FAQ - Malabrigo frequently asked questions
Where is Malabrigo wool made?
Malabrigo wool comes mainly from Uruguay, sometimes from other countries, but only if the wool is mulesing-free (mulesing is a painful treatment in sheep to prevent infection). All Malabrigo wool is free of mulesing, Alpaca wool comes from Peru and silk from Italy. The spinning, dyeing and labeling of the wool is done in Peru.
Are the colors of the wool in the photos accurate?
We do our best to post pictures of the colors that are as accurate as possible. Each monitor differs and therefore we cannot guarantee that the color will be exact. Hand-dyed wool also does not look exactly the same with every delivery. Especially the combination of colors such as Diana, Liquidambar, Arco Iris and Archangel can vary greatly.
Will my strands be identical?
If a color bath is stated on the wool, we will always pack skeins of the same color bath for you. If this is not possible due to stock availability, we will always contact you and send you a photo so that you can adjust your order if desired. For skeins without a color bath number, we will always look for skeins that are close to each other in terms of color.
Most of Malabrigo's wool is hand-dyed (except the Rios Solidos collection). The colors of hand-dyed wool may vary slightly from skein to skein, even in the same dye bath. This happens even more often with the multi colors such as Archangel, Arco Iris,... Therefore always buy enough for your entire project and check before you start whether the strands are identical. If there is a difference in color, you can choose to knit from 2 balls at the same time and alternate per row.
With the multi-colors, the difference between the strands can be greater. Each strand is unique. You can only admire the full color palette when you shake the strand completely loose. When packing, we therefore have no insight into the color distribution of a multistrand. These colors do not have a color bath number. Those are all multi-colors or speckled colors.
Will my wool bleed (bleed color)?
Although running out of wool does not occur often, it cannot be ruled out. There are 2 possible causes: a lot of paint on the strand (this mainly occurs with very saturated, dark colors such as Magenta) or the paint that is insufficiently fixed. When you combine light and dark colors in a project you have to take this into account. To prevent running, you can pre-soak the strand in cold water with 60ml of white household vinegar. Repeat until the skein no longer gives off color. Do you want to test whether your color is transferring? Cut (while the wool is still on the skein) a piece of 50 cm. Wash it with your wool detergent in a bath of lukewarm water and lay it out on a kitchen towel to dry. If you see color on the paper towels, rinse with water and vinegar as directed above.
You can find more tips for maintenance and preparation of your wool on Raverly .
About coloring baths
The wool is always dyed with the same formula. But because it is a hand stone, differences can occur, which is why the color baths are given a number.