Silk, mohair, cotton, merino wool and raw silk…washing machine, hand wash or dry clean?
Kay says:
As in most solutions in life and in weaving, a little up-front preparation can save a whole lot of pain later on:
- Did you weave a sample? Sampling is a great idea to check out sett, beat, color interactions and hand but ALSO to test the finishing technique before your precious weaving sees the first drop of water, etc.
- Make sure you spread different yarns with different content throughout the piece so that one thick stripe doesn’t shrink differently than its neighbors.
- How would you handle the most delicate yarn in the piece? Start there.
Here’s what happened: This blanket was washed in the washing machine on delicate cycle. It was dried for a few minutes in the dryer on the delicate cycle to get some of the water out and then ironed on both sides until just damp. It hung over the shower curtain rod over night. The blanket shrunk pretty evenly with the exception of a merino silk blend strip that ended up looking warp faced. With some stretching and attention during pressing it loosened up and played nicely with its neighbors. The fringe shrunk differently so next time I will tie really long fringe and then re-tie it shorter after washing.