Weekly Affirmation | new spinning shop

Every Thursday we post a comment, tweet, email or secret message we’ve received from one of our Soakworthy customers (stores, fans, consumers, friends). Sometimes, on a rough day, it’s really helpful to read an inspiring message from someone in our community. Someone who appreciates what we do. Someone who is as passionate about Soak as we are. We appreciate all the love that comes our way. Really we do. 

From Linkedin…

“Hi, Jacqueline! I have a favorite shop that DOESN’T carry Soak — R Ewe Spinning! I know that because, well, that shop is MINE! R Ewe Spinning is a yarn and fiber shop in Southern Utah. We cater to all fiber artists — spinners, weavers, etc as well as producing our own products — blankets, shawls, hats, scarves, and more.

Would you have a starter pack that we could begin with? Looking forward to hearing from you!”

They’ll be up and running selling Soak in no time. Watch for it! Happy spinning. -j

The Pitch (Jacqueline on TV again)

And so it is, I’ll be on TV again this weekend, spreading the love (and value) of Soak, to a distinguished panel of VC investors and entrepreneurship experts. If you’re in Canada, you can watch TV. In the US or internationally, watch online.

The Pitch is an exciting new weekly show from Business News Network that hooks up Canadian entrepreneurs with the risk capitalists who are sitting on the real money… the money that brings ideas to life.  During the program, start-up entrepreneurs or companies seeking to take their business to the next level will sell their business idea — and the amount of cash needed — to a panel of tough financiers and experts.  The panelists will either give the pitch the green light or send the dreamers back to the drawing board.  It’s a fast-paced half-hour hosted by BNN’s Andrew Bell, providing viewers with the opportunity to see how entrepreneurs perform in a high-pressure atmosphere. Thursday at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Eastern. It will also air on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern. (The folks at The Pitch do a much better job explaining it than I could)

My exciting episode will air Friday March 23^rd at 8:30pm and Sunday March 25^th at 8pm.  Sorry for the short notice! I’ll be away at a family wedding; sadly I can’t invite you over for a TV party. You’ll have to watch yourself and send feedback.

It’s worth noting that one of the panelists was Jeremy Gutsche, the founder of TrendHunter.com, the world’s largest, most popular trend website, attracting more than 500,000,000 total views. You’ll be pleased to see what he says about Soak.

Here’s the link for online. They say it should be online within hours of airing on TV. Have fun!

If you are interested in being on The Pitch, let me know jacqueline@soakwash.com. I can introduce you to the production staff. They are always on the lookout for new and fresh business ideas.

I’m off. Enjoy. Thanks for watching (and for faithfully loving and promoting Soak).

-Jacqueline, Chief Soaksperson.

How To Wash The Four Most Common Fabrics In Your Wardrobe

I used to live in fear of buying expensive clothes. I’d grown up hearing horror stories about expensive shirts that were ruined by being washed wrong, and I’d never been able to iron well. I spent years wearing wrinkled and shrunken clothes, until I became a lingerie (and occasional fashion) writer. I had pretty much run out of excuses to avoid learning how to wash things properly at that point.

Luckily washing stuff has gotten a lot easier since I was a kid, especially with the products that Soak Wash is putting out. Before you put any of these methods to work, I suggest you pick up a Phil bucket in your favorite color. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but they really are the optimal size and shape to hand wash lots of clothes at once. And really, who wants to handwash stuff more than once a week anyway? So go grab your Phil bucket and some Soak Wash in your favorite scent, and we’ll get started.

How to Wash Wool:

I know lots of you are knitters, and I assume the rest of us are wool sweater owners. The problem with wool is that when you don’t wash it properly, you can put your sweater in the wash and end up with something that would fit your dog or cat. Wool likes to shrink, but there are some easy ways to get around that.

Make sure you start out by spot cleaning the wool garment and soaking it in cold water for at least an hour. This makes sure all the fibers are saturated and prevents shrinkage later. Then, put it in your Phil bucket with more cold water and your favorite Soak scent. You can soak and squish wool around all you want, but try to keep the fibers from rubbing against each other if at all possible. After a few minutes, roll it up in a clean towel to squeeze the water out and lay the item flat to dry. This will help it keep the right shape and size.

How to Wash Cotton:

Cotton has some of the same issues as wool when you go to wash it, and the process is very similar. You don’t have to pre-soak cotton, but do make sure that you wash your cotton in cold water and lay it flat to dry. If it seems to have a shrunk a little, you can stretch it out by hand gently to counteract it.

How to Wash Silk:

I always thought you had to dry clean silk, but I know several people who don’t and haven’t ruined a shirt yet. The other day I found out that my father washes his silk shirts, which blew my mind. My father’s idea of cooking is sardines on crackers so if he can wash silk, anyone can.

Keep in mind that not all silk is built alike. Some silk can’t get wet at all without permanently changing color.  Make sure you spot test somewhere that isn’t visible, and if the color runs or changes at all then you need to take the item to the dry cleaner. If it doesn’t, you’re good to go.

Start by soaking the silk item in your Phil bucket filled with lukewarm water and some Soak Wash. Don’t soak for more than five minutes no matter what. Don’t rub the garment or mess with it, as it can damage the delicate fabric. Then pour out the first batch of water, and add clean lukewarm water with a quarter cup of vinegar. Rinse briefly in this, and then rinse again in cold water.

Wring the silk item out in a clean towel, and leave it in the towel. From now on, air is the enemy. When you’re ready to finish up, put your iron on low heat and iron the item from the inside. Make sure that you’re not ironing on the outside of the garment. This should dry it and let you get the wrinkles out at the same time.

How to Clean Modal Fabrics:

You don’t see a lot about modal fabrics online, which is surprising since so many clothing and lingerie designers are using them these days. I’m a huge fan of them, right down to my eucalyptus blend sheets, but they do require special cleaning.

Modal fabrics are easy to deal with, as long as you don’t put them through the dryer. Wash them in your Phil bucket in cold water, and lay garments flat to dry. If you’re washing large items like sheets, you can put them through the washer on the gentle cycle and the dryer on the lowest cycle. The fantastic thing about modal fabrics is they tend to get softer each time you wash them.

-Holly

An otherwise ordinary Friday.

Friday is always better with a little knitting, felt, or jewelry love. Wishing you all of them.

It would be a typical Friday, if it weren’t for the fact that I’m wearing my favorite recycled cashmere sweater (with a hint of lace) and my new Cara Romano earring, acquired at VKLive. They’ve got tiny turquoise felted beads placed in a silver setting. I’m smitten.

This weekend, Cara is at the American Craft Council show in Baltimore.

You can see more of her lovely jewelry here. Her beautiful site is FLASH, so I can’t pin all the lovely photos, but here’s her felt ball color chart, really, do you need more?

My RISD friend Anna Katherine Johnson Curfman will also be there. She owns a great felt clothing company called Indigo Crane.  This is one of her pieces. She sells on her website and in galleries. Her work is lovely.

I hope your Friday is filled with crafty clothing and hand-made jewelry. I’m off to New York Monday for the lingerie trade show, booth 123, so if you are in town, do visit. -j.

Meet Holly, Our Newest Soak Contributor!

Hi, I’m Holly, and used to be an awful lingerie washer. I was one of those people who put all my bras through the washing machine and the dryer, and then wondered why the wires popped out six months later. Which didn’t really matter, because most of them didn’t fit properly anyway.

Years later (read: now), I’m a professional lingerie copywriter, blogger, and collector. I also wash everything the right way: by hand. I’m the owner and copywriter behind The Full Figured Chest and I was recently named the number one lingerie copywriter on the Internet by The Lingerie Journal. When I’m not working for clients, I write several columns for places like The Lingerie Addict, Bella Bella Boutique, and multiple trade journals. I’m really excited to be writing for Soak, as I currently have an entire shelf in my house dedicated to Soak products.

I first found Soak as a lingerie wash, but later discovered that there’s a whole knitting community of there who love it as well. I can’t wait to get to know all of you, but today I thought I’d start with some of my personal favorites from the Soak line. I’ll also talk a little bit about how I use them on a daily or weekly basis.

First up is The Phil Basin. Before I discovered Soak, I was washing my lingerie in a plastic tub from target. While this worked on a technical level, it was really hard to fit a lot in and really get things clean. The Phil Basin makes all of that much easier. I use it as a laundry hamper for my lingerie during the week, and then do one big wash on the weekend. The Phil Basin is large enough for me to wash a week’s worth or more of lingerie (and I go through an awful lot of it due to review samples) without resorting to my sink or bathtub. I’m not sure what amount it technically holds, but as my 20 pound springer spaniel mix dog has taken to hanging out in it recently I suspect it’s big enough for anyone’s needs. As an added bonus, it keeps my guy happy since he doesn’t have to deal with worrying about separating my lingerie from the rest of the wash.

As far as scents go, I’m currently alternating between the Citrus scent and the Lacey scent. I was a little nervous about the Lacey scent at first, because my strongest association with bergamot is Earl Grey tea, but it smells wonderful and light. The Citrus scent is a great pick me up, and I love how it hangs around once my lingerie is neatly stacked back in my drawers.

Last up is the Heel foot cream tubs. I’m currently on Spearmint, but I’m definitely going to grab some of the Cucumber scent this month. I’ve got incredibly sensitive skin, but these creams are thick and feel great. I use mine at least once a day as a pick me up or a way to relax. I’d honestly love to see Soak put out a full range of cosmetic products like bubble baths and body creams.

I’ll be back once a month writing about the lingerie world and Soak, so please leave a comment and say hi! I can’t wait to get to know all of you. If you’ve got any lingerie or lingerie washing questions, leave them in the comments as well. I’ll come back through and answer them all individually in the next few days.

We saved a little Maven, just for you.

We are back from an exciting weekend at Vogue Knitting Live.

There were a shocking number of requests from those of you not attending VKLive for our new and exclusive Maven Gift Sets. We are thrilled with your passionate responses to our product launches. We decided to hold a few back, so you (try to hold back the excitement) can buy them from soakwash.com without having been at VKLive.

Each skein of Solemate yarn is signed and numbered. The Heel included is our famous and wildly popular Cucumber scent. We’ve included a Lacey (what else?) minisoaks as well. No excuses now. Get one and get knitting. I’m aspiring to have a skein on needles by the time I head off to TNNA Thursday. We shall see!

While you are shopping with us, support The Heart Truth® by ordering our StitchRed gift set. Five percent of gross profits from sales from this Flora gift set will benefit the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) in support of The Heart Truth®. This great program was created by our friends at JimmyBeansWool.com. There are several other products available, from all your favorite knitting industry companies.

You may have not heard, but Flora as been put on the side lines, giving space to new fragrances, so this is the only way to purchase Flora Soak at this time.

We’re off to catch up and prepare for TNNA. We can’t wait to see what you knit with Maven (and how happy your hands and feet are with matching Heel). Don’t forget to send pictures! Enjoy!