Washing Your Stitching   

Always wash your hands before you start stitching and regularly while you stitch. Natural oils from your hands can mark the fabric.
A spot of blood from a pricked finger can be removed from fabric immediately by making a small ball from sewing cotton, chewing it, then using it to 'sponge' the spot - the saliva will dissolve the blood spot.

Any large projects which have been worked on for some time may have collected dust - use the duster nozzle on your vacuum cleaner and give it a once over before you wash it.

If stitching on coloured or patterned fabrics, wash them first to make sure they will not run BEFORE you stitch onto them.
To do a test - make a few stitches in each colour of thread  on a scrap of the fabric  you plan to do your project on. Wash as usual and look for signs of any colours or fabric running; if they do, continue to rinse until the colour runs clear.  Try washing in cooler water. 

Always use a reputable brand of thread such as DMC, Anchor or Madeira and then your stitching should be washable at about 30 C.
If you have stitched on a piece of clothing or household linens, the washing instructions on the label becomes invalid!  Extra care needs to be taken when washing these items.

Use a gentle liquid fabric detergent and cool water.

Wash the whole fabric, not just the dirty area.

Do not rub or twist the stitching

Rinse thoroughly with clean, tepid water. Keep rinsing until the water runs clear
Do not use a fabric softener in final rinse, this will make the fabric "floppy" and difficult to mount.
If any stubborn stains remain after washing, then a drop of detergent gently rubbed into the stain and left for two or three minutes before rinsing thoroughly in tepid water should lift it.
Cat and dog hairs may need to be removed with tweezers - washing does not always remove them! Stubborn little devils ;-)

Do not  wring your stitching - roll in a dry towel to absorb the water.

Place on a clean thick white towel onto an ironing board. Put your design right side down onto it and cover with a white pillowcase or tea towel.
If your project has been stitched with beads/charms use two or three towels to increase the thickness of the padding

Press carefully, with the iron on the "cotton" setting until the stitching is dry.
Do make sure your iron is clean before you start!  Marks on your iron can ruin all your hard work.
To clean the base of an iron, rub with a bar of soap when warm then rub off when cooler with a thick piece of kitchen paper.
"Press" means PRESS! Do not use a forward/backward ironing movement. Simply lift and carefully place back down.

If you have been extremely careful and kept your work clean whist stitching, then omit the washing instructions and simply press as described above.