caring for handknits part 2

boyforpele13 · 10-25-2006, 07:16 PM

ok so i'm eucalan soaking a "dry clean only" 75% wool 25% acrylic knit sweater.

i don't have a sweater rack. when i take it out and squeeze out the excess water, can i just fold it as if i were going to put it in a drawer but instead fold it over a hanger and dry it that way or will that still leave marks? What's the best way to do this?

thanks bunches!!!!

janelanespaintbrush · 10-25-2006, 07:40 PM

Roll in a towel to get the water out (you may need to do this several times) and then lay it flat to dry.

boyforpele13 · 10-25-2006, 07:56 PM

wellllll, i suck at rolling garments in towels apparently.... aside from that, the only large enough place to lie flat that is somewhat pet safe is the bathtub.... i've got it in there with towel on and under.... will that work?

thanks so much!

janelanespaintbrush · 10-25-2006, 08:47 PM

Actually, to get the excess water out (sorry I forgot to mention this last time), some folks recommend placing the garment in a sweater bag and then putting it in the spin cycle of a washing machine for about 10 seconds. (That's the cycle where it just spins to pull the water out -- no water or agitation involved here.) Maybe that's easier than rolling in a towel, I don't know.

When laying it out to dry, just put a towel underneath; no need to put another one on top.

Yarnlady · 10-26-2006, 08:56 AM

Originally Posted by boyforpele13

wellllll, i suck at rolling garments in towels

Fold a large bath towel in half. Lay the garment on it. Roll it up. Put it on the floor and step all over it. Repeat with an other towel if necessary.

I have a large heating pad designed to be used with moisture. I lay that on the table, floor, whatever, lay a dry towel or table cloth folded in half on top of the heating pad. Then garment on that. Turn floor fan on to blow over the top of the garment. Between the heat below, and the moving air above, the garments dry relatively quickly.

knitasha · 10-26-2006, 09:36 AM

Laying your sweater on towels is fine if the sweater is not too heavy. A really bulky item can take so long to dry that it risks getting mildewed (seriously).
It helps to change the towels every couple of hours so the sweater is always lying on a dry surface.

You can get inexpensive drying racks that lie over the edge of the bathtub and allow air to circulate all around. Some are just pieces of nylon netting in a plastic frame. Others fold in the middle to hook onto the tub. They're available at housewares stores and they really speed up drying.

nikic · 10-26-2006, 09:55 AM

I roll it up in a towel and step on it.

Then I put a new towel on my bed and put the sweater on the towel. Then I place a fan on the sweater, and rotate it every so often. It dries pretty fast.

You don't want to hang it. It will leave a mark and it will stretch out, a lot!

BillSpace · 10-27-2006, 05:22 PM

I understand your issue about finding a place free of pets. I happen to have a room that I can close off, but last night when I put my new sweater down for its blocking, I closed the door and you would have thought I violated some Feline Rights Act. Cats hate nothing more than a closed door -- and they love nothing more than a hand-knit sweater!

I like the idea of a bathtub rack. But the cats like to play in the bathroom, too. . .

Good luck.