Not tonight honey, I'm washing my Billi Tee...

No need for excuses people, these tees are a breeze to look after! And because we make so many cool products now here's a bit of low down on the how to in the washing department.

NEED TO KNOW: Always take 2 minutes to check your washing instructions cos' they know what they're talking about. You'll get the best length of wear out of your stuff if you follow the rules.

COTTON: The general rule with Cotton is to cold wash, dark colours separately and line dry. If its 100% cotton, don't chuck it in a hot wash, use cold where you can. You can iron cotton tees but don't iron the screen print, it will melt! Same with the dryer, they can get pretty hot so just line dry your tee inside out if you can. Direct sunlight (especially in NZ!) will drain colour out of your beloved tee so try not to leave it out there too long, or dry out of the direct sunlight.

COMMON PROBLEMS: If your tee is twisting or shrinking, don't worry its just because cotton is a natural fibre it likes to do as it pleases. To help stop this, we now pre-shrink all of the cotton we use before its make into a tee, this takes the risk of those pesky little problems down to a minimum, wicked aye? But if you have a problem with your tee, let us know and we'll do our best to get it sorted.

MERINO: Merino is fabulous stuff, draws your sweat away from the body, and it doesn't even get smelly! Shear genius from the sheep department, good on ya fellas. We pre-wash all of our merino so it helps to eliminate shrinkage and twisting which can happen with natural fibres. It also means you get a premium product, no complaints about pilling, looking old before its time and other disappointing issues. Wash on the wool cycle in your machine, and dry flat if you can. If we've done a pretty cool screen print make sure you hand wash it for best results. We've gone to great lengths to make the best and our Merino is pretty hard wearing so you don't have to be too precious with these, just stick to the washing instructions and you'll be sweet!

OTHER WOOL: We make neck warmers and scarves in the winter, and these babies are delicate. You need to use a gently wool wash or handwash, no hot washes, and dry it flat too. These are hand knitted so take care of them and they'll take care of you.

COTTON LYCRA BLENDS: Lycra is great cos' it makes this nice and stretchy, it means your cotton is longer wearing and keeps it shape better. Just use a cooler iron though, but you can wash in warmer water no worries. Just be sure to wash dark colours separately, particularly on the first wash.

PRINTED STUFF: We screen print most of our stock using traditional plastisol which is super hard wearing when its done right. Some of our distressed and vintage style designs soften into your fabric as they are washed creating a fantastic ‘worn' look over time. Try washing it inside out so the sun doesn't fade your tee. Never iron your print and avoid a hot dryer. Give us a yell if something is not right with your print, and we'll check it out for you.