I said that alpaca, cashmere and mohair didn't shrink. Well I was wrong!

[woolywahm]

I wrote a thread a while back about washing wool sweaters when I thought I knew everything.....hope I didn't mess anyone's project up.

...I said that alpaca, cashmere and mohair didn't shrink. Well I was wrong!

I just happened to wash all 3 of these after posting that thread and all three shrank, albeit the cashmere didn't shrink as much as other wools.

I guess it just goes to show that care must be taken not to shrink your woolies unless you fully intend to and don't care how much they shrink.

You can start of mildly with a gentle cycle on cold and no dryer for the least amount of shrinkage if you are worried about it. For max shrinkage use a hot heavy duty cycle and dry in hot dryer. Be aware that any poly or nylon or microfibers may sort of melt into a yukky texture if it is in a garment when dried in a hot dryer.

[catalabella]

in my experience all natural fiber shrink some

[mamamoo]

All animal fibers will felt.

[EastonsMom]

In case you want to fix them...

Wool shrinks when exposed to shocking changes of temperature and/or agitation If your cover was machine washed or dried by accident (I don't recommend you doing this on purpose) and looks minuscule, there is something you can do to fix it most of the time.
You will need a big bottle of hair conditioner (the cheap kind is just fine). Fill your sink with lukewarm water and dilute half bottle of conditioner, soak the cover on it!... You can almost hear the cover squeal in delight Now gently stretch the cover until you get it back to its normal size using more conditioner if needed. Once you have it back to normal size, take good care to rinse it well and gently, using tepid water. Wash it with shampoo again to get every bit of conditioner out but been careful not to rub hard or using too hot or too cold water or you could felt it again . Finally rinse with clean tepid water and 1 TBS of vinegar. Why?... Because if left it in the cover the hair conditioner will cause the wool to hang on smells and be less water repellent/absorbent.


Love me some kiwipie Wool Care guide!!

[mother culture]

I never heard of teh conditioner trick. I always wash and dry my sweaters before cutting and it really differs from blend and knit. I think lambswool shrinks the most.