Playing it safe

[Tengu]

Living in the Iron Age a lot of my clothing these days is of wool, and of course it has to be washed.

(Have a compliant Landlady who realises that I work in a dirty environment with a fire, and so have a funk, but has stressed I should have a new funk every day)

Luckily the washing machine has a setting marked WOOL

But just in case, I (At some effort and a certain amount of money) have gotten a supply of woven labels marked `100% Wool`.

As a reminder, and more so if someone else is doing the laundry.

 

[haptalaon]

Does the setting work well? I would be anxious about putting any of my woolen stuff in a washing machine

 

[Toddy]

Years ago made a very beautiful iron age woollen gown. Wonderful fabric, woven and coloured to suit the available technology and local dyes. Every stitch was sewn by hand, every gore and edge finished by hand sewing.
It was much admired.

I was a size 16, and at the end of the season I washed the gown.....it fit my friend Trisha's six year old perfectly
It shrunk down perfectly, even all my careful stitching done with threads drawn from the fabric, shrunk evenly.
Hannah loved that dress, it was perfect for a Viking child it ended up in the local Vikings kit bag for kids wear.

Moral of tale; wash scraps before you wash a garment.

 

[Chris]

My wife put my woolen Fjallraven hat in the wash by accident the other week (it was stuck to the inside of a jacket) and it came out about the size of a thimble. It was comedically small, I couldn't even be upset.

 

[hughtrimble]

I've had good fortune with wool washing, no comical (and painful wallet!) shrinkage.

I use the wool setting on the washing machine, which I think uses mains water temperature (cold) though can be adjusted. The key thing is the type of cleaner you use, as most of the standard stuff you use on cotton/synthetics etc. is not friendly to wool. I typically use Nikwax Wool Wash or Dilling Wool Wash, depending on the garment. The Nikwax does have slight chemical smell to it but not in a bad way to me. I've not used the stuff you get for outer garments which replaces the lanolin and helps to maintain the water repellency. Naturally, that's not suitable to wash base/mid layers.

Mostly I can get away with airing wool clothes which really reduces the frequency of washing. After a smoke heavy weekend in the woods, I will usually wash my wool gear, but I have previously left a wood-smoked merino/cashmere jumper in a garage to 'air' and in a few weeks the smoke smell had gone. Happily wore that again without washing and had I had access to a covered outdoor space, I imagine it would have lost the smell much more rapidly.

 

[Toddy]

I just soak my wool in a huge garden trug with a squirt of shampoo.....wool is hair, shampoo is meant to be gentle on hair.
Let it soak, sapple it gently, rinse it carefully and lay it out flat to drain off then hang to dry.
Re-lanolinise as required for outer wear.

 

[Tengu]

The Wool setting is great for freshening up, any serious dirt I suspect would be done by hand.

I, mercifully, have never had a wool disaster.

I am currently working on wool leg wrappings off of an old blanket; I suspect I am being a bit fussy by hemming them exactly (and the label) but the Iron age folk had nice clothing and I doubt anyone with style would have just rough strips.

(What is this stylish animal I have turned into, who has snazzy clothing and wears exciting jewellry?? I do not know this person...)

Going through my kit I found two chequer blankets I found at the car boot yonks ago; actually lengths of cloth sewn up the middle.

I am going to make a dress with one, and the others will be wraps for the use of the public. (Not every one loose in an outdoor museum seems to dress appropriately, so we keep a supply if we spot anyone shivering).

I dont think I will blanket stitch them, too much faff, some else can do that if they wish.

 

[hughtrimble]

I just soak my wool in a huge garden trug with a squirt of shampoo.....wool is hair, shampoo is meant to be gentle on hair.
Let it soak, sapple it gently, rinse it carefully and lay it out flat to drain off then hang to dry.
Re-lanolinise as required for outer wear.

Interesting - I had read that soaking wool damages the fibers; a company I try and buy from when possible is Dilling, and they also state this in the wool washing guide.

But reading the British Wool's guide, they state to soak for around 10 minutes!

 

[Pattree]

My understanding, such as it is, is that it is the degree of agitation as well as the temperature that shrinks wool. I know felters who deliberately shrink wool, not just “too hot” but with maximum spin cycles.

 

[Toddy]

Wool is fine sodden wet. It's sheep hair, and nowadays the sheep are out on the hill 24/7/52. We live in a wet climate.....

The weight of wet wool can stretch garments though, so lay it flat, even if that means on scrubbed paving stones, lay it flat to drain. (I used to use the bath, but we only have a shower cubicle thing now, so outside they go)
Then dry it carefully. No shrinkage

I make felt, it's damp agitation/pressure, sometimes needleworking, that makes felt.

If you stuff your shoes with raw fleece, you'll end up with felted insoles pdq

 

[Broch]

The wool cycle on a decent modern washing machine is fine - it's typically 30C with slow movement and light spin (if any). I have a lot of pure wool stuff (both bought and home-made) and they've all been through on the wool cycle. I don't use an aggressive detergent but I don't use anything that's defined as for wool either.

Conversely, the next cycle up (40C Eco) will shrink a wool garment.