Wool suiting

[kaitlinnegan]

I have some brown wool suiting that I bought for $2/yard on clearance at Joann's last year - I think it also has 2% lycra. Now I'm actually getting around to using it - I plan to use it as a start to my new wardrobe. The question is - to wash, or not to wash? I don't remember what the care instructions on the bolt were, but most of the wool suiting fabric I can find online says hand wash cold or dry clean. I would probably never wear my wool garments if I had to dry clean them, so I'd prefer to go the hand wash cold route..but what do you guys think? I would wash it before sewing with it, but do you think there will be much shrinkage? Most importantly, if I've washed it in cold water with Woolite once and line dried, will the finished garment shrink more with subsequent washes or will the first washing get most of the shrinkage?

[Sancin]

I can't remember the last year I had something dry cleaned and I wear a lot of wool. Wash in cold water and dry flat (not hang - may stretch out with weight of water). Once the fabric or garment is dry use a press cloth, steam and PRESS to return wool to former finish.

I have washed woolen coats and as a teenager, in the dark ages, I washed all my woolen pleated skirts and kilts. I also always wash sweaters.

I wash woolens in the washing machine, which I never leave until washing is finished. My hands can't get the water out as well as a spin dry will. I fill the washing machine with cold water, add the soap or detergent (depending on the type of water where I live) and let the agitator mix the soap well, then add the garment, ensuring it is all submerged. Then agitate about 4-5 agitations on normal cycle. You may be more comfortable squeezing the water through the fabric several times if you don't think the agitation thoroughly wets the fabric. Wool is supposedly waterproof. Turn off the machine for about 15-20 minutes and let fabric/garment soak, agitate again about 4-5 agitations then advance dial to normal spin dry. If I have noticed stains before washing I check them out at this point and squeeze through the fabric. I really like Oxyclean spot cleaner but do not use it on wool or silk - don't ask me how I know. I rinse the garment/fabric the same way, but usually do 2-3 rinses to ensure all soap / detergent is out. Spin dry on normal spin, gently lift garment / fabric out of the machine, give it a little shake in your hands then lie out on a drying rack. I don't necessarily ensure that it is perfectly laid out or that nothing is hanging. It depends on the drying rack that I have. Wool dries fairly quickly. Pressing is definitely a must.

Garbardine weave is one wool that is hard to wash and iron and I avoid it. I have never had anything shrink by washing is cold water using gentle care so I don't wash before my fabric before sewing. Many better quality woolen fabrics are now treated to be machine washable but I still do them the same way. I have thrown older sweaters in with gentle washes and they come out OK so suspect fabric would as well - much depends upon the tightness of the weave.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.

PS I just got a new front loading washing machine so don't know what I will do about soaking clothes/fabrics. I have kept my old machine until I find out!!

[PaulineG]

Nancy - there's this marvellous new invention - it's called a bucket!!

Seriously - I've never considered that before. It could make life difficult. I don't often soak in my washing machine but would miss the flexibility if I didn't have it.

[kaitlinnegan]

Hmm, I've got a front loading machine too, so the soaking in the machine routine won't be an option. We do have a bucket, but I don't relish the idea of washing 5 yards of 54" wide suiting by hand. I don't think it would even fit in our bucket! I might just cross my fingers and throw it in the washer on cold in the delicate cycle with a little bit of Woolite (a very little bit, since it's not HE). I suppose I could test a swatch first - I think I do have a few things that need to go in on delicate. Well, I'll let you know how it comes out!

~Kaitlin

[DorothyL]

I could test a swatch first

BRILLIANT

[kaitlinnegan]

See...sometimes I have common sense.

[Sancin]

Pauline - I do know about buckets and do have a lot that I use, primarily for small items and for dying fabric. But wool absorbs a lot of water and I find getting wash and rinse water out before the next stage is too heavy. Thus I went to washing machine and spin drying. Sometimes I even wash in buckets and transfer to wm to spin.

Before there were washing machines women boiled water and churned with a stick which seemed to cause shrinkage but even before that and in different cultures, washers pounded washing onto stones - whether these were wool washings or not I don't know. When my children were in diapers I found a product that could be used 'as' is to soak and then wash without separate rinsings - I would take it camping when we were camping by rivers or lakes. No doubt a 'no no' today.

My front loader is really new and I have only washed 3 loads in it. Sooo I stood in front of it and watched a cycle. I think that running it through a delicate cycle would work. The front loader seems to throw the 'stuff' rather than agitate it - agitation being the thing that causes wools to felt and shrink. But before I find out could someone please let me know how woolens turn out.

PS Kate - I suspect, by the price, that your wool fabric probably has a fair bit of synthetic other than spandex in it in which case wm is probably safe. You could try a burn test on a fibre to find out. I can't find (new computer) my site that tells how to determine fibre content by burning with a match. Wool does have a distinct smell when burned.

[LeapFrog Libby]

Kaitlinn,
FYI-- If you have access to a Dollar Tree Store, go there and buy their cold water wash.. It is better than Woolite and much less expensive,... I have used it now for 7-10 years.. I always used it and # 1 son told me one day it was better than his woolite.. (he picked mine up by mistake and made this discovery) I knew he would not believe me if I told him about it, so I had not tried.. But he is a firm believer now and no longer buys Woolite at more than 3 times the price.. I use it for all my delicate cycle washloads..

[kaitlinnegan]

Libby - thanks for the tip! We have a couple dollar stores around here - I think one of them must be a Dollar Tree. I'm always a little leery of stuff there, but it's good to know the cold water wash is good! I don't think the woolite was too pricey, but it certainly wasn't a dollar.

We've had good luck with our front loader so far -- we've had it for a year now. I did manage to shrink a wool sweater with it (which is perhaps why I'm a little paranoid about the suiting fabric), but I think it got accidentally mixed in with the regular wash rather than done on delicate with woolite. I'm a bit torn as to whether a "quick wash" (~30 minutes) or "delicate" (45 minutes) would be better - I should probably look in the manual to see what the cycle is like for each. If there is some other synthetic in the suiting, the bolt was improperly labeled - I know it only said wool and spandex. I don't really care either way, but now I'm curious..so maybe I'll try a burn test.

[Sancin]

Apparently hair shampoo is a good product to use to wash delicates and wool.
Good way to use up those samples or ones you didn't like, I suppose, though I haven't tried it. I keep the samples in my guest bathroom and long ago threw out those ones I didn't like.
Has anyone noticed that shopping for shampoos these days is a bit like shopping in the produce department? Everyone seems to have some fruit as an ingredient.