Felting Sweater Before Making Longies???

[nicholas_mom]

I have 100% cashmere sweater which I like to make longies out of them.

Do I need to wash the sweater before I make the longies? Someone was talking about felting a sweater after making a longies. What is felting a sweater mean?

[bluenail]

Here's something from OSDS:

Preparing Wool Knits (such as jersey and interlock) to make effective diaper covers:

Never use regular detergents on wool.
Wash your wool on HOT with Eucalan® Wool Wash, then dry it on hot in your dryer.
You may want to repeat the process to ensure that the wool is completely 'felted'. Shrinkage varies quite a bit depending on how hot you water and dryer are, and how rigorous your agitator is. You can lose 12" in length and 8" in width so be sure to buy enough. (Wool interlock shrinks quite a bit less than wool jersey).
Your wool is ready to cut and sew into a beautiful wool cover!
After the cover is sewn, it's ready to use. Air it out between uses. You won't need to wash it in Eucalan again for 1 - 2 weeks or unless the diaper leaks poop on it.
This wool can be washed on a gentle cycle in cool water with a capful of Eucalan®. Lay flat or hang to dry.

If I were you, I would felt the sweater before making the pants - remember that wool shrinks when you felt it. Don't know about cashmere, though. I wonder if it will be substantial enough to survive? That's just me wondering, though. hth

[Hey Mama!]

I don't felt sweaters before I make soakers or longies. I think it's just as easy to throw them all in the sink to wash and lanolize.

[WhimsyTyme]

Hi mama! I wouldn't felt the cashmere. You are to change the feel of the sweater when you gelt it. You may or may not like the end result. Too remember that felting draws the knit tighter together and the sizing of the sweater will change, so felt then make the pants if you decide to do this.

HTH mama!

Be sure to post pics of your pants when they are done!

[nicholas_mom]

Thanks for your replies. So, does felting help be a good soaker or that doesn't matter?

[Siana]

Originally Posted by nicholas_mom

Thanks for your replies. So, does felting help be a good soaker or that doesn't matter?

Because felting matts the fibers together, I have heard that it gets thicker (I am still getting around to making my felted bum sweaters!). If your sweater is already very thick, felting may not be a good idea, because you don't want it to be too stiff on your baby... probably would be really uncomfortable.

Siana.

[pugmommy7]

bluenail, would you mind posting a link to that felted cover pattern site? or non felted for that matter. i really want to begin making them.
thanks so much

[Beth-TX]

I never felt my sweaters before I make them into soakers because I feel like it makes them too stiff. If the sweater is thin-ish, I use a double layer in the stride. It makes for a slightly bulkier diaper butt, but it's much softer. HTH!

peace, Beth

[bluenail]

Ummm - actually, the OSDS (One Stop Diaper Stop) sells material (including wool) for diaper making. So no patterns for recycled longies there. Sorry...