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WOOL SHRINKAGE


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No, not the problem from Seinfeld. I found a Navy N-4 Field Jacket (the Navy version of the M-41) at the flea market yesterday for $4.00. It is in great condition EXCEPT it appears someone washed it and the wool lining shrunk and the cuffs and bottom turn under because the lining is smaller than the shell. I have tried pulling on it to stretch it but it goes back to the small size after a while. Dose anyone have any tricks to stretch the wool back into shape?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Found this on a how-to site...

 

When wool gets wet and warm, the fibres in the wool lock themselves together and don't want to let go, resulting in shrinkage (you can get wool warm or wet, but not both), which kind of makes washing wool garments a dangerous business.

To un-shrink the wool, soak the garment in warm water with a mild wool friendly soap for about 10 minutes. This unlocks the fibres in the wool. Then lay the garment out on some towels in a cool place. Stretch the garment out to its original dimensions. The stretching pulls the unlocked wool fibres away from each other. Once this is done relax and allow your wool garment to dry. The absence of heat from the drying process allows the wool fibres to set in place without locking together and shrinking the garment again.

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