Discussion:
Felting(fulling) in a front-loading washer?
(too old to reply)
Gerald & Donna McIntosh
2008-01-27 13:24:27 UTC
Permalink
Can it be done? I just got new front-loading washer and dryer (DH was
feeling generous
after Christmas bonus or just tired of me saying that the old washer got
stuck on spin again
for the 1000th time!) And I love this machine - it's got so many settings,
I actually read
the instruction book!

Donna In S. Indiana (who's doing taxes when she really wants to knit!)
enigma
2008-01-27 13:49:55 UTC
Permalink
Post by Gerald & Donna McIntosh
Can it be done? I just got new front-loading washer and
dryer
it can, depending on a few things. can you stop your front
loader & open the door during the cycle? if not, you won't
have much control over the felting when it occurs.
it takes longer in a front loader & wastes more water. you'll
need clean tennis balls, or those spiky dryer balls if you can
find some to add agitation.
i've been considering a high efficiency front loader because
they're easier on the clothes, but i would keep my top loader
for felting & washing the filthy rag rugs & goat/llama
blankets (tip: don't wash halters in the washer if you mind it
getting scratched up <g>).
lee
hesira
2008-01-27 14:27:07 UTC
Permalink
I've been fulling recycled sweaters in the front loader for several
months. Some things felt easily, some things are more resistant. If
you are working with materials you KNOW will full easily, you will
probably have no problem. I did use 2 pairs of jeans per load, and
sometimes a tennis ball.

OTOH, I mistakenly thought my Enid sweater was superwash, and put it
in the already-gentle front loader on the cold, delicate cycle, and
that thing shrank small enough to fit a 3 year old. Oh, well. I
never was really happy with it in the first place.

Hesira
Can it be done?  I just got new front-loading washer and dryer (DH was
feeling generous
after Christmas bonus or just tired of me saying that the old washer got
stuck on spin again
for the 1000th time!)  And I love this machine - it's got so many settings,
I actually read
the instruction book!
Donna In S. Indiana (who's doing taxes when she really wants to knit!)
Erin
2008-01-27 16:50:36 UTC
Permalink
Can it be done?  I just got new front-loading washer and dryer
I just throw my items to be felted in with the regular 60 C load (i.e.
towels) and let'er rock and roll. :-) Then I mangle them; I found that
this really makes a difference in producing a nice, smooth felted
finish on the items.

Erin
Richard Eney
2008-01-28 01:58:32 UTC
Permalink
Post by Erin
Can it be done?  I just got new front-loading washer and dryer
I just throw my items to be felted in with the regular 60 C load (i.e.
towels) and let'er rock and roll. :-) Then I mangle them; I found that
this really makes a difference in producing a nice, smooth felted
finish on the items.
<grin> Since mangle has more than one meaning, I got an unplanned
giggle out of that. I assume you mean the "iron firmly" meaning.
Ironing does make a big difference even when you aren't felting.
I've read that silk lace shawls are supposed to be ironed after
they are blocked.

=Tamar
Erin
2008-01-28 10:52:16 UTC
Permalink
Post by Richard Eney
<grin> Since mangle has more than one meaning, I got an unplanned
giggle out of that.  I assume you mean the "iron firmly" meaning.
Ironing does make a big difference even when you aren't felting.
I've read that silk lace shawls are supposed to be ironed after
they are blocked.
I meant in the sense of running through the mangle several times,
turning the piece of felt each time (i.e. top edge, then bottom edge,
then one side, then the other).

Erin
Laura J
2008-01-28 20:03:04 UTC
Permalink
Okay, I'll bite...what is a mangle?

I've been doing some research on felting in front-loaders and so far I
haven't seen any methods I'm 100% comfortable with. My washer doesn't allow
me to open the door in the middle of the cycle so I'm a little nervous about
having so little control over it. Then again, I'm making slippers which are
pretty small and I know small items take longer to felt. I probably
shouldn't put them into the sanitary cycle (2 1/2 hours in 140 degree
water!) though ;)

LauraJ
Post by Richard Eney
<grin> Since mangle has more than one meaning, I got an unplanned
giggle out of that. I assume you mean the "iron firmly" meaning.
Ironing does make a big difference even when you aren't felting.
I've read that silk lace shawls are supposed to be ironed after
they are blocked.
I meant in the sense of running through the mangle several times,
turning the piece of felt each time (i.e. top edge, then bottom edge,
then one side, then the other).

Erin
Mary Fisher
2008-01-28 20:44:51 UTC
Permalink
Post by Laura J
Okay, I'll bite...what is a mangle?
I've been doing some research on felting in front-loaders and so far I
haven't seen any methods I'm 100% comfortable with. My washer doesn't
allow me to open the door in the middle of the cycle so I'm a little
nervous about having so little control over it. Then again, I'm making
slippers which are pretty small and I know small items take longer to
felt. I probably shouldn't put them into the sanitary cycle (2 1/2 hours
in 140 degree water!) though ;)
LauraJ
A sanitary cycle?

What do you wash in that???

I'm not sure that I want to know though ...

Mary
Laura J
2008-01-29 19:00:40 UTC
Permalink
Post by Mary Fisher
Post by Laura J
Okay, I'll bite...what is a mangle?
I've been doing some research on felting in front-loaders and so far I
haven't seen any methods I'm 100% comfortable with. My washer doesn't
allow me to open the door in the middle of the cycle so I'm a little
nervous about having so little control over it. Then again, I'm making
slippers which are pretty small and I know small items take longer to
felt. I probably shouldn't put them into the sanitary cycle (2 1/2 hours
in 140 degree water!) though ;)
LauraJ
A sanitary cycle?
What do you wash in that???
I'm not sure that I want to know though ...
Mary
We use it for diapers. But I know a couple of nurses who use it for their
scrubs. It's also nice for people in construction or other dirty/dusty
trades.

LauraJ
Bernadette
2008-01-28 22:41:09 UTC
Permalink
Post by Laura J
Okay, I'll bite...what is a mangle?
I've been doing some research on felting in front-loaders and so far I
haven't seen any methods I'm 100% comfortable with. My washer doesn't
allow me to open the door in the middle of the cycle so I'm a little
nervous about having so little control over it. Then again, I'm making
slippers which are pretty small and I know small items take longer to
felt. I probably shouldn't put them into the sanitary cycle (2 1/2 hours
in 140 degree water!) though ;)
LauraJ
<grin> Since mangle has more than one meaning, I got an unplanned giggle
out of that. I assume you mean the "iron firmly" meaning. Ironing does
make a big difference even when you aren't felting. I've read that silk
lace shawls are supposed to be ironed after they are blocked.
I meant in the sense of running through the mangle several times, turning
the piece of felt each time (i.e. top edge, then bottom edge, then one
side, then the other).
Erin
All I could find was a picture of a toy one Laura. Before the days of spin
dryers you had to wring out the washing by hand. Feeding the wet washing
between the two rollers of a mangle squeezed out the excess water and
saved a lot of hard work. :-)
--
Blessed are the cracked for they let in the light
Bernadette
2008-01-28 22:43:03 UTC
Permalink
Post by Bernadette
Post by Laura J
Okay, I'll bite...what is a mangle?
I've been doing some research on felting in front-loaders and so far I
haven't seen any methods I'm 100% comfortable with. My washer doesn't
allow me to open the door in the middle of the cycle so I'm a little
nervous about having so little control over it. Then again, I'm making
slippers which are pretty small and I know small items take longer to
felt. I probably shouldn't put them into the sanitary cycle (2 1/2
hours in 140 degree water!) though ;)
LauraJ
Post by Richard Eney
<grin> Since mangle has more than one meaning, I got an unplanned
giggle out of that. I assume you mean the "iron firmly" meaning.
Ironing does make a big difference even when you aren't felting. I've
read that silk lace shawls are supposed to be ironed after they are
blocked.
I meant in the sense of running through the mangle several times,
turning the piece of felt each time (i.e. top edge, then bottom edge,
then one side, then the other).
Erin
All I could find was a picture of a toy one Laura. Before the days of spin
dryers you had to wring out the washing by hand. Feeding the wet washing
between the two rollers of a mangle squeezed out the excess water and
saved a lot of hard work. :-)
Oops, sorry - forgot the link! http://tinyurl.com/ypvrvw
--
Blessed are the cracked for they let in the light
hesira
2008-01-28 23:53:41 UTC
Permalink
Oops, sorry - forgot the link!http://tinyurl.com/ypvrvw
--
Blessed are the cracked for they let in the light
Looks like a wringer.

Hesira
Bernadette
2008-01-29 00:34:01 UTC
Permalink
Post by hesira
Oops, sorry - forgot the link!http://tinyurl.com/ypvrvw --
Blessed are the cracked for they let in the light
Looks like a wringer.
Hesira
Yep! Same thing, different name. In the UK it was called a mangle and in
the US a wringer. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangle_(machine)
--
Blessed are the cracked for they let in the light
Mary Fisher
2008-01-29 09:23:49 UTC
Permalink
Post by Bernadette
Post by hesira
Oops, sorry - forgot the link!http://tinyurl.com/ypvrvw --
Blessed are the cracked for they let in the light
Looks like a wringer.
Hesira
Yep! Same thing, different name. In the UK it was called a mangle and in
the US a wringer. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangle_(machine)
I don't care what Wiki says, it was known as both in my youth - when we used
them. I've lived all my life in England. If there was a difference it was
that the mangle was a large, solid cast iron frame holding two huge wooden
rollers with gearing and a device to increase or decrease the pressure. It
was used over a dolly tub. The wringer was a smaller machine with rubber
rollers and without the majestic gears and enormous handle.

We still have a very small wringer, intended for use on a draining board and
not very efficient. I used it when manking beeswax foundation but that's
another story.

Mary
Post by Bernadette
--
Blessed are the cracked for they let in the light
Bernadette
2008-01-29 09:35:07 UTC
Permalink
Post by Mary Fisher
Post by Bernadette
Post by hesira
Oops, sorry - forgot the link!http://tinyurl.com/ypvrvw -- Blessed are
the cracked for they let in the light
Looks like a wringer.
Hesira
Yep! Same thing, different name. In the UK it was called a mangle and in
the US a wringer. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangle_(machine)
I don't care what Wiki says, it was known as both in my youth - when we
used them. I've lived all my life in England. If there was a difference it
was that the mangle was a large, solid cast iron frame holding two huge
wooden rollers with gearing and a device to increase or decrease the
pressure. It was used over a dolly tub. The wringer was a smaller machine
with rubber rollers and without the majestic gears and enormous handle.
We still have a very small wringer, intended for use on a draining board
and not very efficient. I used it when manking beeswax foundation but
that's another story.
Mary
Wiki isn't always correct Mary but you can always go in and amend an entry
if you wish.

We also used both words in my family and Mom had one on the end of the old
crock sink. I loved that sink because, when the weather was very cold
in winter, she would bath us children in it as the scullery and kitchen
were the only warm rooms in the house. The old black kitchen range was
the other side of the scullery wall so (apart from draughts) it was always
snug. :-)
--
Blessed are the cracked for they let in the light
--
Blessed are the cracked for they let in the light
Mary Fisher
2008-01-29 15:25:53 UTC
Permalink
Post by Bernadette
Post by Mary Fisher
I don't care what Wiki says, it was known as both in my youth - when we
used them. I've lived all my life in England. If there was a difference it
was that the mangle was a large, solid cast iron frame holding two huge
wooden rollers with gearing and a device to increase or decrease the
pressure. It was used over a dolly tub. The wringer was a smaller machine
with rubber rollers and without the majestic gears and enormous handle.
We still have a very small wringer, intended for use on a draining board
and not very efficient. I used it when manking beeswax foundation but
that's another story.
Mary
Wiki isn't always correct Mary but you can always go in and amend an entry
if you wish.
I know, then someone else can re-edit it. Life's too short :-)
Post by Bernadette
We also used both words in my family and Mom had one on the end of the old
crock sink. I loved that sink because, when the weather was very cold
in winter, she would bath us children in it as the scullery and kitchen
were the only warm rooms in the house. The old black kitchen range was
the other side of the scullery wall so (apart from draughts) it was always
snug. :-)
My Grandma had an ancient (even older than her!) battered shallow brown
earthenware sink. I loved it and wished we had one instead of the deep white
pot sink. I couldn't understand why my mother didn't agree ...

The huge mangle was also at my Grandma's. And the copper boiler and the
bread oven - not room for much more than a table and hard horse-hair sofa in
that 'cellar kitchen'. Their bedroom was above that (at street level) and
then the attic - they brought up four children there and kept a pig in the
tiny garden during the war. No bath, no hot water, lavatory outside under
the stone steps to the 'front door' - which led into the bedroom. A tiny
fire and a couple of gas lamps. They died in the 1950s, having lived in that
house all their married life - about sixty years.

God, why do some people complain now!

Mary
Richard Eney
2008-01-29 14:39:44 UTC
Permalink
Post by Mary Fisher
Post by Bernadette
Post by hesira
Oops, sorry - forgot the link!http://tinyurl.com/ypvrvw --
Looks like a wringer.
Yep! Same thing, different name. In the UK it was called a mangle and in
the US a wringer. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangle_(machine)
I don't care what Wiki says, it was known as both in my youth - when we used
them. I've lived all my life in England. If there was a difference it was
that the mangle was a large, solid cast iron frame holding two huge wooden
rollers with gearing and a device to increase or decrease the pressure.
It was used over a dolly tub. The wringer was a smaller machine with
rubber rollers and without the majestic gears and enormous handle.
We still have a very small wringer, intended for use on a draining
board and not very efficient.
We had a wringer washing machine - it was essentially a tub on legs.
It was rolled over to the sink to be filled with a hose, and when the
wash cycle was done, drained and refilled with hoses. When the rinse
was done, we used a big wooden fork-ended two-by-four to lift the
clothes out of the very hot water and fed them into the hand-cranked
wringer attached to the top edge of the tub. My brother as a toddler
once climbed up on a chair and got his arm caught in it. It had
wooden rollers. If I recall correctly they were about 12 to 18 inches
long (definitely less than half a meter).

Using the wringer made the sheets less heavy to carry to the clothesline
and they dried a little faster.

=Tamar
Mary Fisher
2008-01-29 15:30:19 UTC
Permalink
Post by Richard Eney
Post by Mary Fisher
Post by Bernadette
Post by hesira
Oops, sorry - forgot the link!http://tinyurl.com/ypvrvw --
Looks like a wringer.
Yep! Same thing, different name. In the UK it was called a mangle and in
the US a wringer. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangle_(machine)
I don't care what Wiki says, it was known as both in my youth - when we used
them. I've lived all my life in England. If there was a difference it was
that the mangle was a large, solid cast iron frame holding two huge wooden
rollers with gearing and a device to increase or decrease the pressure.
It was used over a dolly tub. The wringer was a smaller machine with
rubber rollers and without the majestic gears and enormous handle.
We still have a very small wringer, intended for use on a draining
board and not very efficient.
We had a wringer washing machine - it was essentially a tub on legs.
It was rolled over to the sink to be filled with a hose, and when the
wash cycle was done, drained and refilled with hoses. When the rinse
was done, we used a big wooden fork-ended two-by-four to lift the
clothes out of the very hot water and fed them into the hand-cranked
wringer attached to the top edge of the tub. My brother as a toddler
once climbed up on a chair and got his arm caught in it. It had
wooden rollers. If I recall correctly they were about 12 to 18 inches
long (definitely less than half a meter).
Using the wringer made the sheets less heavy to carry to the clothesline
and they dried a little faster.
And if the sheets were folded and put through after they'd dried they looked
almost as though they'd been ironed.

But not quite :-)

I still have some wooden tongs which I used to use with my little Hoover
machine to get the clothes to the wringer. They have 'Rinso' - a soap powder
of the time - on one side. My mother gave me them, I think she used them
when she went to the 'wash house' on a Monday.

In our first house we had no garden, not even a yard, so washing had to be
hung across the street, the line raised and lowered by a pulley. I hated
doing that, traffic wasn't the problem - I was just plain lazy!

Still am ...

Mary
Post by Richard Eney
=Tamar
Laura J
2008-01-29 19:02:27 UTC
Permalink
Post by Bernadette
Post by Bernadette
All I could find was a picture of a toy one Laura. Before the days of spin
dryers you had to wring out the washing by hand. Feeding the wet washing
between the two rollers of a mangle squeezed out the excess water and
saved a lot of hard work. :-)
Oops, sorry - forgot the link! http://tinyurl.com/ypvrvw
Thanks for the pic! I'd never heard it called that - learn something new
every day!

LauraJ
Erin
2008-01-29 10:09:34 UTC
Permalink
Post by Laura J
Okay, I'll bite...what is a mangle?
http://www.medien-werkstatt.com/cinema/galerie/bild36.htm has a good
picture of a modern mangle/mangel (Swedish spelling) like we have in
our apartment building's wash room. The things I mangle (i.e. sheets
and felt) go into the dryer for the little pre-drying cycle. When they
are half dry, I run them through the mangle and then hang them in the
drying cupboard to finish drying. It's not as complicated as I've made
it sound (LOL) and makes sheets MUCH nicer to sleep on! It's a lot
quicker and easier than ironing and relaxes the fibers more
effectively; also the mangle is great for when your new fabric needs a
little straightening on the grainline.

Erin
p.s. the Sanitary cycle (aka Thermo-nuclear Meltdown Cycle (tm) is
great for washing old towels used to dry off muddy dogs!!! :-)
Mary Fisher
2008-01-29 15:31:31 UTC
Permalink
Post by Erin
Post by Laura J
Okay, I'll bite...what is a mangle?
http://www.medien-werkstatt.com/cinema/galerie/bild36.htm has a good
picture of a modern mangle/mangel (Swedish spelling) like we have in
our apartment building's wash room. The things I mangle (i.e. sheets
and felt) go into the dryer for the little pre-drying cycle. When they
are half dry, I run them through the mangle and then hang them in the
drying cupboard to finish drying. It's not as complicated as I've made
it sound (LOL) and makes sheets MUCH nicer to sleep on! It's a lot
quicker and easier than ironing and relaxes the fibers more
effectively; also the mangle is great for when your new fabric needs a
little straightening on the grainline.
Erin
p.s. the Sanitary cycle (aka Thermo-nuclear Meltdown Cycle (tm) is
great for washing old towels used to dry off muddy dogs!!! :-)
Yebbut what IS a Sanitary Cycle? I've never heard of it. What does it do?
Why is it different from other cycles? I use one for everything, again
because I'm idle.

Mary
Laura J
2008-01-29 19:04:32 UTC
Permalink
Post by Mary Fisher
Yebbut what IS a Sanitary Cycle? I've never heard of it. What does it do?
Why is it different from other cycles? I use one for everything, again
because I'm idle.
Mary
The washing machine has a built-in heater to heat the water up higher than
your water heater gets it. It's nice for those of us with kids who want to
keep the water heater on 120 degrees for safety but want hotter water than
that for diapers or dog towels or whatever!

LauraJ
Mary Fisher
2008-01-27 20:16:46 UTC
Permalink
Post by Gerald & Donna McIntosh
Can it be done? I just got new front-loading washer and dryer (DH was
feeling generous
after Christmas bonus or just tired of me saying that the old washer got
stuck on spin again
for the 1000th time!) And I love this machine - it's got so many
settings, I actually read
the instruction book!
Donna In S. Indiana (who's doing taxes when she really wants to knit!)
Yes it can. In UK almost all of us have front loading machines and we felt
and full happily.

Mary
Aaron Lewis
2008-01-28 18:47:06 UTC
Permalink
We have a "Meile" front loader - and it is careful not to subject loads to
sudden temperature shocks. Thus, I use the "hot" cotton setting for fulling
items knit out of ordinary wool. With other items such as towels or jeans
added to the load, the result is nice fuzzy items with about 2% shrinkage.
I use Percil laundry detergent the first time I wash yarns that retain
spinning oil, and hair conditioner in the final rinse. Using the wool cycle
w/ shampoo there is essentially no shrinkage. Our Meile washer does not
felt.

Our Meile dryer felts without mercy. Five minutes in the dryer means
shrinkage. No appeals. No do overs.

Swatch and try.
Swatch and try.

Aaron
Post by Mary Fisher
Post by Gerald & Donna McIntosh
Can it be done? I just got new front-loading washer and dryer (DH was
feeling generous
after Christmas bonus or just tired of me saying that the old washer got
stuck on spin again
for the 1000th time!) And I love this machine - it's got so many
settings, I actually read
the instruction book!
Donna In S. Indiana (who's doing taxes when she really wants to knit!)
Yes it can. In UK almost all of us have front loading machines and we felt
and full happily.
Mary
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