like the idiot that i am, i *slightly* shrunk my most favorite wool sweater. i don't suppose there is any way to stretch it out? does anyone know? it may be a wool blend as it's not completely doll-sized now, and it's thin, not chunky like an irish knit. i think i may just have to suck it up and forget about it, but i though t i'd give it a shot. thanks.

as far as I know there is no way to unfelt a sweater. sorry! maybe you could shrink it some more and turn it into a pillow or something?

i have *heard* that you can re-wet the sweater, and then stretch it out, maybe trying to match a similar size sweater that you have. maybe try and cut a piece of cardboard that fits the size you're going for, and then let the thing air dry. i did the same thing to a cool vintage sweater i bought a while ago, and have been meaning to try this method...

good luck...i feel your pain! :)

-tricia>http://www.dollieclothing.com

i'd definitely try the stretching route before turing your favorite sweater into a knick knack.

since you said it's slightly shrunken, i'm thinking it's only partially felted. there's maybe a little stretch left in it, and that's your only hope.

informercial style testimonial: i accidentally semi-felted a sweater i loved, and it fits nearly the same as it did before. it's kinda boxier and a little shortwaisted. but i still wear it all the time. it *can* happen for you!

also, when sizing it, you can just put the wet sweater on your body and pull it into the desired shape. yes it's cold and smells like a dog but this is your favorite sweater we are talking about. then carefully take it off and make sure it stays stretched out. good luck!

I believe that once the wool fibres have "locked", they can't be unlocked. Do try to block it, but I think it would be like trying to stretch felt. You might ease it out a tiny bit, but it won't ever be back to the old size.
If it's considerably smaller, maybe cut the sleeves and the neck out, bind the edges with some ribbon to make a pretty form-fitting sleeveless shell? Beaded edges, ribbon, embroidery...
One of my mottos is: Embellish dahling, embellish !!!: )

I feel your pain. I accidently washed my favorite cashmere sweater and it shrunk. Here's the advice I found somewhere on the web, but I haven't tried it yet. It's worth a try:

......the system I have used to resize items accidentally shrunk is to put them in a sink filled with lukewarm water and about a 1/3 cup of hair conditioner. The cheap kind actually works better than an expensive one. They used to call it "creme rinse" for your hair. It penetrates and relaxes the fibers. Let it soak and gently pull the item into shape then place to dry on a towel on a flat surface and periodically check and continue to resize as it dries.

And here's another link about shrunken sweaters:>http://hv.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=001isS

Good luck!

my mom did this with one of my sweaters. she rewet the thing, and played tug o war with my sister. then it was put on a towel to dry. they didn't tell me they shrunk it until later; i would have never noticed.

I recently accidently shrunk my favorite pink cardigan (merino wool) a bit. I ended up putting it between a towel and ironing it with very low heat. It actually worked for the most part.