How to Wash a Down Shawl

How to prepare a shawl for washing?

Before washing your beloved gossamer shawl or warm shawl, it should be carefully combed. If you overlook this important stage, the down will become even more tangled during washing. First the down is smoothed with a clean massage brush and then combed with an ordinary fine-toothed comb. It is important not to catch the base of the item (the fabric itself).

To prevent the shawl from shrinking, you should buy or put together a wooden frame for drying it. The size of such a frame should match the size of the item. It is also worth preparing drawing pins or thin nails in advance to fix the fabric. Ordinary fishing line or strong thread, longer than the perimeter of the item, is threaded through the edge of the shawl's scallops.

Let's start washing

For delicate cleaning of a down item, use a liquid detergent for wool. A mild shampoo or liquid soap without harsh dyes will also do. It is better not to use ordinary washing powder.

A down shawl is washed by hand only. First it is soaked in warm soapy water (no hotter than 40 degrees) for half an hour. During this time the dust and dirt will soak off. Then start washing, during which sharp or strong squeezing and stretching of the fabric is not recommended. It is better to rinse the shawl in several changes of water. To wash out the detergent completely, you can rinse the shawl in a weak vinegar solution. The last rinse is done with fabric conditioner added; it is better to use a special softener for woollens.

How to dry a shawl properly?

Never wring out a down item. Excess moisture can be removed from the shawl with an ordinary terry towel. To do this, wrap the washed shawl in a dry towel and gently blot it.

Now it is the turn of the prepared frame. Carefully stretch the shawl using the fishing line threaded through its border, and fix the item with the nails, which should be hammered into the frame in advance at equal intervals. Ideally, the distance between the nails should match the distance between the scallops of the shawl.

How to dry a down shawl without a frame?

A large table is covered with a clean sheet or linen towel, on which the damp down shawl is laid out. All the creases and folds must be carefully straightened. From time to time the item is shaken and laid out evenly on the horizontal surface again. The wet sheet is replaced with a dry one several times.

A down item should be dried at room temperature, away from radiators. When your favourite shawl is dry, it is taken off the frame and the fishing line is removed, after which it is ironed with a barely warm iron through a layer of gauze or a thin cloth.