A warm soft downy scarf is a truly luxurious thing. Now it is rather a subject of nostalgia for the good old days, the past of our mothers and grandmothers. However, this cozy accessory is gradually regaining its popularity among women.
If an openwork down scarf has appeared in your wardrobe, you need to know how to care for it.
Features of their down products
By tradition, a downy shawl is made from delicate goat down - the undercoat of the Angora goat. Such products are famous not only for their warmth, but also for their healing properties. Hand-spun shawls are the most valued.
In addition to goat, sheep or rabbit undercoat is also used. However, the most popular and expensive products are rightfully made from special goat down, made by Orenburg craftsmen.
No less delicate than the scarf itself, there should be care for it. During wear and storage, it must not be crushed, twisted, stretched or squeezed. It is necessary to carefully protect the accessory from moths. No less important is the correct washing of a downy scarf. There are two ways to perform this procedure: manually and in the drum of the washing machine. Let's consider step by step how to do it.
How to prepare a down scarf for washing
Before proceeding directly to washing, it is important to prepare the product.When in contact with water and detergent, the fluff may become tangled. To avoid this trouble, you need to gently comb it with a clean massage brush, as if smoothing it. The brush should have fine teeth. When combing, in no case should you touch the base of the scarf.
In stores, you can find suitable bleaches for delicate fabrics. You can also use a household method - hydrogen peroxide bleach. Dissolve one bottle (100 ml) of peroxide in 10 liters of warm water and immerse the shawl in the resulting solution for five hours.
Another stage of preparation: buying or making a frame for drying. This is a simple wooden product with teeth (buttons, small carnations), with a stretched fishing line or strong thread. The size of the frame should correspond to the contour of the product, and the length of the fishing line, on the contrary, should exceed it.
How to wash a down scarf at home: hand wash
The prepared product is first kept in warm water, with a detergent diluted in it. It is important that the water is warm, not hot. The optimum temperature is 40 degrees. Exposure time - no more than half an hour. During this time, the dust and particles of dirt that have settled on the wool fibers will get wet.
After soaking, you can proceed directly to washing. In no case do not use push-ups, twisting and squeezing. Do not stretch the cape, do not pull it by the corners. You need to wash a downy scarf by hand with both hands, as if collecting it into a ball, carefully immerse it in soapy water with smooth movements.Never expose it to running water.
It is better to rinse the product repeatedly, constantly replacing contaminated water with clean water.
Helpful Hints
- The downy shawl can only be washed with mild detergents. Special liquid powders and gels for washing wool and silk are suitable. You can use liquid soap without dyes or regular shampoo.
- Never pour detergent directly onto the fabric.
- Washing water should not exceed 40 degrees.
- The rinse water should be the same temperature as when washing.
- Use only soft water. Rain melt water will do. Tap water must first be softened with soda ash (20 g of soda per 10 liters of water).
- Be extremely careful! Do not compress or stretch the fabric.
- When rinsing, use a fabric softener for delicate fabrics.
Washing machine
Contrary to popular belief, washing in the drum of an automatic machine will not damage a delicate down product.
But it's important to do it right.
- Preparation for washing is carried out in the same way as with the manual method.
- There should be no other things in the drum except for a handkerchief.
- Use only mild detergents, special gels for washing in an automatic machine.
- Carefully choose the washing mode: for delicate fabrics or for wool.
- The temperature regime should not exceed 40 degrees. It is better to stop at 30-35 degrees.
- Disable spin mode. The automatic spin can damage the thin fabric.
Given these simple recommendations, you can wash a downy cape without harm to it in the washing machine.
You can wash a dense Orenburg downy shawl without harm in the machine. The gossamer shawl is washed exclusively by hand.
How to wash a gossamer shawl
You can wash the cobweb at home only by hand. Unlike thicker wool shawls, openwork shawls are more prone to deformation. Machine wash is not recommended for them.
The order of washing the cobweb:
- Prepare a container with warm water (no more than 35 degrees).
- Prepare soap solution. You can use a mild shampoo, baby soap or delicate fabric gel.
- Immerse the shawl completely in the resulting solution. Leave for 20 minutes.
- Carefully wash the product with smooth compressive movements.
- Drain the dirty water, prepare a new solution and repeat the process.
- Rinse the shawl several times, constantly pouring clean water. For the last rinse, use conditioner.
- Gently wring out the cobweb, wrapping it in a terry towel. Do not twist or squeeze under any circumstances!
Proper drying of a down scarf
Now that the wash is complete, the scarf needs to be dried. Here, too, it is important to be careful. There are two ways to dry the shawl: with or without a special frame.
If you decide to use a frame, there will be no difficulties with drying. Gently stretch the scarf using the string. Secure it with studs fixed at regular intervals.
To properly fix the gossamer shawl on the frame, it must be moistened from time to time. Dense down products dry for a long time - up to eight hours. The openwork web loses moisture much faster.In order to avoid deformation and stretching, it will need additional moisture.
Drying without the help of a frame will take much longer. Lay out a clean cloth or towel on a flat surface. On top, carefully lay out the shawl, carefully smoothing out all the folds and bends. As soon as the fabric gets wet, immediately replace it with a dry one. Shake the shawl and spread evenly over the surface again.
Helpful Hints
- Never dry a downy shawl at home near heat sources: heaters, radiators, stoves, fireplaces.
- After drying, iron the product with a slightly heated iron through a layer of thin fabric.
Currently, there are a wide variety of frames for drying scarves on the market, and at fairly affordable prices.
Washing and care instructions
Do you want your favorite scarf to last as long as possible? Follow the simple instructions for caring for it. Here is some of them:
- Try to wash as little as possible. If you wear a downy product carefully, try to protect it from dirt, the need for washing will occur infrequently. This means that there will be little distortion.
- Splashes of dirt are removed without the help of washing. It is enough to clean the dried dirt with a dry, clean sponge.
- You can also remove stains from a woolen shawl without resorting to washing.Dissolve a tablet of acetylsalicylic acid and treat the stain with this mixture. Then gently rinse the area with warm water.
- Fresh snow will help to return the lost freshness to the product. Rub the shawl with snow or hang it outside during a snowfall for a couple of hours.
- The folds that appeared during drying will go away if you lay out the handkerchief in the bathroom at night. Humidified air will help remove creases.
- If the scarf has lost volume, softness and fluffiness, roll it into a loose roll, after moistening it. Place the roll in a bag and leave it in the freezer for a couple of hours.
Now you know how to properly care for your down scarf. This knowledge will come in handy in everyday life more than once. And your favorite shawl will delight you with its warmth and softness for many years.
