Best way to hand-wash clothes?

I have lots of knitted items and clothes that need to be hand-washed... I haven't actually done it before; somebody else always does it in my house. How should I do it? Soak it in a tub of soapy water, swoosh it around, and rinse? Should I use laundry soap or does it not matter? Will hanging it to dry (instead of laying it on towels) stretch it out? Thanks!~Best way to hand-wash clothes?
I wash my items in my sink. Add a small amount of laundry detergent to running tepid water, add item (I do mine separately), push down in water till covered with water and let sit for about 15 minutes...then gently squeeze the soapy water through item for a few minutes, squeeze water out of item without wringing it, and drain water. Rinse item with clean tepid water till soap is out (do not wring). Gently squeeze the rinse water from item working the way down the item without wringing. Lay item on half of large dry towel and put into proper shape..fold over the other half of towel onto the item and roll up....push down on towel roll to remove more water from item inside towel...unroll and place item on another towel, putting item into proper shape and let dry...when that side is dry, you can flip item over..can be dry overnight or might take up to 24 hours depending on item material, size, and thickness.