If you read my blog post from a couple weeks ago, you now have at least a working idea of how obtaining luxury garments from the thrift store should work. However, many people feel that getting these items isn't as daunting as caring for them. I often see posts and comments in various places in which people express uncertainty over getting things such as cashmere and silk because they don't want to deal with the time and cost of having garments dry cleaned, which is what most tags will advise. I see the evidence of this issue almost every time I look through the sweater racks at the thrift store. It's almost comical to come across a sweater whose owner decided that dry cleaning is for the birds and subsequently tossed their sweater into the washer and then the dryer. This process inevitably leaves the garment several sizes too small due to the felting of the fabric caused by agitating a sweater in water and then drying it, probably on high heat. (Felting is a process by which fibers are inextricably bound tightly together by combining moisture, heat, and agitation, all of which occur in the usual wash and dry process.) While the washer and dryer do not make a plausible solution to washing your cashmere, you absolutely do not have to mess with taking it to the dry cleaner. In fact, hand washing at home will likely result in a longer and healthier lifespan for your sweaters because it is often less abrasive than dry cleaning chemicals.
First of all, you do not need to wash your sweaters as often as you may think you do. As I discussed in my sweater blog post, natural fibers like wool and cashmere are more breathable than synthetics and do not hold onto odors anywhere near as readily. If you are the sort to wear a t-shirt under them for layering purposes, you need to wash them even less. If you get a small stain on one, you can spot treat it with just a little water and baby shampoo. I wash my sweaters about once every dozen wears because they just don't need to do it more frequently. Of course, this is user dependant and you may feel you need to wash them more often and that's also ok because the process I will outline is both easy and gentle on fabrics. Second, proper storage will help you with longevity between washes. Sweaters should absolutely never be stored on a hanger. Hanging causes the knit to stretch and sag because gravity causes the weight of the garment to pull it down. Woven fabrics, such as those that make up most blouses and dress shirts are a much tighter weave and do not stretch in the same way that knit fabrics do. Hangers also cause lumps and bumps to form in the shoulder areas and the only way to get them out, as well as correct awkward stretching, is to wash the sweater so the fibers can realign. Clean sweaters should be folded down the center and then folded twice lengthwise to maintain shape and fluffiness. After wearing I like to fold mine in half both lengthwise and widthwise and leave them out on the dresser overnight to air properly before storing on shelves in the closet.
I started having really good luck with hand washing my sweaters when I realized that I should be treating it like what it actually is: hair. If I wouldn't do something to the hair on my head, I am not doing it to my sweaters. To get a good wash, you want to put about half to one tablespoon of baby shampoo (regular shampoo also works, but baby shampoo is the most gentle) into a clean sink with COLD water; hot water is bad for these natural fibers (wool and cashmere) as it promotes felting and shrinking. I use my kitchen sink for the washing process because I like to have a good amount of room for the sweaters to move around and I usually wash several at a time to get the most use out of the water. Once you have your sink and shampoo soak ready to go, put your sweaters in one at a time and gently plunge them into the water until they are thoroughly wet. It usually take some time because the yarns are naturally water resistant--wool and cashmere both grow on animals to keep them dry and warm after all! If you have stains on any of your sweaters, usually this plunging process is enough to get them out unless they are really set in. If any residue has not yet come off, gently rub with your fingers and that should do the trick. After treating each sweater in this manner, let them soak for up to twenty minutes to remove odors and to allow the shampoo to soften the yarns.
Once everything has soaked and you are sure you've gotten any spots out, drain the water from the sink, being careful not to let any sleeves go down the drain if you're like me and use the side of your sink with the garbage disposal. Once the soapy water has drained, rinse each sweater individually under gently running cold water to remove any lingering shampoo. After a good rinse, gently squeeze (DO NOT WRING--this stretches and warps yarns, sometimes irreparably) excess water out until the sweater is no longer dripping. It doesn't have to be super dry after this step because the next step will remove the remaining excess water. Again, repeat this process for every sweater before moving on.
Next lay a clean, dry bath towel out on a flat surface. I personally have a collection of old bath towels that I use to cover my car seat after runs that I use for sweater washing as well, and my kitchen table serves as my flat surface. If you don't have table or counter space to spare, the floor works just as well. Take one sweater and lay it out flat on your towel, gently shaping as you go. I like to lay the sleeves over and down the garment to ensure that everything stays nicely tucked inside the towel for the next step. This also ensures that the sleeves won't get twisted and out of shape. You may be able to fit two sweaters lengthwise on the towel, I just used one for the purposes of photographing.
Once you have the sweater shaped the way you want it, roll the sweater and towel up together until the entire sweater is inside the towel and you have what looks like a weird, cloth swiss cake roll. At this point I like to give the whole thing a good squeeze to start the moisture wicking process before leaving it all to sit for about a half hour to allow the towel to absorb as much water from the sweater as it can. I washed four sweaters on the day I took these photographs so I have a stack of four towel/sweater rolls.
After a half hour or so--they can be left much longer than this if you have errands or other things to deal with, up to a few hours is fine--unroll your sweaters and either lay out flat on a clean, dry towel, or hang over a railing or clothes drying rack to dry. If you hang them to dry. avoid anything with a very thin bar that will leave an obvious line in the sweater when it's dry as anything too thin will create stress on the yarns and lead to breakage down the line. I prefer to keep things as simple and uncomplicated as humanly possible and just put mine over a wide railing. Make sure no matter where you put your sweater to dry that you fold the sleeves over as I have done in the photo to ensure the arms and shoulders do not stretch out. Once your sweaters are dry, you can give them a light steam with your steamer or iron (do not press!) if you wish in order to help the fibers relax and realign, and then fold and store until you're ready to wear. If you don't have a steamer or iron, just wearing the sweater will also help it get into its proper shape. I also like to steam my sweaters after each wear to remove any wrinkles and also to gently reshape it.
And there you have it. This whole process takes me about 5-10 minutes of hands on time depending on how many sweaters I'm washing, and a bottle of baby shampoo costs about two dollars and will last a year or more. Just driving to the dry cleaner, picking up my stuff, and coming home would cost at least twenty dollars and take up way more time as well as actually wearing down the fibers in my sweaters with each time through the process. I also have found that this hand washing process helps to remove any small pills that may have formed on your garment--pilling is a natural part of sweater ownership and forming of pills is NOT an indication of poor quality cashmere, although poor quality cashmere will pill more readily and form larger pills on average. This situation is caused by the fact that most americans believe that only the absolute softest feeling cashmere is good quality, when in fact the way to get super soft feeling cashmere is by over washing the fibers prior to garment manufacturing. Because of this, by the time you buy your uber soft sweater in the store, it has already gone through the equivalent of many years of washing, which has prematurely aged and weakened the fibers, which leads to more pilling and weaker threads. The most expensive cashmere sweaters in the world are soft, but they are not like holding a feather because they have not been treated for softness to within an inch of their existence. My most expensive cashmere sweater, purchased from Kate Spade, is more scratchy and firm than cashmere from a brand that charges a third the price, but it will last me years longer and only get softer with wear. Just some food for thought!
For the next two weeks I am going to be traveling and will likely not have a full blog post until I am back. I am going to Walt Disney World for its marathon weekend and then Disneyland for a long family weekend. Sometime in there I would like to post a recap of my sewing year. Does that sound like something you're interested in? Let me know!
I too have old towels I use for post-run car rides and drying hand wash clothing! I have never thought to leave them rolled up for a bit after though, that sounds like a much smarter method than letting them drip onto the floor for hours. Very interesting about the excessive washing causing the softness in cashmere, I did not know that. I know I am often a victim to gravitating to something just due to how soft it is! I’d love to read a sewing recap!