CLEANING INSTRUCTIONS:

As an attempt to keep my company environmentally low impact, I do not tag or label my scarves with fiber content or washing instructions, nor do I prepare specially made bags to store the pieces in. Here are ways that you can easily care for your scarf using things around the house:

The base content of your pieces is most likely made from 100% super fine merino wool dyed with low impact dyes. It has been felted by hand by the designer using only natural olive oil based soap and boiling water. The wool comes from Oregon and The United Kingdom from farms where happy sheep live!

STORING YOUR PIECE: 

We all have extra dust bags, garment bags or storage boxes around. When you are not wearing or displaying your Taiana Design creation; fold it up in a soft bag or box or keep hung on its own hanger or garment bag. Its best to avoid as much agitation and contact with the other things in your closet when not worn to avoid piling it or having other fibers shed onto it.  This will prolong its new clean look longer before having to go through a thorough rough cleaning process. Treat it like a new pair of shoes! When Packing it for travel please do the same technique, keeping in its own bag separate from others.

CLEANING: 

If you have a progressive eco dry cleaner they may know how to handle it. If not, its really quite simple to clean it by hand. For pieces that are ALL WOOL (NO horsehair, leather fringe, feathers or tassels) 

Step 1: If your piece has developed a squatter family of pilling that you wish to eliminate, lay it out flat on a table and literally pick the pilling balls out. It seems scary but its ok to tear out the extra bunched up fibers that have moved to the surface that don’t look like they belong there. Pinch the pilling ball a little bit below its base and pull. Also feel free to pick out any foreign objects that may have decided to dwell in your piece ( aka dog hair, leaves, muffin crumbs…) Hang in there, this step takes a little bit of time and some minor labor but your scarf will look new once you get through it.

Step 2: To wash, handle it like a cashmere sweater. Place your piece in a sink or shower saturating it in lukewarm water. Soak and add some gentle soap to the mix. Rinsing the water in and out a few times while working the soap in. Once your finished, rid of all soap, ring out and lay or hang flat over shower bar to dry.

Tasseled Pieces ( w/ leather fringe, horsehair or feathers)  

Compete step 1 above if you wish. 

Step 2: This is almost the same as the step 2 above, ECXEPT: The Parts of your piece that have feather, leather tassels should be tied up together and kept out of the water while you wash the rest. If you have leather fringe sewn along your entire pieces and its difficult to keep those parts out of the water; take it to the dry cleaner.

STEAMING/IRONING:
Its ok to iron and steam you piece back into shape. Thin suede, horsehair and feathers will react fine to steam.

**DO NOT STEAM THICK LEATHER IF THERE IS ANY ON YOUR PIECE IT WILL HARDEN

Sourcing:

Taiana sources her 19-21 micron Fine Merino wool from Ashland Oregon, Yorkshire, the Falkland Islands, and Australia, to name few places. She only uses wool from sheep that are treated humanely and raised naturally or organically.

Dyeing:

The dyeing method is called low impact dying; a method that has been classified by the Oeko-Tax Standard 100 as Eco-Friendly. Low impact dyes do not contact toxic chemicals or mordants, require less rinsing and have a high absorption rate in the fabric (-70% less) which greatly decreases the water waste. Taiana does not dye her own fibers.

Advantages of Merino Wool:

Traditional wool has the reputation of being hot heavy and scratchy, Merino Wool however is quite different, as listed below:

• Moisture Management:

Along with odor control the complex structure of the Merino fibers provide a unique ability to both absorb and repel moisture.

• Comfort and Softness:

Merino Fibers bend against the skin providing a level of comfort not found in other types of wool garments, heavier fibers can press against the skin and cause itchy irritation, but Merino will feel soft as cotton, super fine and comfortable.

• Thermal Control:

In wet cooler climates, the moisture interacts with the chemical properties of the wool generating small amounts of heat that prevent the wearer from feeling chilled.

• Insulation:

Air is trapped next to the skin by the natural crimp of the Merino fibers, making the Merino Garments warm.

• Odor Control:

Superb odor control during heavy activity and sweating are found in Merino Fibers unlike Synthetic Fibers.

• Fire Safety:

Wool is naturally flame retardant, unlike synthetic fibers.

• Easy care:

Merino is resistant to wrinkles.