As the weather warms, a tweed jacket becomes increasingly antisocial as the wearer slowly acquires the aroma of a damp moorland sheep. So, now is the time to clean jackets for Summer storage.
Inspired by a comment by Nigel Cabourn, in which he advocated hand-washing the Harris tweed Mallory jacket for a rugged finish, I thought I'd give it a try - if only to save the costs of dry-cleaning! Cabourn advises turning the jacket inside-out, soaking it for ten to forty minutes in lukewarm water (the longer the time, the greater the shrinkage of up to half a size) and then wringing out the water before drying the jacket in the Sun (which we've recently rediscovered here in London). Here's a photo from the Cabourn blog -
I tried this with my Cabourn Tenzing jacket and with an old Marks and Spencers Harris tweed jacket which I had put aside to give to a charity shop. Both were slightly large for me, so I was interested to see if a wash would improve the fit.
Both jackets ended up feeling considerably softer and with the worn, slightly creased appearance of a well-used and much loved garment. They shrank slightly and are more comfortable to wear as a result. Give it a try, but don't blame me if it all goes wrong!
Very interesting. I will try this with a slightly-too-large jacket I have. How long did you soak yours for?
ReplyDeleteAbout 30 minutes for each - shrinkage was slight - longer would probably increase the shrinking. Good luck! GF.
ReplyDeleteGreat tip! I have an old vintage tweed jacket and have put off dry cleaning it for ages, might have to give this a go!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.shelovesoutfits.co.uk
Good luck, the Harris tweed jacket feels like a soft old wool jumper now! GF
DeleteOk, I know it's not tweed and it's not hand wash but, in desperation, I recently chucked an old (dry clean only) M&S cord jacket in the washing machine and was really surprised with the result. The jacket now has a much softer feel to it and has a great faded/creased look which looks great with jeans (better than it did before). There is no shrinkage. Said jacket will will look great for a couple more terms at least.
ReplyDeleteVery late comment on this one (just found the post) but I usually machine wash any fabric (including wool) before I make it up. This means that I can machine wash whatever it is I've made without unexpected results.
ReplyDeleteThanks F C-H, that seems a good move.
ReplyDeleteGF.
Thanks F C-H, that seems a good move.
ReplyDeleteGF.
Thanks GF this will change my life. I was beginning to feel like that moorland sheep and have packed several tweed jackets for treatment
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info! And I know I'm late to the party, but I added a tsp of Dr Bronners and a good dose of cedarwood essential oil to the bath. Jacket is now soft, clean, smells delicious and is theoretically moth-repellent
ReplyDeleteHi, just wondering how the ventile and lining material now fit with the tweed Tenzing jacket after shrinking? I have a 52 Mallory Jacket which is a little loose fitting so could do with a slight 'shrink'. Just worried the ventile shoulders & lining will not shrink making the jacket look out of proportion.
ReplyDeleteI wear tweed and find that the best way to wash a tweed jacket is too get a cadaver like tray to soak and wash the jacket in. Just use cold water soap powder or prepared soap flakes solution added to cold water.One must realise this is a garment constructed of many layers of interlinings and textiles. Take special care of the shoulder pads and underarm interlinings that can malform once soaking wet.Under no circumstances wring it out as the party above did.
ReplyDeleteImmerse the jacket flat [tweed outmost] in the prepared wash liquid. The jacket needs to soak for some hours and will be extremely sodden and heavey. So heavey it precludes pulling it out and hanging it in the normal way. If you do all the warp threads will stretch.Massage it where the dirt appears to be. Have two deep pile long towels ready adjacent the wash tray. Lift the jacket out level as possible supporting the sleeves, so the seams are no strained. Lay it on the towels flat and palm press it to shed most of the water, then roll the towels and jacket up length ways with not too much tension, to soak up more water. You may have to do this towel procedure a few times depneding in the weight of tweed. 480 is lighter weight that 550gm. Then try the same procedure with newspapers if the tweed is of a darker hue. Leave over night otr as long as the paper /towels keep absorbing moisture from the garment.Then mount on a tailor's dummy preferably or a good quality wooden coat hanger. Even out the wrinkles and deformities that show. Judge how heavey it is before mounting and hanging and it should be quite good. If the lining is particularly dirty you can stroke that with a artists or painters broad brush in the wash liquid during main wash. Good luck!