wool?

[BlessedOne]

ok I hear everyone talking about wool. I was wondering if you are talking about 100% wool or what. When I think of wool, I think of scratchiness and shrinking.
Anyway, I went through my clothes today and I found a 100% wool sweater that I shrank....but it is soooooooo rough and itchy. I can not imagine that around my baby. Do you guys felt it more or something to make it softer? Or do you not use that kind of wool?


I also found some old sweaters that are not wool. They are starting to fall apart. Would they work as fill? Like take a t-shirt and sew over it so it does not fall apart so much ? Any ideas?

[Jojo F.]

You could try lanolizing the 100% wool sweater and see if that softens it up any. Felting might work too.

When I make wool covers I try to buy really soft merino sweaters at Goodwill/Salvation Army. Or I buy the 100% wool yarn and knit them. (i'm the crazy lady feeling all of the wool yarn at the fabric/craft store and "petting" sweaters)

As for the fill, how absorbant are they? Get them wet and see how much they hold. If it's a good amount go ahead and use them

[MyLittleWarrior]

merino and lambswool are the softest. When I shop for wool sweaters at the thrift store I usually stick with these, unless the sweater is really neat, in which case sometimes I'll line it with softer wool, and have the scratchier/pretty print on the outside. Shetland wool tends to be scratchy, as well as sweaters marked just Wool. If the falling apart sweaters are cotton or mostly cotton, then they'd probably make great fillers. If they're acrylic they probably won't hold much moisture.

[thixle]

I have a trick for the thrift store wool sweaters. Put your bare arms through the sleeves while you continue to flip through the racks. If your arms start itching, don't use that sweater! (yep, i have a soaker that is too freaking itchy to use, even after lanolizing)
Some wool is soooooooooooooo unbelievably soft. Like buttery.

And check the fiber content of the falling apart sweaters... Natural materials (cottons, hemps, wools, and silks) are absorbant. Synthetics (acrylic, polyester, nylon, rayon, etc) are NOT.
If the sweaters are simply a little holey/unravelly, use em! If they are literally falling apart (tufts of fibers floating away) they will continue to fall apart and bunch up uncomfortably.

[BlessedOne]

thanks guys!


how do you lanolize?

[thixle]

Originally Posted by BlessedOne

thanks guys!


how do you lanolize?

It is super, super easy. You can use "real" soap instead of fancy Eucelan (sp?) wool wash.
http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/lanolize.htm

[BlessedOne]

thanks!
yeah I looked and it is shetland wool

although oddly enough when I had it laying on the bed, she scooted up to it and laid her head on it and sort of cuddled with it....lol. She stayed there for a long time until I moved her. So maybe she does mind it.





When you cut wool sweaters does it make them fall apart? what is the process?

[thixle]

Originally Posted by BlessedOne

When you cut wool sweaters does it make them fall apart? what is the process?

As long as you felt the sweater first (that's just a fancy term for shrinking it in the washer and running it through the dryer! You may want to wash/dry it twice, but you want it to be slightly stretchy)... well, then it won't fall apart or unravel when you cut it. The individual fibers get tangled together, keeping the yarn from unraveling, and make it thicker and more absorbant. Wool covers aren't waterproof, they are super absorbant and spread the liquids over a larger area, keeping the liquids in the actual diaper, and feel dry to the touch on the outside. They are also breatheable!

Anyway, once you have felted the sweater, cut off the sleeves at the armhole seam-- makes great quick and easy legs for sweaterpants. Lots of good directions on the web (check the stickies!). Depending on the size of the kiddo and sweater, you should be able to get a wrap, pull-on shorties, or a skirtie out of the body of the sweater. Lots of people use the waist of the sweater as the waist of the new pants to make the rise high enough. And I often use the scraps as a gusset for the butt so there is more room (just a U shaped piece sewn into the back seam).

Don't be intimidated, if you mess up really bad, you've only "lost" a shrunken sweater... and baby doesn't care if your seams are a little wonkey.