It is important to know that a thing “bites” because of its structure. Like human hair, wool tends to split, forming small lint along the edges of the thread, which irritate the skin.
Scientists claim that “biting” thing is good for health, but not everyone is willing to put up with discomfort for therapeutic purposes. Therefore, many fashionistas and fashionistas who prefer warm clothes made of wool, try by any means to soften the barbed purchase. Make clothes softer in several ways.
Powder for wool items
Give softness to woolen clothes using a special powder and fabric softener. The most common of them are Laska and Lenore. It is better to buy a liquid version of the tool, it acts better on the fabric and leaves no streaks.
You can use special softeners for the washing machine and for hand washing, you need to choose the method, starting from the recommendations on the label. During hand washing, the fabric deteriorates less and reduces the risk of shape distortion.
The conditioner and the powder soften the fabric, fastening the loose fibers that are tightly attached to the thread itself. The effect of the tool is not durable, but it tends to accumulate. With each wash, the thing will become a little softer.
Shampoo and hair conditioner
To make clothes softer, you do not need to purchase special products for woolen things. You can use shampoo or hair conditioner( better and the one and the other), which we wash our heads. It is desirable that they were for dry and split ends, then the effect will be stronger. Also well suited for softening shampoo for long-haired animals.
Shampoo and rinse, and maybe 2 in 1, act as a powder. They are able to soften hair, making it a single whole, and thanks to the fragrances your clothes will not only be more pleasant to your body, but will also smell delicious.
To soften a wool item, wash it in cool water using a shampoo. Squeeze a little and apply a balsam evenly on both sides. Leave the item for 5 minutes, then wash off the balsam and send the clothes to dry.So that the woolen thing does not change shape and does not stretch, it should be dried only in a horizontal position.
Steaming Wool
Another way to make a wool “thorn” soft is to steam it. To do this, you will need: an iron or a steam generator, a cloth( the size of the workpiece or more) and citric acid. Lemon tends to soften the thing, and steam only enhances the effect.
For wool products do not prick:
- Place clothes on the ironing board.
- Put the iron on the "wool" mode, if there is one, or just on the heat, but not the maximum.
- Prepare a lemon solution( 1 pinch per 1 l of water).
- Dip a cloth into the solution.
- Place the damp cloth on the wool.
Now everything is ready, you can start the process of steaming. Carefully, without pressing hard on the iron, walk across the fabric. With a heavy touch, the thing can stretch out, so everything needs to be done gently and with light movements. After finishing on one side, moisten the fabric again and start processing the other side of the product. When using a steam generator, the process of preparing clothes and steaming them does not change.
Mustard Powder
Our grandmothers used this method to make things less barbed long before the invention of special powders. Mustard softens the villi, and the material becomes noticeably softer and more pleasant to the touch.
It is very simple to use mustard powder to soften wool. Pour 2 tbsp.lmustard in a bowl of warm water and put the wool product there. Leave it in the solution for an hour, then rinse thoroughly. Drain the mustard solution and rinse the clothes thoroughly. Squeeze gently and send to dry.
A solution of vinegar and salt
Vinegar perfectly softens the woolen fabric, making it soft and pleasant to the body. To prepare a solution based on vinegar, you need to mix in equal proportions the main ingredient with salt. At 5 liters of cool water is enough for 1 tsp.vinegar and salt. If there is no vinegar in the house, it can be replaced with citric acid.
For a higher result, the product should not only be rinsed in a solution, but also left to soak for 30 minutes. Since the vinegar smells strongly, even though it is not so much, it will take a long time to rinse the item after “bathing”.Rinse the fabric under running water and get rid of the smell, the product can be hung to dry.
Use of glycerin
The effect of using glycerin to soften wool items is very similar to the previous one. It is used as well as the acetic solution, the only difference is that it does not smell so much. The solution is made in the proportions: 1 tsp per 1 liter of running water. Glycerin can be purchased at the pharmacy.
Drinking soda and ammonia
To soften woolen cloth, you can use baking soda in combination with ammonia. For the solution you will need: 10 liters.water, 1 tsp.soda and 5 drops of ammonia. All components mix.
To achieve the desired effect, place the wool item in the resulting solution and leave it for some time, for about 30-40 minutes, depending on its size. After the time the wool product is taken out and rinsed in cool water.
The effect of cold temperature
Perhaps the most original way to make wool not soft, but soft, is to act on it with a cold temperature, in other words freeze. With this method, the villi on the threads are frozen and fall off, so the clothes become softer.
Since you can’t hang things out of the window in city apartments, unless you have an unglazed balcony, and winter isn’t forever, they usually use a freezer for this method. In addition to the freezer, we need a plastic bag.
Put the damp wool item in a bag and place in the freezer for 24 hours. After taking the product, let it defrost, then rinse in cool water. Rinse better with the addition of a fabric softener presented here.
Unfortunately, all of the above methods are suitable only for slightly pricked wool. If the material pricks heavily, then there's nothing you can do, you just have to endure or wear something softer under the bottom of woolen clothes. Therefore, wanting to buy a thing made of wool, carefully look at the composition, the manufacturer and do not forget to touch( best to lean against the face).
It is worth remembering that the most prickly wool is sheep. As a rule, hand knitting is more rigid than production. When buying, it is better to choose products not from 100% wool, but with impurities.
