How to wash your wool jumpers.

Source.

Where I live we're currently entering the Winter season so I've just finished handwashing all of my winter items like wool knee socks and cashmere jumpers. In case you didn't know I'm currently finishing my final year at an art college doing a textiles course, I know a sad amount about fabrics and fibres but I won't bore you with it too much.

Long story short, don't just bang your wool/cashmere/etc in the machine and complain when it shrinks. Once it's shrunk that's it, it's gone and it won't go back to it's orignial shape because the fibres have offically knitted together. Also putting them in the dryer is a big no no, but you already knew that right? Right? The only I've ever took my wool jumper to the dry cleaners was when I spilt cat food down it (I swear the cat nudged me). Dry cleaning isn't as gentle on fabrics as you would think and it actually costs a lot if you plan to wash it every month, personally I deeply recommend hand washing your items and so I've created my own mini guide.

1. Fill your sink with lukewarm water and add a few drops of baby shampoo to create foam.
2. Carefully place your sweater on top of the water and gently press it into the water, let it rest there for a minute or two and the foamy water should clean it without you needing to roughly handle the wool.
3. Take it out the water with both hands, don't yank it out by one sleeve or you risk stretching it.
4. Place it in a dry bowl to safely drain while you empty your sink.
5. Refill your sink with clean lukewarm water and let it soak for less than a minute, this will get rid of any left over soap.
6. Now drain your sink and let your sweater sit in it for two minutes to drain majority of the water out.
7. If your sweater is still quite heavy leave it to drain for a bit longer, speed up the process by gently press on top of your sweater.
8. Remove the sweater from the sink onto a folded towel, place another towel on top and gently press the top of sweater. You'll need to repeat this until the sweater is damp rather than wet, if in doubt keep pressing. More dry than more wet.
9. Transfer your sweater onto a dry towel and leave it for a few hours, swap the sides occasionally as it dries.
10. Keep your sweater away from anything heated and let it dry completely naturally, this may take a few days.

Any questions?

The basic lowdown on Victorian Mourning.

Victorian Mourning Dress, c. 1880; black silk and netting. By Evan Michelson, photo by Irving Solero.

The fashion seen in Victorian mourning history books often looks like Gothic fashion, we look back at this old tradition with a sigh and romantic thoughts. I’m currently studying it for my project which has a theme of death (yes I squealed with glee when I read the brief) but I wasn’t always so pleased about what I read, no fancy balls for a year? Only wearing that disgusting crape fabric? Oh dear.

What were the rules of mourning?
The rules were quite complicated, especially for middle class women. However if you had any confusion you would have probably consulted a guide such as Cassell's Household Guide for specific etiquette. The rules were different depending on your gender, age and relation to the deceased. For example you would mourn for a longer period of time if you lost a parent rather than a second cousin. If you lost a…

Husband: Two years.
Parent: One year.
Brothers, sisters or grandparent: Six months.
Aunt or Uncle: Six weeks.
First cousin: Four weeks.

These are the periods of time spent mourning according to most of my sources, however some state slightly differently. Mostly this is because mourning can be quite personal, a person could mourn for the rest of her if they choose to.

What are the stages of mourning?
The stages are known as full half mourning, these actually used to refer to the lifestyle of the mourner rather than how they feel. During full mourning a widow was expected to wear dull black clothing with no unnecessary decoration and completed with a weeping veil. In half mourning the widow was allowed to use fabric trim and slowly introduce colour back, colours such as grey or lavender were obviously introduced first. According to one source of the 19th century a widow wasn’t allowed to leave the house without her weeping veil and her activities should be restricted to church services. Jeez someone else will have to get the milk then?

Men were expected to wear a mourning suit which consisted of a black frock coat, trousers and a waistcoat. Military men could simply wear a black armband over their uniform but eventually the rules relaxed for everyone, however during the Victorian period mourning was still necessary.

However it’s not just clothing a mourner has to consider, they also have to consider their activities and what jewellery to wear. A lot of the jewellery was first made with jet until new and better materials replaced its popularity. Hair was also used in many pieces of mourning jewellery, it could be woven in or perhaps used to create a chain. However I mostly see hair inside a locket or under clear glass.

Things to look forward to ths Winter!

I absolutely hate Winter, I feel the cold so easily and I'm always snuffling and feeling sorry for myself. I hate how dark and depressing it gets, I hate the slow buses, I hate piling on clothes only to look like a potato and still feel chilly.  But I've decided not to focus on the negative this year (shocking I know) and instead look towards the positives...

• Yummy warm foods like hot chocolate and hot buttered bread. Mmm who cares if I get slightly pudgy nobody will notice, goodbye bikini season.
• Wearing Winter clothes such as fur coats and ear muffs, so cute and snuggly!
• Having more nights in with my friends, it's cheaper and cosier. Nothing better than cuddling up to a loved one and watching a dvd.
• People actually start to put the heating on, I love propping my feet up on the college radiators and my Dad finally stops laughing my face when I ask.
• Leaving footprints in the snow.
• Riders on the bus tend to get less snarky about me having coughing fits and sniffly moments on the bus, sorry!
• Getting snowed in: "Oh yes completely snowed in! Sorry I can't make it in, too bad eh?" Then looking smug after I get off the phone and sinking into the sofa, I grab my fat cat and a fluffy blanket.
• Watching old ladies fall in the ice...joking! I usually hate the ice but it gives karma a helping hand sometimes, last year a teenage boy tried to throw a iceball at me but he fell straight over trying.
• Starting to knit again.

What are you looking forward to this season? Or what's the weather like in Australia? ;)