Is it OK to wash things made out of felted wool?

[Poddi]

OK I have successfully shrunken and felted a couple old wool sweaters. I want to make some mittens out of them. However mittens are easy to get dirty so they'd need to be washed often. Is it OK to just toss them in the washer? Or will I end up with mittens that fit dolls? The sweaters have already shrank from regular adult size to something that fits a 6 year old, would they keep shrinking if I make them into mittens and wash them?

[sunanthem]

If you have already felted the sweaters, then no, they shouldn't keep felting more, but I would wash the mittens in cold, not hot, to let them not felt more and also in gentle cylce of some type. You could even just hand wash and line dry. Probably don't want to put them in the dryer if you want them to last.

HTH!

Saamy

[lexapurple]

It depends on the sweater. My hubby shrank felted covers I made from toddler sized to newborn in the wash. And they gotten very stiff too.
It would be safer to hand wash them and dry flat.