Attn: Mirjam ....

I'm not Mirjam, but I have a couple of suggestions. You might try either hair conditioner or fabric softener. Personally, I would try the conditioner first, but it is your shawl.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

Anyway, when I brought it down from the top of the cupboard it was hard to

Hallo Murielle Do you have any idea what the threads are made of ? are they wool ?man made threads ? Why did you use baking Soda ????

If you can snip of a piece of thread [ if it has a tail ?] do it take the thread over a sink , and light it with a match look at the result and smell it , this may tell you what the threads are !

if you can`t do this test take a magnifying glass and look at 1-2 places where the shawl seems stuck together , and try to unstick it delicately with your fingers ,, if you feel you can do it , lay the shawl , as is on a flat place and delicately enter your fingers than your hand between the folded layers stopping with every hint of problem .

please tell me what happened ,,,,, let`s do it step after step ..

Baking Soda only took out oils if there were any , tangled /stuck together threads happen more when they are manmade or mohairs...When they were kept in a place that was a bit warm and /or humid and if they were under something heavy weight.

was it folded in a nylon bag ? mirjam

Hair conditioner No No No ,,,,,,, But and air blower / hair dryer turned on cold yes by all means mirjam

Hallo Murielle Do you have any idea what the threads are made of ? are they wool ?man made threads ? Why did you use baking Soda ????

Hi Mirjam,

I have just been looking at the shawl under a magnifiying glass. I think it must be man-made because of the way it's behaving. The fiber sticks together, though I can separate it, but then it just sticks again. The colour is a mix of blues and there appears to be a couple of nylon strands mixed in with the fiber.

I used the baking soda in the water--not much, maybe half a cup in a washer full of water--because I know baking soda softens water. The yarn is rough and scratchy, it never used to be. I thought it would soften the fibers. It didn't.

If you can snip of a piece of thread [ if it has a tail ?] do it take the thread over a sink , and light it with a match look at the result and smell it , this may tell you what the threads are !

I can't find any tails. I know Mom must have bound it off and weaved the tails through the pattern so they wouldn't show. She did an excellent job.

if you can`t do this test take a magnifying glass and look at 1-2 places where the shawl seems stuck together , and try to unstick it delicately with your fingers ,, if you feel you can do it , lay the shawl , as is on a flat place and delicately enter your fingers than your hand between the folded layers stopping with every hint of problem .

please tell me what happened ,,,,, let`s do it step after step ..

I did this as I said above, something else I noticed is that in several places bits of thread and fluff balls are stuck to the scarf. I'm not going to say it's pilling, because that's not what's going on, but it has attracted pills from other fabrics it's come in contact with. It's so weird. I've never seen anything like this before.

Baking Soda only took out oils if there were any , tangled /stuck together threads happen more when they are manmade or mohairs...When they were kept in a place that was a bit warm and /or humid and if they were under something heavy weight. was it folded in a nylon bag ?

I'm trying to remember if there was anything on top of it ... perhaps a few sweaters. It wasn't at the top of the file, but it wasn't on the bottom either. Could it be a nylon mix? I've never seen acrylic behave this way.

It was not in a plastic bag. I thought that was a good thing. Just on the shelf with my other out of season knits.

It's a trianglular shawl and was folded to approximate a square so that it would fit in the pile easily.

Sorry my info is so choppy. I'm just trying to get down anything I can tell you about the yarn and shawl.

Thank you so much for this, Mirjam. Murielle

mirjam

It is pretty dry. Especially after two washes in the machine and once in the dryer.

I'm flummoxed.

Murielle

Can you use a spray bottle of water and ? and slowly pull it apart and leave it flat? I wouldn't put it in the dryer.

Murielle it doesn`t sound [=read] too promising ,, and it souds very much like man made threads ,,,, try now to put in very lukewarm water ,,, [ NOT WARM !!!!! LUKEwarm ] with baby shampoo !!! let it cool from time to time give a shake ,,,,, throw water out and rinse again in luke warm water , now push your hand into the layers ,,, and divide the lot firmly bur delicately. mirjam

In that case, I would definitely try a liquid fabric softener. They are designed to smooth out made-made fibers. I would put a healthy dollop of liquid fabric softener in a bowl or sink of fairly warm water, and leave it to soak for a while, to make sure it gets into all the fibers. Then I would rinse it in clear water, roll it in a towel to get out the worst of the water and lay it flat to dry. I know that the folk who rescue old dolls from yard sales and thrift stores, to clean them up and dress them for charity, use this method every time for tangled doll hair.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

I don't think I've explained the situation well ... It's not that I can't unfold it, and lay it flat, it's that when the fibers touch one another they stick, and the garment is dry and rough, and yes, sticks to itself. But it's not stuck.

Thanks, Murielle

I've alergic to fragrance so I have to be really careful about products I use, but I'll have a look around tomorrow to see if I can find a fabric softener that is fragrance free.

Thanks, Mary.

Murielle

It's not stuck together (I didn't explain that well) it's just the the fibers stick together if they touch. It's like the little tiny fibers are some how sticking to one another when they come in contact with one another. It used to be really soft and sunggly and now, after over a decade of neglect (on my part) it's rough and scratchy and sticks to itself.

I'm sure it doesn't help the situation that since developing an allergy to fragrance I no longer use any dryer sheets or fabric softeners.

Thanks, Murielle

Murielle that is why i use Baby Sahmpoo , easy on materials and Non alergic for me .

I will look for baby shampoo that doesn't have a fragrance.

Thank you, Murielle