Hi all! I’m new here and can’t wait to contribute to the community.
I have a question. I have a skein of Lamb’s Pride Bulky and it’s a wool mohair blend. The washing instructions say to soak in wool wash with 1/8 c white vinegar, then rinse, and do a final soak in just water and 1/8 c vinegar. Does anyone know why they suggest to add the vinegar? Is it to soften up the yarn?
Thank you!
Vinegar is simply the poor man’s version of Woolite (or any other wool wash brand).
Vinegar is a natural cleaner and deodorizer and is used for many cleaning/deodorizing purposes.
I’ve washed/blocked several knitted items (with and without mohair content) in lukewarm water with a very small amount of baby shampoo.
I let them sit for anywhere from 20 minutes to overnight, depending on my schedule, and then let them sit in two or three rinses of plain lukewarm water, swishing them in each change of water before letting them sit. (Several days ago, I blocked six 12" blocks at the same time and followed this exact sequence.)
When the rinse water finally is clear, I squish the extra water out of the item(s) (no twisting or wringing) and roll them up in a towel for extra blotting of water. I lean on the towel with my arms to “encourage” more water to exit the knitted work.
Lastly, I either lay them down, patted to size/shape or pinned to exact size (if there’s an exact size required), on an absorbent pad. Last week’s 12-inch blocks were pinned to interfacing with 1-inch marked squares.
I leave them until they’re completely dry.
No vinegar, no expen$ive wool wash. 
I couldn’t believe this works, because the technique was part of a TV commercial for microfiber towels when they were new, but it does…
Wash just as you describe, then roll up in a microfiber towel (or, in a pinch, a microfiber plush blanket.) You know, the kid you can get in the car aisle of a dollar store now. Whack the towel on a countertop. Unroll it and pick up the knitted item, then wring any water you can get out of the towel and reroll it, preferably in the other direction. Hit it again. When you unroll it, the piece will be just barely damp enough to block.
I have no idea why banging the rolled-up piece on a counter or other solid object works, but it really does. This also works if you have washed something you need to wear soon. If you have a hair dryer handy, doing this, then using the hair dryer will have a shirt or light sweater ready to wear in minutes.
I have heard that the vinegar helps to remove grease, dirt and oil from fabric and makes the yarn smooth and soft.
Thank you everyone for your input! I did wash it as the instructions read. I think it’s a touch softer but not by much.
I don’t find that vinegar works as fabric softener. I do use it for removing residues in loads of laundry and those residues can leave behind odors and make things feel stiffer. It will help get rid of the last of the detergent and whatever else might be hanging around. I used vinegar to rinse baby diapers almost 40 years ago on the advice of a nurse. It doesn’t cure all laundry ills but it sure does help.
Another poor man’s wool wash is baby shampoo and lanolin. You can get lanolin in a pharmacy. It’s used by nursing mothers. This is the blend to wash wool diaper covers and help them retain their waterproof density. There’s no need to buy expensive wool wash when this is the same thing. As to the Lamb’s Pride bulky, you’ll need to let the needles dangle once in a while and let the yarn untwist. I liked knitting with it, but it had a twist to it as I went along that was like an old fashioned telephone cord. I’m showing my age here.
Thanks very much for that tip! I happen to have lanolin as I cloth diaper my little one so I will give it a go.
how about washing by hand. This will be a lot more gentle. Use a nice smelling shampoo. Rinse then use machine to spin dry. Hang on drying wrack to dry not the tumble dryer as you will have a mess.