Block(ing) Party – 3 things I really like

It’s been more than a hot minute since I’ve shared some thoughts here.  That’s because it’s been a whirlwind spring & summer. I promise I’ll update soon!

With fall in full swing, most of trees disrobing, and frost on my windshield these last few days, it is safe to say that winter is coming.  You know what that means: Sweater Weather!

In preparation for sweata weatha, I always tell myself that I’m going to wash, block & de-pill all of my sweaters at the beginning of the season so they are nice and fresh.  It’s a good thought, but never happens the way I imagine, for various reasons.  This year, I was determined to make it a reality.

Now, I’m not totally crazy, so I’m gonna pace myself and wash a few sweaters at a time. Namely, 3-4 at a time, because that’s the number of sweater dryers I have.  I’ve finally found a process that works for me & some great products that I have to rave about, so I decided to write it all up!

Prep:
Pick a few sweaters.
Check your stash of wool wash.
Find your washing receptacles.
Grab some clean towels or other drying helpers.
Set up your drying space.

I grabbed the 4 sweaters that I tend to wear most often, because they probably needed the most TLC.  I run water a little warmer than body temperature, because water needs to be warmer than body temperature to break down the oils your skin produces.  I’m careful not to agitate and I’ve yet to have anything felt unintentionally while handwashing.

I use these buckets to wash my handknits in.  They are smooth on the inside, so no fear of snagging, and the handle comes in quite handy.  They are set aside, only used for washing handknits and finishing handspun yarn (they live with my set-aside dishwashing gloves and plunger that are only used for fulling & felting).  They are a little dark inside, so if you’re concerned with seeing the water while the item is marinating, you might want to go with these instead.

I recently discovered the wonder of Unicorn Clean and I’m in love!  After years of using no-rinse washes that I was confident in, I was SHOCKED at the difference in the result.  My sweaters are SO clean & SO soft now.  Even the more rustic wools are softer!

I add 3 gallons and 3 tbsp of Beyond Fibre Wash to each bucket for each sweater, drop the sweater in on top of the water, and ignore it for at least 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes (or so…), I check the sweaters to be sure they are submerged.  If not, I gently hold them until the water until they stop bubbling and then ignore them for another 30 minutes (or so…).

When I remember, I come back, pour out the wash waster and squeeze out the sweater a bit – wool holds a LOT of water!  I then add 2-ish gallons of tepid water and a dab of Beyond Soft to the bucket.  I shove the sweater over to one side and do the pouring to the other side – I try to avoid pouring straight onto the wool, just to be safe.  Then I get to doing something else & leave the sweaters soaking until I remember them, then pour out the rinse water and squeeze the excess out of the garment as well.

At this point, lots of people will tell you to roll the handknit in a towel & stand on it, repeating until you stop getting ridiculous amounts of water out of it, then lay it out, smooth it into shape & leave it to dry.  I’m not lots of people and I found the towel method left my sweaters damp for days.  Yuck.

At this point, I’m going to tell you to do one of two things:

1. If have a washer WITHOUT an agitator, that you can set to spin only, do that!
2. If not, buy one of these: Mini Portable Countertop Spin Dryer

When the sweater is totally dry, I grab my Gleener and give it some love, removing fuzz and pills (and a fair bit of embedded dog & people hair to boot!).  I prefer the Gleener to a sweater shaver because those can grab the yarn & eat a hole in your handknit (*sobs*).