Nope, it's not a myth, you really can reverse the old 'shrunken jumper in the wash' situation. Here's our easy guide on how to unshrink a wool jumper, along with a few handy wardrobe pro tips to prevent it from happening again.
Popped your fave wool sweater in the wash by mistake? Fear not, because you can return your favourite knit piece back to its original condition, with just five easy steps, courtesy of HowCast :. The mother of all questions: Why does wool actually shrink while other fabrics come out in pristine original condition after a wash? Well, according to the National Cleaners Association , wool contains an outer layer of scales. Whether it's a mohair jumper, cashmere cardigan or your favourite wool dress, there's really only one easy rule to follow when it comes to washing knitwear: don't put it in the washing machine or the dryer!
Fortunately, you can relax the fibers to stretch them back into their original shape. For most fabric, this is easy to do with water and baby shampoo. After washing and drying the clothing, put it on to enjoy that firm fit again. Wool can safely be washed in a washing machine in the comfort of your own home.
Add a wool detergent, preferably a Woolmark-approved detergent. Set your cycle to the wool setting. If your washing machine does not have a wool cycle, then it is recommended to use the cold water wash or wash cycle for delicates.
Boiled wool is a type of felted wool, and is similar to non-woven wool felt. These processes date at least as far back as the Middle Ages. The word felt itself comes from West Germanic feltaz. Usually, when working with non-woven wool felt, the felting process has been carried out to the maximum extent possible in order to create a strong and durable fabric. Felting can also occur when spinners dye fiber prior to spinning it into yarn.
Good news! Certain wool garments can safely be dried in a tumble dryer without the item shrinking. If your garment does not say Tumble Dry, it is best to flat dry your wool garment. Soak the sweater in cold water for minutes before washing.
This technique will prevent the wool from shrinking. Ensure all the entire garment is saturated with water. Use cold water as hot water or warm water will shrink wool. Good quality merino wool is soft to the touch and incredibly comfortable when worn against the skin. In fact, many merino wool garments are made to be worn as layers beneath other types of clothing, often for use in environments where temperatures may be extreme or change rapidly.
The bends in each hair create vented layers that trap warm air. Other clothing can trap your perspiration against your skin, which prevents your body from actually benefiting from the cool-down the sweat is supposed to bring you by evaporating off of your skin.
But, you should know that not all merino wool comes from the same strain of Merino sheep - and that means a lot of variance in quality between different regions and textile manufacturers. Realities like this mean you should purchase your merino wool garments from trusted retailers.
So how does merino wool stack up compared to other common types of wool? While that does depend on your reasons for buying a wool garment, there are certain factors that make merino the preferred wool type for a variety of uses. The length of a strand of hair and its thickness are good indicators of how soft any given wool garment might be. But, wools made from certain types of oxen found in the arctic produce garments believed to retain heat much better than many other common types of wool.
However, textiles like these may only be suitable for outerwear garments, whereas merino wool is comfortable enough to wear close to the skin. Antique rarities aside, the Peruvian vicuna, an animal related to the alpaca, produces the most expensive type of wool in the world.
If this is your first time washing a wool garment, make sure you review our in-depth guides on how to hand-wash or machine-wash your favorite pieces.
Maybe you forgot to separate your laundry and your favorite merino wool leggings wound up going through a regular wash and dry cycle and now you have a pair of baby trousers.
Whatever the case may be, all the steps are more or less the same:. Moisture, heat and agitation are the three main culprits behind shrinking merino wool - but we can use some elements of those factors to reverse the shrinking process, too. You can find wool-specific conditioners that are made to help with this process, but many people use their own hair conditioner.
This post will show you how to assess the damage, and hopefully get that sweater back to normal. Otherwise, you can turn your felted sweater into a pet bed.
I consulted with my friend Kristi Porter , author of four knitting books and a long time contributor to Knitty. There is no specific test to determine the degree of feltedness other than your own observations.
Tightly felted knits have no stretch left which means the fibers can break when pulled. At this point you have an unwearable sweater, so you can either experiment with unshrinking or proceed to fully felt those fibers and use the fabric to make something else. Or give it to someone with a tiny body and long arms.
Or your cat.
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