Have I just ruined my vintage cardi?

[Boobybeau]

Please help, I bought a beatiful vintage cardi at a market on the weekend (and it was a total bargain) I have just washed it and it's shrunk!! I have quite a lot of knitted clothing so I didn't think there would be a problem machine washing it but obviously it was a huge mistake. Is there anything I can do? I'm totally gutted

It's probably ruined, sorry . most pure wool, especially vintage, can't be machine washed - modern wool and wool mixes are often treated in a way that prevents the felting/shrinking process. Anything vintage is best hand washed, just in case.

Make it very wet in a bucket of softener and water, whilst wet , squeeze excess out and then hang it on the line while wet . The weight of the water will stretch the wool out . The risk is it will go out of shape but if it's really shrink you don't have many options .

You could dry it flat and pull it whilst it dries in the sunshine for a safer option. It's a good day for this.

Thank you guys. May try giving it a stretch while damp again then. I'm such a plonker, I should have been more careful. It's still kinda wearable I guess, the arms are just a little too short. It's was such a perfect fit when I tried it on though