How to take care of: Cashmere and Wool clothing (not coats)

Cashmere and Wool are among the most delightful articles of clothing that one can own aside from silk. They are fine, delicate, and luxurious, however most people don't know how to wash them and take care of them to make them last.  What makes these fabrics so fine is that they come from animals and with everything that comes from animals, we need to learn to treat it with a lot of gratefulness, rather than abuse and misuse. We can all learn to connect with the natural world around us like the Native Americans did in the way that they recognized and were thankful from what they got from animals.

So I know that caring for cashmere can seem like a hastle. It's actually much simpler than you might think. You don't have to dry clean ONLY your cashmere and wool sweaters, shirts, skirts, and dresses (this exludes your coats).

You will need a plastic bin or storage box shaped like this (it doesn't have to be clear and no lid; plastic because you will be putting water in it):

Cold water

Heavyweight plastic clothing hangers

And one of the following

Salt, Woolite, or white vinegar

Directions:

Take the cashmere item and place it in the bin. Add cold water (ONLY!!!) to cover the article of clothing fully. Add about one teaspoon or so of the cleaning agents (woolite, salt, or vinegar).  Swish your clothing, gently scrub the areas that need attention like the underarms, the neck lines or any stains. If there are heavy stains it may require some soaking (if the stain is an organic stain like coffee, tea, wine) in order to lighten or remove the stain. Keep checking on the stain if you are soaking it to remove it because sometimes prolonged soaking may be required. Finally, dump the dirty water, refill the bin with more cold water and submerse the clothing in there for a rinse. DO NOT ring out the water from the clothing. You will hook it on the hanger wet and hang it over the shower rod to let the water run down the clothing naturally. If you forget and ring it, you will need to resoak it in cold water. Now if your cashmere or wool has shrunk at this stage you can gently stretch it in areas where you need it. You will pull and tug gently extending the arms of the length as the water runs down and as the article of clothing begins to shed the water. Leave the article in the shower to dry until no more water drips out, then you may move it, still leaving it on the hanger, to another area in the house, where you should leave it on there until it dries completely. 

To store it, be sure to have small sacks of Lavendar in between so moths don't get to them. I have sacrificial cashmere so that moths too may enjoy them (but these are wholier than art thou snacks lol). Or ceder chips to keep moths away. NEVER EVER EVER please never use Moth balls -they aren't good for you nor are they any better for the environment. Personally, I think that they should be banned. 

Please take care of these wonderful gifts from animals. And I don't want to see another one end up at Goodwill (yeah right! :))