How the hell can I mix my wool coat?

[CoolCarrie]

I have a lovely colourful wool coat which my “dear “ mil has washed, in the washing machine and now it’s a jacket! It was slightly big on me, but now I can’t even button it, it’s miss shaped, but not felted I am raging , it wasn’it dirty, I’ve only worn it twice! How can I fix it ?

Lots of wool items have very strict washing instructions as wool is very sensitive- I assume that your coat is ruined, I’m so sorry !

Sorry it is gone. Try to buy a new one while it is still a recent model

It’s ruined, sorry. Don’t let MIL touch your laundry in future!

I would tell your MIL to replace it

Oh how bloody annoying. Is she suitably contrite and offeting to replace? How did she even find it?!

She was staying with dh & ds while I was back home due to family funeral. It cost me £200 in a boutique in Amsterdam 3 years ago, so can’t replace it. It is an Indian bo ho style and dh says it still looks lovely, but it’s at least two sizes smaller than it was. Could I wet it lightly and try to reshape it? It hasn’t gone felted, as it was cold water it was washed it.

What size are you? Could you go on a diet

I will never understand why people do this! Who goes into someone’s home and washes their coats??

I know I’m not helping. Sorry for the loss of your lovely coat!

I hope she’s sufficiently apologetic and has offered to pay for a replacement...

Wool or not, who washes coats in the washing machine??? I would be fuming.

So sorry, sounds like it's ruined.

It is a goner. You could try cold wash and reshape but not much hope.

Tell MIL it wasn't helpful as stuff got ruined and please don't attempt laundry again. No harm was meant, you understand that, but no. No more laundry.

Best you can do is turn it into a cushion or doorstop, I'm afraid.

I managed to reshape a jumper that was thickened and shrunken by soaking it in hair conditioner and stretching it into shape, then drying it flat.

I googled it and a few sites suggested it.

Not being funny, but how frigging stupid is she, washing a WOOL coat?

What size are you? Could you go on a diet grin

^^

This made me laugh tho

Don’t bin it just yet...if you really loved it you could find out how much a dressmaker would charge to make a copy? It might be hard to source the fabric but it could be worth a try.

Or put a picture on here and see if another can be found.

Sympathy’s op I’d be gutted, I love my coat collection.

When you wash wool that hasn’t been shrinkproofed, the little ratchet-like structures (scales) on the surface the fibres lock together and cause felting. This is why it’s impossible to reverse the process.

Shrinkproofing treatments put a coating on the scales so that they’re unable to lock together.

Sorry it’s not helpful to you, OP, just thought you’d like to know a bit about the science behind it (former textile chemist).

So sorry op this is so frustrating! The only bit of advice I have though is to put it behind you. If you’ve had it for 3 years and only worn it twice then you can’t have loved it that much or at least it hasn’t become part of your working wardrobe

I could go on a diet , which I should anyway😀 but the sleeves are short as well. The reason I haven’t worn it very much is because we live in a hot country so would only be wearing it in the autumn months. Thanks for all the help here, I will take it to the dressmaker nearby and see what she can suggest re the sleeves

The strange thing is that the wool hasn’t gone felt - like at all, it’s just shrunk all over. If she had pulled it back into shape it would have been ok, well not ok, but better than how she left it.

If it hasn't felted, you won't lose anything by wetting it and trying to reshape it again.

Soak it in cold water for at least 20 mins, then pin out firmly stretched out and keep it pinned out until it's dry. You can use a non wool carpet or rug or those interlocking mats you get for children.

Sometimes I unpin things to flip them over and pin them again if they're very heavy.

It isn't necessarily that the wool isn't washable. Any laundry product that contains enzymes (bio) or has stain removers will destroy the actual protein structure of the wool. If you read the label on the laundry soap that was used you will probably find it states that it is not suitable for wool or silk.

I would suspect this is the issue since the item was washed on a cold wash.

Can’t be fixed IME.

I managed to reshape a jumper that was thickened and shrunken by soaking it in hair conditioner and stretching it into shape, then drying it flat.

This ^^

Any laundry product that contains enzymes (bio) or has stain removers will destroy the actual protein structure of the wool.

That’s not really true. Wool protein is keratinised, which means it has undergone a process of hardening that makes it very difficult to break down. You have to apply a chemical that breaks the disulphide bonds between the protein chains (this is what happens when you perm your hair!). You won’t find those chemicals in domestic laundry products.

Also, OP, the three factors you need for felting are heat, moisture and pressure, so if she washed it in cold water it won’t completely felt but it will shrink because of the other two factors.