Handwash and Block a Wool Sweater // Technique Tuesday

[@barbarastadler6699]

What an amazing tutorial!! I was on the edge of my seat as you carefully explained steps to block a sweater. I appreciate the hard work it took to create this video.

[@elysianfibres1642]

Your sweater is gorgeous - the fit, the pattern, the colour - just perfect!

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Thank you so much!

[@lindagates9150]

Thank you for the tutorial on washing sweaters . I have put my sweaters in the front loader selecting the hand wash double rinse no spinning option which has a gentle rocking motion then I use the stomping method. For the wool sweater that I am making I will get the baskets and no rinse cleaner! I want my sweater to have a 😇good life .this is the first wool sweater that I have made for my self every other woollen one has been gifted to family , a lot of knitting over the last fifty some years .🖖🖖🖖🖖👍👍👍👍😘💞🙋🏼‍♀️

[@vickyleather1147]

One of the best, most informative, most useful videos ever! Great job! Thanks!

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@IslandLady76]

Love the kitty litter idea and folding sweater. Thank you.

[@pokagal7335]

Roxy, what a lovely fit you got on that beautiful sweater you wore for this video. Very becoming! Welllll, I love the Eucalan lavender wash. And after the initial blocking of a newly made sweater during which I use much of the technique you gave us here, the next washings are a lot more casual. Yes, I use my top loader to spin out the excess water, but I use an old window screen laid across the backs of two chairs to dry it. I can "eye ball" block the sweater subsequent to the initial blocking. It seems to me that that initial blocking "stays" somewhat. Of course, you can change the shape if you want to, but there is a bit of memory from the initial blocking, or so it seems.

[@sandraroper9866]

Thank you for making this video. Timed perfectly as I have 3 fine knit sweaters to wash. I also love the sweater you are wearing.

[@michelleellis1290]

This was great, think I will be going to find some lavender to deal with my moths. Thank you! The sweater you are wearing is stunning both the colour and design 🥰.

[@tinekejoldersma]

I love your explanation, Rox, I have to admit I am a barbarian, I throw everything in the laundry. Sometimes even in the dryer. I just never had the time for handwashing. I bought a dryer with iron/airing and a washer with a gentle wool cycle. Until now it worked just fine.

[@iknowyouwanttofly]

Maybe the things you wash are superwash treated?

[@tinekejoldersma]

@@iknowyouwanttoflyNope, I would never use a yarn that is bad for the environment. No superwash in my house. Like I said no time for all this. Washing machine it is.

[@elaineenstone6834]

Thank you. Great advice. Did not know about rosemary so will give it a go as I have plenty in the garden.

[@Kloulock]

Hello Roxanne! Thank you so much for sharing this video! It was extremely helpful!

[@dawnbrowne1702]

Thanks for the tip to use lavender, love to use this in my wardrobe so dual purpose!

[@Sarahpreecenelsonnz]

Thank you Roxanne, much appreciated, Sarah NZ

[@michellebabin7582]

Thank you very much for those informations. It is very helpful

[@blou5598]

Wonderful episode! Very practical and informative. Thank you.

[@brigittejoyal8816]

Love your blue/green sweater!!

[@danbev8542]

Such beautiful sweaters! Thanks for the info!

[@yettaoshea8869]

You should check your front load washer’s manual. I thought I couldn’t do Spin only, but turns out I can it just isn’t labeled Spin only. My front load also has a pre-soak feature that just allows no agitation. Haven’t been courageous enough to try that yet, but the spin really works well.

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Oh, it can do spin only, and I had done so with a load I thought was still too wet. So I tossed in a sweater I had been trying to spot clean (brand new, never worn). It turns out the machine can't handle having only a single item in the machine (something to do with balancing it). When I came back 45 min later, it was still tossing it around trying to figure out how to handle the "load." The sweater is still wearable, but it did shrink and slightly full from the tossing. Putting several sweaters in together that are non superwash isn't an option, either, because of the way it tosses them around, first. I will definitely experiment with it more (using a sweater I don't care about), but for the time being, it's not worth the risk!

[@audreywring1920]

Older front loading machine without the over engineering of a computer are more likely to spin one item. It is the new machines with computers which don't spin towels because they have landed on top of each other in one part of the machines or toss around one item for 20 minutes trying to spin it. Many years ago family member being helpful put a rug into the old machine but did not know not to select spin. First computerised replacement lasted 3 months, washing machine engineer gave us a model number of a machine that was repairable. Great video.

[@spackle0079]

Love this video! Learned so much! I also have dye stains on my sweater drying rack from a previous sweater’s dye bleeding onto it. The rack’s mesh is not removable so I think spot cleaning is my best bet. Do you have any tips for this type of stain removal? Thanks!

[@pinkeyswear3226]

Thank you. I hate the smell of moth balls and cedar. Lavender is the way to go. Good to hear it's affective. 🙂

[@mdbenoit]

Thank you for this very comprehensive video. Lots of information that I couldn't find anywhere else, including the use of my top loading washer to soak and spin the garments. To keep the shape of the sweaters while spinning, would placing them in a pillowcase help?

[@RoxanneRichardson]

It wouldn't hurt, but I never found it necessary.

[@fussyrenovator7551]

Once the water has drained I arrange them around the outside of the machine so the are not stretched out. I swapped over to a front loading machine and spun a handmade Aran sweater in it. The continual tumbling of the machine to try to balance felted my sweater so I would absolutely advise against using any front loader to spin a sweater. My daughter absolutely ruined a Scottish hand loomed baby shawl in her thoroughly modern top loader on the wool hand wash cycle, and I believe it may have been the constant tumbling to try to balance the load that caused that too. I freeze my knitwear for a week to kill any moths before storing in moth proof bags.In fact we freeze anything likely to bring moths into the house. Rice, flour etc. one week in the freezer straight from the supermarket. We’ve had a bad moth problem and they are evil. We also use traps.

[@annh.8290]

Thank you so much, this is just what I needed, lavender, who knew!

[@emveecee]

Enjoyed the video, though I haven’t yet knit with pure wool, or that isn’t super-wash. I also love your sweater!!

[@ctobo2587]

What about cedar chests and drawers. That's how I store my wool sweaters. I was told that cedar discourages moths

[@Ami5Jo]

Once again hugely informative video, thank you. Questions: 1 what to do if the instructions don't give schematics for the finished measurements(just back lenght&bust circ.) 2 what is pooling? I tried to google it but am not sure if I found the right thing.

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Length and circumference (which you can divide by 2 to get width) is really all you need. Sleeve length can help. The pooling was on the sweater I was wearing. It's when a variegated or tonal yarn that contains several colors (or shades of the same color) and one of the colors/shades ends up pooling in one place, creating a blob of that one color.

[@andspi1985]

Thank you for the video. Ultra explanatory!!! Question: I knitted a merino (superwash) wool cardigan for my mother. I did the hand washing but my dear mother wasn't so gentle when she had to change the towels for it to dry. So the unexpected happened, it got stretched and it's kinda larger for my mother's size. Is there any way of shrinking it? Some people suggest put it in the dryer or washing in high temperature. I am afraid of doing anything. I would appreciate some pro advice. Thank you ❤️

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Superwash wool will typically block to the correct dimensions if you re-wet and don't stretch it when it's damp. Some superwash wool is machine dryable. Check the yarn label for washing/drying instructions. I'd take it out of the dryer while it was still *slightly* damp, keeping it bunched up so that it doesn't stretch, and then lay it flat without stretching to complete the drying process. I'd avoid drying it with other items in the dryer, as well, to avoid pilling and any excess friction.

[@andspi1985]

@@RoxanneRichardson Thank you very much for replying. I will re-wet it and dry it again, this time myself :-)

[@celiajean7093]

Hi Roxanne, I've been researching this subject and one variable that's not standard is the temperature of the water. Some use cold, some really hot and others just warm. Yikes! Please, what do you recommend? Thank you.

[@RoxanneRichardson]

I typically use water that's warm, but not hotter than I can stand to put my hand in. The issue with water temperature is that the hotter the water, the more apt the wool is to felt IF the wool is not superwash AND there is a lot of agitation (which there shouldn't be, if you're letting the wool soak and not trying to scrub it or rub it). If in doubt, you can always refer to the yarn's ball band for washing instructions.

[@karenmoseley9337]

I am making a sweater in four pieces---back, front, and two sleeves---from an 85% acrylic/15% nylon for someone who cannot wear wool. How should I handle blocking the pieces to get them to the correct measurement? Also, I finished a sweater from 100% superwash wool and after soaking and placing in a towel or two to remove moisture, it was huge! I place it on my blocking blocks and didn't know what to do as it was easily 4" longer and 4-5" wider than the finished measurements. Does this happen with superwash wool?

[@sandraponte3121]

Next time I buy wool wash, it’ll be lavender scented. Thanks Roxanne!!

[@geenatui]

Thanks for your very informative video. I have a question about a sweater that unfortunately I felt. Is there anything I could do about it? I washed with cold water in the kitchen sink but it was still too watery so I put it in the washing machine to spin (front loader) it and came out half the size. Doesn't look like felted sleepers, but has shrink a lot. Any teaching ideas? TIA

[@RoxanneRichardson]

There isn't any way I know of to unfelt a sweater. I had a similar issue with our front loader when we first got it. I realized there was a spin only cycle (which I had used for a load that was still too wet for the dryer), so I tried it on a sweater. That was when I learned that our front loader can't handle a single-item load. It just tosses it around and never actually spins. The sweater shrank a bit, but was still wearable. This is why I'm back to hand washing and rolling my sweaters in towels!

[@mathsinger]

I've used the spin cycle on my front loader washing machine.

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Our machine can do a spin cycle, but not when there is only one item in the machine. It tosses the items around until it figures out how much weight there is and how to spin without unbalancing. Not ideal for multiple wool sweaters, either. :-(

[@mathsinger]

Mine just goes straight to spin.

[@joanholt7322]

Can I use the wool cycle on my front loader?

[@RoxanneRichardson]

That all depends on your washer. Mine requires more than one item to be in the washer, otherwise, it tosses that item around indefinitely, trying to balance the load, which ultimately causes it to felt. (This I know from an unfortunate experience of my own.) If you do try it, I'd suggest putting each sweater in its own mesh bag, to reduce any friction between the sweaters.

[@lienenoradotsevi4116]

Hi! I love this video, to me it comes a tiny bit late, since I had just blocked my first sweater, but this will definitely be useful for my next projects or if I'll want to reblock the first one. I have one question about bleeding yarn. I have the no rinse wool wash and my first sweater is dusty pink, it did bleed a bit, I rinsed it 3 or 4 times and the water was still not quite clear, but since this is a light color and it probably won't ruin anything else, so I stopped at that. My next project is a dark green cardigan, the yarn has colored my bamboo needles while knitting, so I can imagine it will bleed quite a bit. Should I wash it with a shampoo couple of times before washing it with no rinse wool wash or what would you suggest?

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Bleeding could be due to excess dye (more than the yarn could actually take in) or it could be because there wasn't enough acid in the dye bath. Try adding a glug of vinegar to the wash and rinse water to see if you can get the dye to set.

[@lienenoradotsevi4116]

@@RoxanneRichardson thanks! I hadn't thought of it

[@valeriadanielyan792]

Hello ,where can I buy the bowl with the drainer you use ?Thank you

[@RoxanneRichardson]

There should be a link in the video description.

[@michellelindgren8419]

Hi Rox. When you used to put your sweaters in the washing machine to soak, it sounds like you used the spin cycle to get the excess water out. Were you worried about your sweaters stretching too much? I am going to consider using my washing machine for soaking.

[@RoxanneRichardson]

They didn't stretch at all. The force of the spinning tub shoved them up against the wall of the cylinder.

[@jennifermason5970]

I've found spinning not to be a good idea. It causes felting and shrinkage. It's much safer to squeeze the water out gently by hand

[@lindac7146]

Very informative. Thx.

[@maryalgar8779]

If the folded sweater were to fit in a very large freezer bag or those plastic packing bags, would that protect it from moth damage? Unfortunately lavender gives me a headache - very sensitive to "perfumes".

[@emmadobbs2638]

That's what I do. It's worked so far! I have heard that it's possible for pests to chew there way through plastic but it is supposed to deter them. I also make sure to check any that I haven't worn when putting away my woollens after winter.

[@maxinebleiweis2110]

I put mine in freezer bags and in the freezer for a few hours then store under my bed. Extreme heat is supposed to work also.

[@NYKnitter]

OH, you have the same kitty litter box washing routine as I do :D

[@bratsmom6749]

I have lavender essential oil - will it make a stain on the wool?

[@RoxanneRichardson]

You would put the essential oil on some rice and put that in a sachet. You wouldn't be applying the essential oil directly to the sweater.

[@bratsmom6749]

@@RoxanneRichardson Thank you!!! I've never had moths, but would like to discourage them should they get any bright ideas! My aunt used moth balls, but that smell makes me sick. Lavender is MUCH better!

[@emmadobbs2638]

If you were so inclined, I would love to see an episode on buttonholes

[@RoxanneRichardson]

I've done three videos on different types of buttonholes. If you search on *buttonhole* from my channel home page, you should find them. Or check the playlist for Finishing Techniques. Note that the channel search box can only be seen from the YT website, not by using the YT mobile app for phones and tablets. The search box you see from the app is to search KZbin, not to search my channel.

[@emmadobbs2638]

@@RoxanneRichardson Thanks! I had looked but obviously not well enough! I look forward to watching them

[@eastlynburkholder3559]

SHE STOMPED ON HER SWEATER !! I find that part funny.

[@EverythingsOrange]

😂 I always stand on mine and sit on them 😂

[@simonmao6378]

👍🌷

[@bonniewright1137]

A yoga mat works great