I'm Shedding

Okay..its not me but my sweater is shedding...and its driving me crazy!!

The Facts:

*Just bought it...first time wearing it...Lavender Color...really soft

*Matched it up with Gray dress pants (I'm at work)

*Everytime I look down at my pants, I see gobs (not sure if that's a word) of lint type stuff all over my nice pants

*Cleaned it off a couple of times...but I keep seeing more

What do I do? :kopfkratz: Any advice would be appreciated.

Press tape against it very very very gently to take out the extra fiber. But do it very very gently. You can also buy one of those machine things. I forge the name though.

I'll try the tape...do I put it against the sweater or the pants? Cause the lint is coming off the sweater to the pants.

Re post this in the fashion section of the forum. You might get more advice there as well.

I read somewhere that a cold water and vinegar soaks stops clothes from shedding. Anyone know the ratio? how long to soak it and if its safe for all fabrics?

What is the fiber content (i.e. acrylic, wool, angora, cotton)?

If it's a protein fiber (fiber from an animal), such as wool, angora, cashmere, yak, alpaca, mohair, etc. then here's what you do: fold it up and put it in your freezer for 24 hours. It will prevent the sweater from shedding. Odd sounding trick I learned (I'm a sweater technical designer).

If it's a cellulose fiber (fiber from a plant), such as cotton, linen, ramie, rayon, acetate, etc. then here's what you do: toss it in the dryer for 10 minutes (unless it specifically says dry clean only).

If it's a synthetic (man-made fiber), such as acrylic, polyester, nylon, etc. then here's what you do: take it back to the store, synthetic fibers aren't supposed to shed, so it's a manufacturing defect with the yarn.

I believe its mostly rayon and maybe some other stuff (I'll have to go home and check). Thank you so much for the information!

I believe she must mean the pants. If you try to remove loose fibers from the sweater with tape, you're going to be pulling it away from the core yarn. The core yarn is likely already loose (low amount of twist), and "taping" off fiber will mess up the already fragile stability of the yarn. A lint roller will quickly remove excess fiber from the pants.

Thanks for the advice. You sound like an expert, SamanthaBNYC.

I read the label last night and it says do not put in dryer, lay flat to dry. And I really don't want it to shrink. Something else thats strange...the contents has 5% rabbit hair - I had no idea.

Angora is a type of rabbit hair (angora is produced from angora rabbits, but there are different types of rabbits). It's common for rabbit hair/angora to shed. That's the fiber that's shedding from your sweater. But, if you put it in the freezer for 24 hours, the shedding will stop (or significantly be decreased, at the least). No need to put it in the dryer (putting protein fibers in the dryer can lead to felting/shrinking).

I work in the garment industry, as a sweater technical designer (it involves fitting sweaters so that they fit the target customer, and explaining to factories how we want them constructed).

Thanks again...your an angel :angel: I wish I knew all this stuff before..I have ruined many of my clothes by not taking care of them properly. But now..I know who to ask for help next time. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Great answers! I knew about the tape trick already... Never heard of the vinegar ration mix though...

it doesn't prevent shedding, it prevents it from "bleeding" (that's when the dye comes off on other clothes in the wash, because they used too much dye to saturate the color). The ratio is: 1/4 cup white vinegar, 1 tablespoon salt, a mild detergent (Ivory Snow, Lux, or Dreft) in cold water. soak it just long enough to clean it (don't try to remove all of the excess dye at one time by soaking it longer, it could take a lot of washings to remove all of the excess dyes). the process is generally safe for all fabrics (avoid garments that are embellished with feathers, leather, suede, sequins, metal thread, or say dry clean only), the trick is to keep the water very cold and not move the garment. protein fibers will do something called "felt", which is where the fiber itself shrinks/shrivels up (like frizzy hair) due to the heat from warm/hot water (it basically "steams" the fibers into a permanently shrunken state) and agitation.

Angora is rabbit hair? THAT must be why i'm allergic to it. LOL, i learned something

Little bunny foo foo........

I thought I'd replied, but website took me through sign-up and the message disappeared!  Oh well, just in case it didn't go, the outline was:

My jumper is part angora (part polyester/nylon) and is shedding navy blue fluff badly all over the white 'mock' undershirt....!!

Are you supposed to freeze it for an hour BEFOR WEARING IT EACH TIME, or is it just a one-off thing that should prevent shedding, even after subsequent washes....??

Many thanks i advance.........

Samantha, I gave my husband a black cashmere scarf for Christmas. He really likes the way it looks, feels, and the warmth but did not enjoy the little black fibers left all over his cream colored dress shirt. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Will putting it folded in the freezer for 24 hours take care of the problem indefinitely, or does that need to be done anytime you plan to wear it?