Can a cashmere sweater be stretched?

Tanya

I have a couple of older, but pretty cashmere sweaters that are from fashion era when we wore them very fitted and on the shorter side, just reaching the hipbone. I was wondering if they could be carefully stretched when wet - both horizontally and vertically - and how exactly to do that. I have heard about "blocking" a sweater, though i am not sure what it exactly means and how it is done, and was thinking that it might be possible to apply that here.

12 years ago

General

13 replies

Latest reply was from K. Period.

catgirl

Veteran

I edit sweaters this way all the time! My fixation is with making the hem wider on a banded sweater but yes, gentle shaping or blocking should be fine. When they are wet I just pull evenly on the hem or sleeve or whatever I'm trying to alter.

12 years ago

Diana

Veteran

Yes, it's definitely worth a try, although it doesn't always work, depending on how tightly knit the sweater is. A looser knit will stretch more.

Basically, blocking just means reshaping a piece of knitwear when it is wet and laying flat. You can just lay it on a towel on the floor (after hand washing, or hand wash cycle in the machine - if you hand wash, it's better to press as much water out of it as possible before you block). Then just stretch it gently to the shape you want. If you want to block severely sometimes it helps to pin the sweater to the towel so it doesn't spring back.

If that does not work, another possibility is to actually hang the wet sweater to dry. The weight of the sweater serves to stretch it. I don't really recommend this unless the previous method does not work, as it has the potential to stretch out the shoulders and armholes too much.

12 years ago

Dee

Veteran

In knitting, blocking means uniformly sizing/shaping a garment. You would want it damp, but not dripping wet, and then you stretch each part gently until it reaches the size you want. For handknits, I usually pin it in place or put someting heavy on each end to keep it at that size until it dries. But that's a lot of work, so for sweaters I often just lay it over a drying rack, but (fair warning) it may stretch more than you want if you're not careful due to its own weight. It would keep most of the new size/shape once it dries, depending on the fiber. Most natural fibers block well.

12 years ago

Dee

Veteran

Ah, Diana beat me to the punch while I was composing my reply! Good luck with your blocking.

12 years ago

Tanya

Veteran

Thank you very much for the advice and instructions on blocking ladies! I will try to stretchthe sweaters the first chance I get and report the results.

12 years ago

Nicole D

Veteran

Good luck! I will be interested to see the results!

12 years ago

donnat

Veteran

Let us know the results.

12 years ago

Anonymous

I think it works best when the sweater has been accidentally shrunk. It's then possible to stretch it back to its original size. I'm not sure how well it will work with a sweater that starts out smaller and shorter. If your sweaters have any spandex at all in them, they are likely to bounce back to their small size when fully dry. If you add a little hair conditioner to the rinse water, that might help. I seem to remember reading that somewhere. I have had varying degrees of success with this with thrifted sweaters, and it's certainly worth a try!

12 years ago

Joyce B

Veteran

Blocking can help you a little if you need to stretch out your sweater in both directions. In general, when you block for length, you loose a little width
And when you block for extra width you loose a little length. Since you need to block for both, you may get a little more in each direction, but not as much as if you were blocking for length only or width only. Of course the give also depends on the gauge of your garment.
Good luck with your blocking and let us know if it works out for you.

12 years ago

Lisa

Veteran

Good question! Thanks for asking.

12 years ago

carambola

Veteran

Ooh, thanks for asking this. I just received a cashmere sweater that is a tad more fitted than I would like, but I'm afraid it will be too big and long if I size up. Will have to try out these suggestions.

12 years ago

shiny

Veteran

Are they perfect skirt length sweaters Tanya?

It'd be criminal to accidentally ruin them if they are. It's just so hard to find skirt length tops! I tossed a bunch thinking they were dated, before joining YLF, and I could just cry now...

12 years ago

K. Period.

Veteran

If you are careful, you can also use a clothes steamer to effectively block them while they are dry. You have to take it slow, though. They will stretch rapidly, so you don't want to make too big a change too quickly. I've blocked a number of sweaters using a steamer and find it more effective than blocking while wet. However, you always run the risk of overstretching them if you aren't careful. Luckily, you can just re-wet them and try again.

12 years ago

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