WoolWeenies Club

[malkin]

Wool is such cool stuff--It has sort of scales on the outside of each fiber. Warm water opens them up and if they are agitated while the scales are open then the fibers will enmesh with each other. From our perspective this is felting.

If you get the wool hot but don't slosh it around then the scales just go back where they were without hooking up with their neighbors.

To sum up: Higher temps are ok. Higher temps + agitation may cause felting.

Some wool is treated chemically to change the structure, but with such a pretty jersey, why risk it?

[Catrin]

Wool is such cool stuff--It has sort of scales on the outside of each fiber. Warm water opens them up and if they are agitated while the scales are open then the fibers will enmesh with each other. From our perspective this is felting.

If you get the wool hot but don't slosh it around then the scales just go back where they were without hooking up with their neighbors.

To sum up: Higher temps are ok. Higher temps + agitation may cause felting.

Some wool is treated chemically to change the structure, but with such a pretty jersey, why risk it?

Ahhhh, ok. So if stick with the cold water then it is safe to send it through the full cycle? I am just afraid that if I try to hand-wash it that I won't get enough water out and bad things will happen....my hands are quite weak due to arthritis.

Of course, for now at least, it isn't touching my skin so I won't need to wash it every time I wear it...

[Becky]

Of course, for now at least, it isn't touching my skin so I won't need to wash it every time I wear it...

I don't wash my wool stuff every time I wear it, skin contact or not. As long as it doesn't smell once it's dry, it's ok for another wearing IMO.

[OakLeaf]

I haven't been able to find flat dryers in stores for several years now. The ones I've linked to work fine, but unfortunately, on the last batch I got, the mesh top is actually made for a smaller base, so it pulls the legs out of alignment and they can't be stacked.

Every wool weenie needs this accessory.

[malkin]

I use a folding wood drying rack sort of like this:
http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CEUQ8gIwAg#

Stuff can be organized to drape over 1,2,3, or 4 bars depending on size and weight and how much else there is to hang up.

I have 3 of them.

[OakLeaf]

I have a couple of those too, for when I run out of clothesline, or when I need to dry my Lycra in the house on a wet or cold day. But they don't support a wool garment enough to keep it from stretching into weird shapes, even if I lay a single garment over the top rails.

[Crankin]

I just use a regular drying rack for my wool; I find that hanging my Shaks, etc. doesn't seem to ruin the shape of them. Once in awhile I will lay them flat on top of the washer, but that takes up a lot of space. Yeah, I can hear my mother yelling at me, as she was a true wool weenie, knitting all of her sweaters by hand.
We did have to get a bigger drying rack for all of the wool and lycra that can't be put in the dryer.