I scored some wonderfully soft gray wool from Metro Textile during my visit to New York this past weekend (more about fabric shopping in a later post). Wool is one of those fun fabrics that can only be dry cleaned, since agitation and/or hot water causes it to felt when washed. But I wasn’t about to take my lovely two yards of furriness to the dry cleaners to be pre-shrunk for a price. Instead, I used a method that my hairdresser shared with my mom.
1. Take a large bed sheet and run it through the rinse/spin cycle in your washer so that the sheet will be damp, not soaking wet.
2. Lay the sheet out flat on a large, clean surface, like a counter or even the floor. Open up the yardage of wool and also lay it flat on top of the damp sheet.
3. Proceed to roll up the two layers like a jellyroll, making sure that the wool is completely rolled up in the damp sheet. Fold in any extra fabric from the sheet.
4. Place the bundle in a large plastic bag and twist it shut. Let the wool sit in the bag for approximately three days.
5. After day three, take the wool out from the bag and unroll the sheet. Lay the wool flat to dry, which will take a few hours depending on how much yardage you have.
Mine will be ready to go on Friday!
