We paint our yarn in small editions using fiber reactive dyes which bond chemically with the fiber. This makes the color lightfast and washfast. Each skein within an edition is individually painted so there is some variation between skeins(we recommend that you purchase enough yarn for your project). We think this is part of the attraction. While these yarns may have different fiber contents they can all be washed gently by hand in luke warm water with a small amount of ph balanced soap. To dry, lay knit items flat and hang woven pieces. Fluff in dryer for a few minutes to finish. Chenille appears to shrink when wet but will relax as it dries. These are not pull-out skeins so we recommend using an umbrella swift and ballwinder.