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Laundry disaster.

 
 
Alex's Grandma
19:46 / 11.06.06
Does anyone know if there's anything to be done about wool, cashmere and angora jumpers that have been shrunk to the size of a five year old's wardrobe by a washing machine that's apparently gone into freefall, psychologically?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
19:47 / 11.06.06
If they're yours, then crying seems an option.

If they're someone else's... well, I hear Brazil's nice this time of year...
 
 
iconoplast
19:50 / 11.06.06
Well, I know a five year old who would very much love some cashmere and angora...
 
 
Triplets
19:56 / 11.06.06
Pym Particles might help.
 
 
Mistoffelees
20:06 / 11.06.06
My cashmere jumpers never shrunk, but since I was too lazy to wash them by hand and put them in the washing machine, they developed holes, which got bigger and bigger, and now I only buy wool/cotton mix jumpers. They donĀ“t feel as nice, but they survive the washing!
 
 
Ticker
20:08 / 11.06.06
you can over the course of a few cycles wet the item throughly, stretch it gently (GENTLY!) and repeat (using air in a room to dry NO SUN!!!). I've had luck getting a few things back to adult size using this method (the ex was always doing this to my wool stuff) but it will never be exactly the same adult size. The items will take time to stretch, be patient, be gentle, be zen. Be prepared to spend a considerable amount of time doing this therapy.
 
 
Alex's Grandma
20:09 / 11.06.06
If that's a reference to the Marvel Comics character, Triplets, you're off my Christmas card list.

If not though, what are those, and where can I get some?

I should probably say that as much as I wish they were, the jumpers in question aren't actually mine. The washing machine, however, is.
 
 
Alex's Grandma
20:22 / 11.06.06
Thank you, xk.

If you haven't been Barbe-crushed, huggled or anything similar in the past, well now you have.
 
 
Mourne Kransky
20:39 / 13.06.06
Barbie loves cashmere.

Whenever I shrink one of Ganesh's expensive John Smedleys or similar, I throw the evidernce in a skip then nip out and buy another, identical, or just lie through my teeth when he's hunting high and low for said garment at some later point. Depends how badly you've shrunk it, Grandma, on your old scrubbing board, but good wool's unforgiving of rough treatment.

Odd that, when the raw material comes off the ragged back or neck of a beast that ran about in the mud and glaur of the countryside or mountaintops and probably had lumps of shit hanging from its back end most of the time.
 
 
Elijah, Freelance Rabbi
20:48 / 13.06.06
Pardon my American, but what is a 'jumper'?
 
 
Mon Oncle Ignatius
20:58 / 13.06.06
jumper=sweater
 
 
sleazenation
22:11 / 13.06.06
Elijah, for shame-have you never even heard the seminal track 'where's me jumper' by those soulful songsters, The Sultans of Ping FC? Get thee to a mp3 downloading service immediately! and possibly you should seriously consider purchasing the whole of Casual Sex at the Cineplex by way of atonement.
 
 
Smoothly
22:22 / 13.06.06
Whenever I shrink one of Ganesh's expensive John Smedleys...

Weird, cos mine always get stretched and misshapen and baggy as fuck.
How do you shrink things again?
 
 
Ticker
23:30 / 13.06.06
controlled shrinkage would be washing in warm water and air drying. Repeat until desired size achieved. Note 'warm' if you use 'hot' you may skip the desired size and go directly to tiny.

I had some crazed alpaca knitting experiment that I super shrunk down in one of those industrial dryers. Still needed to franken-stitch it, though. Had it been sheep's wool it would have taken 5 seconds to become 20 times smaller.

----->ZAP!<------
 
 
Ticker
23:31 / 13.06.06
aw shucks Grandma! Thank ye!

But let me know how it goes and remember if all else fails go with Xoc's suggestion.
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
00:01 / 14.06.06
crazed alpaca knitting experiment is going to be the name of my new band. Or my first-born child. Or possibly memoirs.
 
 
trouble at bill
16:45 / 15.06.06
i have been told that washing stuff with hair conditioner will deshrink it, but have no idea whatsoever whether that's true or effective.
 
 
Ticker
16:54 / 15.06.06

crazed alpaca knitting experiment is going to be the name of my new band. Or my first-born child. Or possibly memoirs.


I'm happy to make you an example of one if you'd like, Stoatally.
 
 
Ticker
16:56 / 15.06.06
i have been told that washing stuff with hair conditioner will deshrink it, but have no idea whatsoever whether that's true or effective.

hrm, I suspect this would loosen the fibers to allow stretching. I'd want to do a tiny tiny test patch first to make sure said lubricant did not stain the wool.
 
 
Triplets
17:12 / 15.06.06
You could turn the sweater into a tiny noose.
 
  
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