Restoring a wool sweater is possible! Have you ever washed a wool sweater in the washing machine? Not on purpose of course, but one of those moments where you are in a hurry and the wool sweater accidently gets tossed in the wash. Perhaps it even got tossed into the dryer and came out looking like a doll sweater? did you know it is possible to restore a wool sweater?
Last year I accidentally washed my son’s favorite wool sweater. The problem was that he has two gray sweaters; one can go into the wash while the other one must be hand washed. I was in a hurry and washed the wrong sweater. What to do? It was a beautiful sweater so I set it aside hoping to find something I could do with it.
A year later my girlfriend calls me up and tells me she did the same thing, washed her favorite wool sweater. Only she spent a little time on the Internet and found a solution!
You just soak the sweater in warm water and conditioner and the yarn will relax and return to it’s original shape. Was I ever skeptical! However, I love my son and it was worth trying to see if I could restore his favorite sweater to it’s original size.
Put enough warm water in the sink to allow you to completely submerge the sweater. Add a bit of hair conditioner and mix it until it’s completely dissolved in the water.
Place your sweater in the water and make sure it is completely soaked and under the water. Let the sweater soak for 10 minutes.
Drain the sink while the sweater is still in it. Gently press the sweater to remove as much of the water as possible. Don’t squeeze the sweater or wring it out.
Remove the wet sweater and lay it on a thick, absorbent towel. Put the sweater in a cool room to air dry on the towel. The combination of the warm water, hair conditioner and cool air will unlock the wool fibers and allow you to restore the sweater.
Gradually stretch the sweater back into shape as it dries. Gently pull a bit at a time to resize it. Let the sweater air dry until it is ready to wear.
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Nancy on the Home Front 
I’m so sorry to hear of your son’s disability. I’m assuming he’s disabled because I can’t think of another reason why you would be raising a male to expect females to be their maids. He’s going to go out into the world looking for a partner and you are setting him up for failure because today’s females aren’t going to “do his laundry” for him as a “sign of love,” as you are. I would have been more impressed if you had taught your son how to correctly launder and restore his sweater himself. As it is, you are sending him into the world as a dependent child.
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Interesting reply Amy, Since I was the one that shrunk my son’s sweater I wanted to find a way to fix my mistake! Believe me my two sons and two daughters are very independent and know perfectly well how to cook, clean and do their own laundry! They are in no way disabled nor are they out in the world looking for a maid!
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Nancy – thank you so much for your wonderful post, I will save it in case I need it. I once washed a Cashmere sweater and I thought it was ruined for good and so I did not keep it and try and restore. So in case I make a mistake again, which is a possibility, you have given me a solution. Amy’s comments were extremely rude and unnecessary. As Mothers we of course teach our children how to do things but that does not mean that that we cannot do things for them. I am the Mother of two grown sons, who generously help their wives with all the household chores. There is give and take in every family.
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Margo,
It’s great to have a solution for any future shrunken sweaters! Your two sons sound just like my two sons! And so true about give and take in a family! Thanks for stoping by!
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You can say that again Nancy. We must not judge anyone without knowing the facts. Perhaps the boy helps his mom with other things such as mowing the lawn etc.
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Meaning that they do their fair share, and then help their wives with their wives’ shares as well? That is pretty generous!
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Nancy!! It worked! Thank you so much for saving my fav jumper!!! < 3 ps. Don't listen to amy 😦
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Nina,
glad to hear! another successful outcome! 🙂
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Well done Nancy and I mean for not rising to the bait to the previous post ‘teaching’ you how to raise your kids. It’s a real shame that the internet gives a medium to people, who have nothing better to do than ‘correct’ the way other people go about their business.
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Nancy,
I found your site because I shrunk two wool sweaters from Madewell in the dryer and I really like them and want to salvage them. I will try your tip tonight!
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Hi Nancy, I’m very happy to have come across your post and thank you for sharing the laundry advice. I’ve narrowed it down to yours and one that recommended a similar method, but used baby shampoo instead of conditioner. I just did the same thing to a nearly new wool sweater and was beside myself. Without time to experiment, due to travel; I decided to bring it with me as I traveled internationally, back to the United States. After thirty years of service with the Marine Corps, retirement and recently beginning my own family; my Mom finds no greater pleasure than doing things like this for me and though I could mess around with this sweater, I will be giving it to my Mom (along with some advice) and letting her have at it, praising her to no end when my sweater is restored and thanking her for the effort if it doesn’t work. Thanks again. Edward.
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Edward,
thank you for your service and I hope you or your moms able to restore your sweater! 🙂
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Nancy, Thank you for your tip!
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Great reply, Nancy, and thanks for the helpful post!
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What a graceful reply Nancy, loved it. People like Amy probably wanna make others feel bad and you very rightly and beautifully answered👌🏻
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Amy — what a ridiculous comment. I am a 29-year old man and, growing up, my mother didn’t work so took the liberty of doing the laundry, cooking, and cleaning. I must say that her acts of generosity did not foster a belief that women are maids, but rather an appreciation for the generosity and love of others. Now married to a wonderful woman that must work six days a week, I am the one that does all of our laundry. Your absurd generality is your own opinion and certainly doesn’t represent a “fact”. Perhaps your own shortcomings as a mother have fostered this negative attitude. The dynamic of each family is unique, and cannot be so callously and recklessly generalized.
Nancy — thank you for the advice! I accidentally washed a wool sweater of mine and I am giving your method above a try. I sincerely appreciate your post!
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David,
Thanks for stopping by and I hope this works as well for you as it did for me! I was amazed at the results! Have to say I really enjoyed your comments (to Amy) as well! 🙂
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What kind of person are you to insult her and her son. Calling him disabled because his mother does the laundry. You don’t even know how old her son is before making judgement. Obviously you don’t have children and if you do I feel sorry for them. I am a mother and I do the laundry and o wouldn’t expect my daughter to do it!!!
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Michaela,
I appreciate your comments! Both my sons (2) and daughters (2) know how to do laundry, I felt since I shrunk the sweater I should try to fix it! 🙂
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I am shocked by the unkindness of this remark.
Nancy, thank you for this post. Both my husband and I have shrunken sweaters in the wash. The most recent event being my mistake. Like you, I’m going to be the one to stretch it back.
Take care.
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Samantha,
It is funny the comments I receive, some folks just miss the point of the post! I shrunk my son’s sweater so I wanted to restore it! 🙂
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Amy you can’t be serious I guess you sure one of those women who wouldn’t date a man if they live in the same house as his mother. Surprisingly society don’t have a problem if a woman dates a man living with his wife and sometimes children but has a problem if that man lives with his mother even if they decided to purchase a house together to avoid paying individual rents. My son did the laundry while he was in college and he is a special ED teacher and he still does. He is also an amazing cook ask his girlfriend who appreciate him for pooling with me so we could buy our house when I lost my job after 23 years. Thanks Nancy I also shrunk my son’s cocci sweater and it worked
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Clida,
I’m glad you had success with your sweater!
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Go house sharing!! My spouse and I share a house with my mother and two younger brothers because she is disabled and needs the extra help.
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You shouldn’t have to explain yourself Nancy ….people who love and care for each other help each other out …amy is a troll … I don’t understand how people can be happy with themselves leaving such hurtful comments…anyway…I shrunk my wool sweater lol…that’s why I stumbled upon this ..gonna try it out ..thank you
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Rjonearth,
Hope it works as well for you as it did for me! 🙂
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Well, it doesn’t really matter who was doing the laundry, we appreciate the solution to this problem, I have shrunk 3 sweaters in the last 2 weeks, one lets say cost a little toooo much. Thank you for this information
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Sheri,
I hope this works as well for you as it did for me!!
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Love it! When mine was young, I figured that it was my responsibility as a parent to teach survival skills as a sign of love.
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What a stupid comment Amy Luna! Thank you so much Nancy, it worked like magic!
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Charlie,
glad to hear another success story!!
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You have GOT to be kidding! Why is it a bad thing to wash your sons sweater?? Geez???? Sometimes being a mother IS a wonderful job and shows them how to do things by actually doing
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Lori,
My thoughts exactly!
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This hint is a wonder hint. Will try this afternoon.
Ouch, what a small mind to believe that a mom can not raise an independent male child. I have six children, 4 boys, two girls. They ALL know the “domestic arts” and practice them. As did the original poster, I washed my partners one wool sweater without checking which of the two same colored ones I was throwing into the wash.
And I am double degreed,(Law and Business management, neither particularly feminine roles at the time I studied for them) stay at home, empty nest,partner. It is MY CHOICE to bring the same level of detail and integrity to my housekeeping as I did to my out of home work. If I make an error, I correct it.
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wow, what a weird statement. i don’t believe anyone would ever interpret the actions described in Ms. Wolff’s submission as a route to creating a ‘lazy male’ looking for a maid. and hey, my mom did my laundry until i left for school and I have been doing it ever since…30years later. and why am i here looking at how to restore a sweater to it’s original shape? well, because my wife, who sucks at laundry, shrunk a sweater belonging to our daughter and I am trying to fix. clearly my laundry assisting mom created a lazy loaf of a son….
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Wtf??? I came across this comment at random, this is so unbelievably catty. Do you have a personal issue with the author of this blog post? I can’t fathom why you would choose to judge a family you know nothing of and analyse their distribution of household labour. I’m sure the author’s son pulls his weight in other ways. Get a grip.
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Feminazi alert!
The point of this whole article just went straight over your head, didn’t it.
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I am soaking my sweater now Nancy, and will let you know how it works. Thank you so much for posting theis.
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Sadly; my woolen top would not restore, It is made of woolen fabric, not yarn. Perhaps this is why. I used an entire bottle of Pantene conditioner. It did stretch out, when it was wet, but just shrunk back to toddler size as it was drying. Perhaps you can suggest something else Nancy. Thank you.
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Willow,
Unfortunately woolen fabric is different from a kit sweater. This is what I found. “Unfortunately, the shrinkage that occurs in wool is not reversible. The structure of wool fiber is largely responsible for this. The outside of wool fibers are covered with overlapping scales that run in one direction, much like the shingles on a roof. Wool shrinkage occurs when these scales become interlocked from exposure to moisture and agitation, such as during the washing process. Once interlocked, the scales cannot be released due to their physical structure. Attempts to forcefully stretch shrunken wools can weaken and damage the fabric.”
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This made me laugh out loud!
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Thanks for this post, Nancy I was given a merino wool sweater by a friend but it was shrunken because it was accidentally tossed in the dryer. He said I could find methods of reshaping and stretching the sweater back to size on the Internet and this was the first I found I’m definitely going to get some hair conditioner and try this. Also- he’s giving me a clothes steamer and he said that can also help with resizing and reshaping shrunken sweaters so if you don’t feel like doing all this next time you can just grab the steamer :). Thanks again, Nancy
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Amy,
Among many useful household and other skills both my mother and father taught me when I grew up, they also taught me not to ever say anything to anyone that wasn’t positive and kind and to always leave a room or conversation better than you found it. These are great things to do. Have a wonderful day and please pay it forward. It really helps your outlook in the world and I sure wish my parents were stil here to share more of their wisdom.
Hugs,
Nancy K.
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Thank you for the tip Nancy, I have a mohair table runner that I brought back to life using your system. BTW, I just love these internet trolls that have nothing better to do than to give unsolicited advice.
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Gigi,
I am always so happy to hear success stories!
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Great post, very helpful.
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Okay, I apologize for giving such a harsh reply on the negative comment of Amy Luna on your tips for restoring shrunken woolen garments. I have shrunk woolen sweaters a few times before and was seeking sound advice on what to do in case It happens again. Your advice was the most practical and the easiest to follow I have found on the Internet, so it was annoying to read Ms. Luna’s uncalled for comment about your son, while not addressing the real issue. If she has a better way of restoring shrunken woolen garments, her suggestion would be most welcome.
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nancy,
thank you so much for posting this! my boyfriend does our laundry and accidentally put one of my wool sweaters in the dryer without realizing it, so of course it shrunk! this is much better than buying a new one!
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Sarah,
Like I said I wish I’d learned this years ago! But I’m so glad I know it now!
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i came to this site looking for the solution to my shrunken cashmere jumper, and the first comment slags off the person suppling the solution
how rude to make assumptions on the life style of the person writing the piece
there was a jumper that shrank, a solution was found the finder passed it on to others, who were on the site looking to fix a similar problem
thank you Nancy for solving my problem , am off to fill my bath with warm water and hair conditioner.
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Jack, I hope it works as well for you as it did for me!
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GET OVER IT. Stay on topic. This is about sunken sweaters.
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Do you need to rinse out the conditioner after the 10 min. soak? It seems like the sweater would smell or feel odd if you leave it in…
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Christine, the conditioner is dissolved in the water and you then get as much water out as you can. I did not do a separate rinse!
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So Nancy,
Warm water soak, 10min? I’ve seen other posts that say 30min, is longer better? Also, warm water vs cold: I’m checking because you mentioned the cold air helps loosen. I have a really badly shrunk native-sweater. It’s beautiful but so sadly shrunk 😥
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RC,
I suppose if you are dealing with a badly shrunken sweater longer might be better! If you are concerned about the warm water soak try soaking in cold water first. Good luck!
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My husband (who normally does all the laundry and does a good job) washed a wool sweater in the machine. Now its shrunk and I’m heartbroken. It was my favorite and it was given to me by my mother who is no longer with us. I am so hoping this works to restore it.
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Leslie,
Hopefully this method will work as well for you as it did for me!
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The issue here is the shrunken sweater, not the life-style of the person, or how she behaves in her home, who is kind enough to share her experiences with us!
I’ve just shrunken a beautiful marino wool cardigan, hand-made in County Clare and am beside myself with grief. It has come out of the washing machine the size of a fairy’s purse. I can’t wait to douse it in hair conditioner.
Thanks,
Beatrice
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Beatrice,
You got it! Hope this works for your sweater as well as it did for me!
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Ive just shrunk my christmas gift from my husband, a beautiful cardigan and am devastated. Gonna try your method tonight. Fingers crossed because they’re now out of stock so it can’t be replaced 😦
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Helen,
Hopefully your sweater will be restored soon!
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Nancy your post made my day. My well meaning husband who was trying to help me out by doing a couple loads of laundry failed to read the laundry instructions on my favorite Hand made in Peru cobalt blue hand knit wool ski sweater and washed it and dried it. Yikes. Needless to say I found it hid in the back of my closet and it now firs our 13 year old. Grrrr. So I am currently soaking it as you directed and will try to coax it back to my size again. I’ve decided to postpone talking to him about this till I can get it back into shape to minimize his guilty feelings when I ask him to once again read labels if he’s gonna wash my clothes
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Suzanne,
Please let me know how it turns out, I had such great success!
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I appreciate your write up! I shrunk my favorite wool cap… And it’s cold outside! ???? maybe my wife won’t be as mad if I can fix it. ????
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Shawn,
Give it a try it should work it sure restored the sweater I shrunk!
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I just did the same thing to my merino wool sweater. I found your page by googleing a solution.
Reading some of the comments, I had a laugh, specially that one from Amy Luna… Or Lunatic, I should say.
I grew up with maids and servants during my childhood. Now I do my own laundry, cooking, house cleaning.
This Amy Luna(tic) is … a sad soul…
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William,
It was amusing to me that she missed the point of the post!!
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My boyfriend accidentally shrunk one of my favorite sweaters, and he felt so bad… I found this method, tried it, and now my sweater is back to normal. Thank you for sharing!
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Brianna,
So glad you had success, I wish I’d found this method years ago! 🙂
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I washed AND dried an Irish hand knit merino wool sweater and thanks to this it’s as good as new! I was super skeptical, but it really works!
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Holly,
So glad you were able to restore your sweater!
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Thank you so much for posting this, Nancy. It saved my son’s favorite wool sweater… and it makes complete sense.
If hair product can tame MY frizzy head, then it certainly should be able to get lamb’s wool to relax! I saw another helpful tip on the subject – to use another shirt of the same size as a guide when reshaping the wet sweater.
We also used strategically placed weights when we first laid the sweater out, because it kept trying to scrunch back up. We removed them after the sweater resigned to its fate.
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Miriam, Great tips, thanks so much for sharing!
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Our maid shrank my wife’s thirty year old sweater today. Mit was her favorite sweater from college. For thirty years it stayed out of the laundry machines, until today. She is very upset. I am determined to restore her sweater using this method. Thank you for the timely tip. (My mother did my laundry I lived at home as a young person.)
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Tim,
Hopefully this works as well for you as it has for others!
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Thank you so much for this tutorial! I tried it on a sweater I’d shrunk, and it worked! It didn’t come back to exactly the same size (it’s more of a tight-fitting sweater now than the casual fit it had before), but it’s no longer toddler-sized, and I can wear it! Thank you!
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Amanda, You might try it again and see if it even stretches out a little more! Glad it worked for you! 🙂
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This worked an absolute treat. Thank you so much for posting the method. I have a cosy woollen waistcoat that I used to live in every day throughout the winter – so much so that it started to look a little grubby and smelled slightly suspicious. Despite the label saying ‘dry clean only’ I foolishly thought ‘it’s wool – you can wash wool’ and proceeded to wash it. Sure enough, it shrunk. It became just a little bit too tight to comfortably wear, and hence was demoted to a hook where it lived for around a year. I saw it yesterday and then found your article so followed your instructions to the letter and – hey presto – it now fits exactly how it used to! Extra bits I added in to increase stretch (as I noticed it kept trying to shrink each time it dried a little) was to employ my boyfriend to wear it for me while it dried, including a couple of balls of socks stuffed down the front so it stretched in the right way! And then overnight pinned out on the ironing board with a climbing helmet inside the hood to stretch it up too. Thanks Nancy!
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Charlotte,
So glad you had success!
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Hello; Nancy my name is Ceferina and my friends Matthew,is from ; Ireland is fun talk about his two sweaters i thinking my experience to take care he clouse is the same with his sweaters no i make mistake i wash at the washing machine rigth a way the sweater I’d shrunh only one everything is rigth with one. i go back to worked exactlythe same with the oder one. Thank you so much for you help and show as your experience. by and thank you again
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I have washed my employer son’s sweater just this morning in the machine. I know I’m in great trouble but I have calmed down myself and thinked what to do..”Hey!..what’s the use of the net!” I’ve said to myself..I hurried up and picked my phone and searched for solution..thanks Nancy!.It was your post I’ve seen first!..and it greatly works!..my employer have not even noticed my mistake even she saw the sweater that I laying on a towel by now.. God job!..I gotta be more careful next time!..
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Venus,
another success story! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
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I can confirm that this method works, I usually use Woolite or similar enzyme-free detergent for wool, but will try the hair conditioner to see if it gives even better results. I let it soak so the fibers loosen, then gently squeeze out the water and roll up the sweater in an absorbent towel. Then slowly pull on the fabric until it is the shape it once was. It really works. I buy second hand cashmere sweaters that were shrunken by people, they assume the sweaters are a write-off, but I restore them and have beautiful sweaters for really cheap!
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Hana,
That is such a great idea! I never thought of looking for sweaters that other folks have had the misfortune to shrink and then restoring them! Love it!
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Hi! What kind of conditioner have you (all) used? and does it work differently on different sweaters? Has anyone tried that unshrinkit stuff (posts say it smells bad). Thanks!!
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Ginio,
I just used what hair conditioner I had on hand!
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Thanks Nancy, I will give this a try.
Bought a beautiful Italian sweater online and threw it in the wash like an idiot!
I was amused by the drive-by troll at the top of the comments section. Glad everyone had your back! 🙂
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Christian,
Hopefully this technique works as well for you as it has for me and for others!
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I’m a guy who did the wash and didn’t notice my sweater was in the pile and it shrunk. Gonna try this right now and get back right away with the result!
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Ray,
Sorry to hear about your sweater, Hope you have the success that so many of us have had with restoring our sweaters!
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Worked great!! :))
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Ray,
That’s great! Another success story!
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Do you know what Amy, not wanting to set my 2 year old son up for disaster after reading your INCREDIBLE wise words, I told him he immediately needed to start doing his own washing… until I remembered that the reason I found this page was because he so helpfully put a woolen vest in with a load of towels for me. (Cheers kiddo!). I actually can’t believe how incredibly rude and inaccurate your statement is. Even using the word disabled! I actually laughed a bit, because, lets face it, that comment can only be a joke.
To the OP. Thank you. I shall try it and hope it works. The before shot isn’t promising lol
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Nancy, I am wondering do you wear the sweater after it has dried (I guess with the conditioner dried into it) and then just wash it as one normally would, or did you wash the sweater again AFTER it dried before wearing?
Thank you! I shrunk my FAVE work sweater and cant wait to try this out tonight.
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Brit,
My son just wore the sweater after it had dried. Suppose you could wash it again if you wanted as it should be resized by then!
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Yes, this method really does work. I did a couple at the same time, siaking them in the bath. Left them a couple of hours to soak so that was hot and cold water! I actually hung them on fat pladtic ciat hangers designed for jackets as its not easy to dry flat. The weight of the garment pulls to lengthen the body and arms and I carefully stretched them widthways and then lengthways. Saved a beautiful Falkland Islands wool sweater with oenguin collage. I also read on a post elsewhere that some coomercial wool jumper makers knit them all the same size and use this method to make the larger sizes! (Saves on wool I soppose …)
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Nel,
Wonderful to hear another success story and to hear you information on commercial jumpers! Interesting!
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Wow! I bought an Aran wool sweater during my travels in Ireland, and I accidentally put it in the wash on warm :O
My heart was broken and I felt guilty…I thought this was going to be a timeless piece that I would keep forever….
I am half way through the process and so far it looks promising.
Thank you, ever so much for posting your solution!!!
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Emily,.
Yeah, another success!
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Is the felting still very noticeable? Or has the treatment helped with that?
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Marie,
The sweater that I un=shrunk did not have any felting. The sweater had shrunk when washed it and I was successful in un-shrinking it!
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Thanks. My wife has just shrunk my one year olds hand knitted sweater. Until we read Amy’s helpful life advice, she was going to try and save it with hair conditioner as you suggested. Now we have just given it back to our son and told him to sort it out. We wait to see if vomit and snot works. Will let you know.
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Anthony,
Love your sense of humor!
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Thank you so much…I ruined a Marino wool favourite of mine.. it’s lying damp on a towel right now… Fingers crossed.
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Carolann,
Let me know how it turns out, I hope you have as much success as the rest of us have!
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I would like to thank you sincerely for your advice. Indeed after a week’s soak in hair conditioner and water I was able to save a very valuable shawl. It is 90% back to what it was after it had turned into a dense piece of felt. Had I spent more time and effort I may have had even better results. Thank you!
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Susan,
thank you for sharing another success story! Another sweater saved! 🙂
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Help!! I accidentally turned my Grandma’s favorite wool sweater into a doll sweater. It shrank so bad. I’m willing to try anything. Conditioner you say. Do you soak it in cold, warm, or hot water? And for how long? How much conditioner would you use per amount of water…sorry for all the questions but I really don’t want to make it any worse lol. Thanks in advance.
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Elizabeth,
Never fear this conditioner trick should restore your sweater. Put your sweater in a sink and cover with warm water, Add maybe 1/4 cup of conditioner or more. I don’t think the amount really matters. (I aded a couple of tablespoons) Mix around so the conditioner dissolves in the water. Let it soak for ten minutes and then let the water drain, Don’t squeeze the sweater dry just try to remove as much water as possible. Lay the sweater o a thick absorbent towel and place in a cool room. Gradually pul the sweater back into shape and let it dry, This should restore your sweater!
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Fabulous this really worked I had just ruined a lovely golf jumper – so pleased , thank you
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Vivien,
So happy to hear of another success story! Another piece of clothing saved! 🙂
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Brilliant. .thank you for this post..I can now “unshrink” my shrunken woollens ..and as for Amy..poor sad dear thriving on finding something to make an issue of. Perhaps she needs a “shrink” to help her.
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Clare,
Have fun unshrinking your woolens!
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thank you, i have hope! Doing the deshrinking thing at the moment. I bought the most beautiful woolen jumper which was my treat for myself, first wash and wham.
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Christian,
Let me know how it turns out, many folks (including me) have had good success!
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Thought I’d add my own little tip. All this talk about loosening fabrics have me an idea: my canves should are a little snug and so I bought a stretcher for them. Directions say to wet the shoe, insert stretcher and leave for 48 hours. Then I read this post so for the other shoe I added conditioner. Took half the time!
Will be trying this on my merino sweater tonight.
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Always great to hear new tips Squeegee Beckenham!
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Hi Nancy,
So, from what I am reading, you don’t have to rinse the conditioner out before drying? And when you stretch the sweater out little by little, did it have the tendency to bounce it back? Do you have to use something to hold it to stay that shape? Thanks,
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No you don’t and when yu stretch out the water it will behave like a washed sweater and will stay in the shape that you stretch it to!
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My hubby did the laundry and shrunk my sweater. I will try this method to explore it. And Amy, I am not disabled, my husband is just a nice loving fella ????. Intend of judging others, try getting a life. So glad Nancy’s followers have her back.
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Harleen,
Good luck restoring your sweater, it worked for me and for many others!
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Thank you thank you for this post!! I accidentally washed an $80 wool scarf and I was SO SAD!!! Currently drying it now, seems to be better so far!!
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Brooke,
I look forward to hearing another success story!
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Nancy, IT WORKED!!! So amazing! My scarf is restored!
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Brooke!!
Thanks so much for letting me know, another success story!! 🙂
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Hi all –
I am, at this moment, waiting my 10 minutes with my sweater in warm water. Thanks to Nancy for your post… and wish me luck! Regarding Amy (or whoever, likely not actually named Amy) – as Rjonearth and Christian stated – she is a troll. This isn’t an insult – it’s a fact. A troll is defined as someone who “makes deliberately offensive or provocative online postings with the aim of upsetting someone or eliciting an angry response from them.” The internet runs rampant with these people. Why do they do this? Because when they are able to get a rise out of others it gives them some sense of power and control. It’s really quite sad that their lives are so meaningless that this is what brings them satisfaction – the instillation of anger in others. Really, really sad. I believe the best response is to not address the “Amy’s” of the world. Simply thank the Nancy’s for their generosity in sharing their knowledge. Perhaps… some day… with a complete lack of response, trolls will become extinct (a girl can dream, right?).
Update: my sweater is now in the basement drying!
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Note to all I am no longer commenting on any posts relating to Amy’s comments!
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Does this work on a wool beanie
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Stephen,
I would think it would, I used the method on a boiled wool jacket and it worked!
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Unfortunately (or fortunately for everyone else) I seem to be the only person on this comment trail who tried to restore my shrunken jumper by Nancy’s method without success. I put my chunky 100% wool jumper into my washing machine at the hand wash cycle as a size 8 (UK size) and took it out a short time later looking like it might just fit an 8 year old – it came out 30cm wide and 40cm long!!! With all the positive comments above I felt almost hopeful as I carefully followed Nancy’s instructions for restoring my shrunken jumper but unfortunately I only managed to stretch it by about 2cm each way! 3 days later the jumper has almost dried out but the wool is still tightly compacted and the jumper feels quite rigid – obviously a rather severe and unreversible case of shrinkage!
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Sheila,
You might want to try it again but perhaps a woolen jumper is not quite the same as a knit sweater? If it is woolen material it might have different properties. So sorry tis method did not work for you.
I’d try it again and let it soak longer, after all you have nothing to loose at this point!
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Thanks for this post! I shrank my mom’s wool christmas sweater this weekend when I washed it and let it air dry…BOY was SHE mad, lol! I’m going to try your method to fix it for her. Her name is Nancy also and she certainly is FANCY! Thanks 🙂
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Nikki,
I hope you have success!
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Does this work with knit sweaters?
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T – If you mean hand knit sweaters, yes t should work!
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Unfortunately this did not seem to work for me. It is merino wool and sadly still the size of something a 10yo would wear.
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Katie,
So sorry to hear this did not work for you, maybe try again with more cream rinse? Then gently try stretching it out again. Maybe the merino wool makes a difference?
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Thanks Nancy, I’ll give that a try with a more creamy conditioner
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Katie,
Hope it works this time!
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I am so grateful that you took the time to jot down something that you tried. My Mom gave me a few pieces of clothing for my son after my Dad passed away a few years ago from MS. My son grew so quickly the wool sweater would never have fit. I just wanted to wear it. Then I stupidly washed and dried it! It would fit a toddler now. I was all set to turn it into soap until I read your post. I am so grateful to you for sharing. You are not just saving a piece of laundry for me but giving me something sooo special to remember Dad. I can’t wait to try it. Thank you!
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Kathy W.
I hope you have success like so many others, I have a sweater from my dad that I just love!
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It took quite a lot of work to dissolve the hair conditioner in the water – there were just blobs of conditioner floating on top that I had to scoop out and mash individually.
It should work better to add just a bit of water to the conditioner and make a thin paste – then add a bit more water and stir, to make a gravy – then more water, to make a soup – and then it should dissolve easily. Kind of like making a white sauce without lumps.
(BTW, I’m a guy, and Amy is a troll.)
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Thanks for the information
http://www.feltstrip.com
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Thank you so much for this advice. I washed my Wool sweater by mistake and did your trick and it worked :))
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Lisa,
I’m so glad you had success!! 🙂
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Do you think this would work on a wool king sized blanket? Might be a problem laying it out but I could use the hot tub cover, I guess
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Dorothy,
I know someone tried it on a wool jumper and it did not work. However I always figure give it a try, what do you have to loose? Let me know how it works!
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Nancy, thank you for the info, I’m going to try your technique out on a beautiful wool sweater that my mom brought back from Ireland years ago. I was so upset when it accidentally got tossed in the washer. And by the way, your reply to the woman who was so unnecessarily rude was wonderful – I don’t know if I could have been so gracious! Thanks again, I’m looking forward to seeing the results on my sweater.
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Kathy,
Let me know how your sweater turns out! So many have had great success!
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