OH NOES

You know that horrible, sinking feeling you get when you accidentally put a beloved sweater in the dryer, only to discover that you ABSOLUTELY SHOULD NOT HAVE PUT THAT SWEATER IN THE DRYER because it shrank or even worse, felted itself?

Ok, now that you're imagining that feeling, imagine what it would be like to do that to a sweater that you made yourself. Yeah.

I have been a knitter for like, six years now. I have made a number of things in wool, and I have successfully "blocked", or hand washed and laid flat to dry, a number of items. Tonight, however, I got the bright idea to put this turquoise cardigan that I just finished knitting in the dryer on the "Air Fluff" cycle to try and speed things along. Here's the thing about wool though: it will felt with even the slightest bit of agitation, whether there is heat along with that or not.

So, after only twenty minutes of "Air Fluff" time, I took my beloved turquoise cardigan out of the dryer and realized, with horror, that it was starting to felt. Now, it's still pretty damp, so odds are that this is salvageable. The pattern notes describe the fit as being "like a jacket" and I'm pretty sure that when it dries it will fit the bill on that note perfectly. Problem is, when wool felts, it shrinks. So I think the answer to this will be to put on the sweater for short increments of time as it dries to help it keep it's, that is to say MY, shape.

Yes, I will be wearing a wet sweater around the house for fifteen minutes every hour until I go to bed - which, as it turns out, may not be until 2 AM because I took migraine medicine earlier and have been drinking caffeine all afternoon/evening and am COMPLETELY WIRED right now.

(As if you couldn't tell.)

So, in conclusion: if you ever think it's a good idea to put a sweater in the dryer, don't. You may spend the evening wearing it around, and I'm here to tell you that the feeling of wet wool in the dead of winter is not exactly one wants to experience.

That is all.