo (bamboo linen)
Mechanically produced bamboo yarn requires no chemicals, pesticides or fungicides. Using a process similar to the one that produces linen from flax, bamboo fibers are raked and combed into long strands. The fibers are then drawn out and spun into a yarn that is silky and smooth to the touch.
There is very little natural bamboo on the market and the yarn is hard to find, because the production process is more labor intensive and costly.
Chemically processed bamboo
The method for producing bamboo viscose yarn requires a series of steps similar to those used for other rayon yarns. The process uses chemical solvents to dissolve the bamboo cellulose into a viscose solution.
Hydrogen peroxide is added as a stabilizer and the solution is forced through spinnerets into a hardening bath which causes thin streams of viscose bamboo solution to harden into bamboo cellulose fiber threads.
The hardening bath is usually a solution of water and methanol, ethanol or a similar alcohol. The regenerated bamboo fiber threads can then be spun into bamboo yarn for weaving into fabric.
Camel hair
It has excellent thermostatic properties which insulate camels in the high mountain cold and protect them in the desert heat. These characteristics are transferred to the fabrics made of camel hair. The camel hair is collected by hand from late spring till early summer during the molting season when camels naturally shed their hair.