Slightly scratchy wool: Softeners?

Question

Here comes another dingbat question from a relative newbie to pure wool...

I have a pair of woolen socks that I'm about to finish and give as a gift to someone. The wool is just a little bit scratchier than I'd like. If I hand wash the socks, can/should I put a small amount (1 teaspoon) of dye- and fragrance-free fabric softener in with the water? Do softeners have any adverse effects on pure wool? I've used this yarn before and tried using the gentle shampoo and conditioner route, but that still didn't give me the result I wanted. Does anyone have other suggestions? I don't want the wool to feel greasy, just slightly smoother and a bit softer.

Magie Noire · Accepted Answer

Have you tried lemon juice? It's good for human and animal hair as a natural softener. Rinse it after in demineralised water.SD"Mirjam Bruck-Cohen"  a écrit dans le message de news:

YarnWright · Answer

On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 14:39:38 GMT, Threnody spun a fine yarn

Vinegar! It's always been a natural fabric softener, my MIL and fave aunt both NEVER used commercial fabric softeners, JUST vinegar. JM2C, Noreen PS, it also 'sets' colour!! (I have a pair of jeans that I 'set' that are STILL dark navy blue and they are 10 years old.)

Mirjam Bruck-Cohen · Answer

BABY SHAMPOO mirjam 14:39:38 GMT, Threnody  wrote:

Mirjam Bruck-Cohen · Answer

Sofia i would have never thought about that ??? And i have a tree , a lemon tree ,,,, mirjam

Magie Noire · Answer

Where I come from there are certain places where the water is very hard. So people compensate by rinsing every natural fibber with lemon juice (filtered, of course) added to the last water! Fibbers (or hair) become shiny and so soft! And it smells good! SD

"Mirjam Bruck-Cohen" a écrit dans le message de news: snipped-for-privacy@ar.news.verio.net...

Wooly · Answer

On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 14:39:38 GMT, Threnody spewed forth :

Sure. Rinse it out - as you would when creme rinsing your own hair - or the stuff will be a dirt magnet. You can also try adding some baking soda to the final rinse..

Nope. It's hair. I use shampoo and conditioner on my hair, and on my wool sweaters too.

A spoonful of lanolin in a washer-full of sweaters isn't out of line because really, who likes a dry crunchy sweater...

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Reply to the list as I do not publish an email address to USENET. This practice has cut my spam by more than 95%. Of course, I did have to abandon a perfectly good email account...

coggietm · Answer

I use Eucalan wool wash , but her is a write up on two different kinds.

spampot · Answer

Mom grew up in a VERY hard-water area washing her hair in pine-tar soap and rinsing it with vinegar.

Slightly scratchy wool: Softeners?

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