How to properly wash mink down and angora garments
Hand-knitted items made from downy yarn require careful maintenance, but more importantly, you need to properly process your swatch before you start knitting. This will help avoid two problems: the finished sweater or hat shrinking, and the fabric felting.
Why and how to wash a down swatch?
- To wash off the agents used to treat the yarn for smoothness and elasticity.
- To determine how much the fluffiness of the finished item will increase.
- To find out how much the item will shrink after washing and make accurate calculations before you start knitting.
2 ways to wash down knitwear
Method 1: cool water, hand wash, detergent like Perwoll or another wool wash. Dry flat; the swatch retains its shape, barely shrinks, and has a light fuzz.
Method 2: Very hot water (about 60-70 degrees Celsius) and Perwoll, rinse in cool water. Shrinkage is slightly higher but not critical, and the down is fluffier than in the first swatch.
Washing the finished item in a washing machine.
Down garments CAN be machine washed on a HAND WASH cycle at 40 degrees Celsius with a spin speed of 600 RPM. IMPORTANT! There should be no other items in the drum, otherwise, the fabric will felt.
In the photo, you can see what a down garment looks like when hand-washed (left) and machine-washed (right).
Before buying yarn for a scarf, you can also check the guide on calculating yarn amounts for a scarf.
Also, like any natural fiber (wool, silk...), such sweaters can be washed with shampoo. The most ordinary kind, the main thing is not "nourishing", otherwise the wool fibers won't be fluffy.
I dissolve 1-2 spoons of shampoo in a basin, put the sweater in, gently squeeze it (without rubbing!), and then rinse it in 2-3 changes of water. I don't wring it out at all, I just let the water drain and then dry it horizontally on fabric. It's a hassle, yes, but this way the clothes will never shrink or stretch, and will retain their "fluffiness" for a long time. I definitely wouldn't risk washing it in a machine, especially with a spin cycle.