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Fabric for nice trousers help
LeanneK Member since 9/18/11 Posts: 4	Login to reply to this post 1 member likes this. Date: 3/1/13 11:11 PM I've decided I'd like to make a pair of nice lined wool trousers, but I want something that is nevertheless machine washable (because, let's face it, I never bother to get things dry cleaned). They don't have to be wool, but I'd like that look. Is there such a thing as washable wool? Where would one acquire it? And if not, what instead would look nice?
genierita   Intermediate AUSTRALIA Member since 5/11/11 Posts: 25	Login to reply to this post In reply to LeanneK << Like this post Date: 3/2/13 5:49 AM My husbands business trousers are 60% wool and 40% polyester (RTW lightweight permanent pressed) and we machine wash them every month or so (in between dry cleaning). This mix performs very well if you use wool wash, wool cycle or hand wash /delicate cycle.They are immediately hung upside down on trouser hangers and air dried in shade. No ironing required. I do the same with my formal wool blend black trousers. Of course Australian wool is the best!! Many European houses use fine micron Australian wool in their fabrics. So I would look for a wool blend fabric rather than 100% wool
Karla Kizer   Advanced FL USA Member since 4/8/02 Posts: 6981	Login to reply to this post 1 member likes this. Date: 3/2/13 7:31 AM I wash tropical weight wool. Some of them are so good that they don't even need to be ironed. Unfortunately, you can't be sure you have one of those until you try it. I buy likely-looking stuff on sale (the smoother the texture, the better), and machine wash it before I cut it out. If it looks good out of the dryer, I make up the pants, but use a gentler form of cleaning - gentle cycle, only a few minutes in the dryer before I hang them up. BTW, my mother has been washing a pair of 30-year-old tropical wool pants and they are just now beginning to show signs of wear. ------ “Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig.” -Robert Heinlein and Ann's father. Thanks for the reminder, Ann. Where are we going, and what am I doing in this handbasket? Matthew 25:40 (New International Version) The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Doris W. in TN   Intermediate TN USA Member since 2/9/04 Posts: 6744	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 3/2/13 8:18 AM Like Karla, I have washed tropical weight 100% wool. Some of it does well, and others, the washing roughs up the fiber. You never know, so I always cut a 6" sample, serge the edges, and test it first. The pressing was a little dicey, so I take them all to the cleaners at the end of the season, before I put them in the cedar chest for the summer.
marymary86 Intermediate GA USA Member since 7/20/08 Posts: 2196	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 3/2/13 11:13 AM I'm a knitter so I'm already hand washing sweaters. I made a pair of pants out of wool crepe. I hand washed the fabric before cutting, rolled it in a towel to squeeze out as much moisture as I could and laid it flat to dry (i put a sheet on our carpeted bedroom floor and laid the fabric on top until it dried). Then I steam pressed it. I hand wash the pants, again roll in a towel, and lay flat to dry. The fabric takes a press beautifully. My concern with the washing machine is that agitation plus warmth = shrinkage. I'm intrigued with using it but I don't want to risk ruining good fabric! ------ Mary http://checkmatesystem.com

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