Cashmere/wool + hot + water = Fashion disaster!

Have you ever shrunk your cashmere scarf half the size or.. is your niece wearing your favorite wool sweater? This blog post is for you :)

This following post is dedicate to my good friend, Erica.

Erica had a romantic get away in Calgary/Banff and borrowed my cashmere scarf.. Before giving it back to me, she decided to wash it. Nice right..? The story could of end there with a happy ending but it doesn't. Erica accidentally put my cashmere scarf in the dryer and t's now half the size. Erica learned something that day.. Cashmere/wool + hot + water = Fashion disaster!

But.. did you know that there is hope for your favorite shrunken cashmere scarf or sweater.. Here is what you need:

You will need a few tick towels, hair conditioner or baby shampoo.

1) First you need to relax the fibers enough to allow for reshaping.. For this you need to soak your scarf/sweater in the sink/bathtub with warm water and about 1/3 cup of hair conditioner for at least 30 min. You can add 1/2 tablespoon of salt, this will help the color not to bleed. Then, try to reshape your scarf by pulling very gently while still in the water. Do that for an other 15 minutes. DON'T RINSE. Let the water drain.

2) ** For a sweater.. go to the next step. ** Hang the scarf on a padded hanger over the bathtub, so the water keeps dripping in the bathtub. The weight of the water will also help it stretch.

3) Remove the excess water and lay it flat on towels. You can roll your garment in a towel to get the excess water. Continue to pull on the sweater/scarf until it is almost dry. You can fold the sweater/scarf in half to make sure you are stretching it evenly. When it's almost dry, lightly ironed it, tell me if it worked and DO NOT EVER do that again !

Still a little crooked? Steam and iron your garment while stretch it. I swear it works!

I also know that professional dry-cleaner may be able to do something. They put it on a "blocking tool" and they stretch it for you..

Did you know that if you add 1 cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle of your washing, it will remove soap residue and it softens the fabric. Yep!

Use Woolite in the future!