Washing pure wool--a revelation

I have cones of colourmart yarn upstairs, they are cheap as they are produced for commercial use ie cashmere and cashmere/silk blends

Your post has inspired me Monica and I am just about to make skeins from the cones, I will soak and thwack and that will also help in making swatch-making. It is going to be a dry enough day so the skeins can be draped over coat hangers to drip outside

I have some cashmere jumpers & cardigans, plus some pure wool ones which I have never dared put in the washing machine and follow the same process as you karmalady which is a bit of a faff I agree. Dare I?

Monica, after spinning and turning into hanks. Home spinners always soak their skeins, thwack them outside and hang to drip dry. Your jumper was obviously not treated with this process. Such a shame and often expensive woollen garments are labelled as dry clean only, which is a cop out

This pre-soaking and thwacking gets rid of any shrinkage potential

I dare not trial with my best tops so this morning took out of a drawer an early spin, ie loose woollen 2 ply spin merino that looks very delicate and which I knit into a poncho. I only wear it rarely so I have tentatively trialled this chunky one on a machine wash

Turned inside out, 1 tsp of eucalan in the drawer and set on a wool wash 30, then I watched as it was gently rocked from side to side. It took 39 minutes and I did expect felting

Amazing result, no felting at all, a beautiful wash and is now drying flat. After all these years, I learnt something new, a game changer

I have a miele but I suggest that you watch a wool wash on any machine. Look for the gentle rocking motion. The only time mine got bashed was at the absolute start of spinning and then it remained on the outer drum. It spun at 1000

As I read this I am looking at a beautiful wool sweater, bought this autumn, which I washed with great care - and which has shrunk. The body and arms have stretched back to size with some careful pulling, but the neck is a separate piece, sewn on very tightly with chain stitch. It was always tight, Now it is completely impossible to get over my head.

I intend to remove this piece and think of a way of fixing it back on with more 'give' in it. Grrrr.