Boiling wool uniforms????

[Reliccrazy]

I've been thinking about ways soldiers cleaned there uniforms, and the big one is the method of boiling them.

I've heard of it in Hardtack and coffee, plus accounts of the laundresses in army posts.

Wouldn't the wool shirk, or did they get such large sizes, that by the time it got to small, they were issued a new coat or even a shirt? Though I've never heard of anything talking about the uniforms shirking greatly.

Thanks

[Radar]

I've been thinking about ways soldiers cleaned there uniforms, and the big one is the method of boiling them.

I've heard of it in Hardtack and coffee, plus accounts of the laundresses in army posts.

Wouldn't the wool shirk, or did they get such large sizes, that by the time it got to small, they were issued a new coat or even a shirt? Though I've never heard of anything talking about the uniforms shirking greatly.

Thanks

A lot of shrink comes into play on the method of drying. In the day, they would have just hung it up on a bush to dry. You get shrinking when you apply heat and agitation (today's dryer). With natural air drying, there may be a bit of shrinkage, but very little.

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

Wool shrinks, and gets scalier and denser, with agitation at at any temperature as well as with heat.
(When controlled, it is how blankets and wollens are made in a process called fulling.)

Agitation AND heat acclerates the process.

CHS

[flattop32355]

I made the mistake of putting my sack coat through the washer and dryer once; wool cycle and delicate dry. It was a size 46+.

It then fit my 12 year old son perfectly.

They did it mostly to get the lice out and get a few days sanity until the graybacks took over again. They also knew they'd eventually be getting new clothing from the government; something we are not in the loop for.

They also put the clothing back on wet, or at least fairly damp.

[Tom Scoufalos]

They also put the clothing back on wet, or at least fairly damp.

That is how I have dealt with washing my domet-flannel shirts in the past (unlike "Soup Bone" I've never used mine as a culture agar LOL). Hand cleaned with regular old detergent in lukewarm water and after letting it drip a bit, wore it around the house until it was more ore less dry.

[Spinster]

Folks are making an apples to oranges analogy by comparing a modern machine washing with modern detergents to some time in a well heated wash pot.

Wool is more apt to shrink and felt/full when agitation, soap and abrupt changes in temperature are combined. When I intentionally felt a piece of wool, I can choose to put it in the machine with lots of soap and let it run a cycle--or spend an hour or so at the hand scrub board, adding soap, and changing from hot water to cold and back again.

That low simmer in the wash pot to kill vermin will contribute little additional fulling to the wool, unless someone stands there with a laundry fork chugging the garment up and down.

In fact, its how we go about washing wool fleece in a period setting--big wash pot, hot water, lay the fleece on top and allow it to slowly wick up water while the temperature builds . No poking, no swishing about, just a low simmer (and a grease skimmer for the lanolin).

Now, if we mess up and agitate that wool fleece, then it will felt--and that's a mess, because then it can't be carded and spun.

[GrumpyDave]

And remember...always pay your laundress. She works hard. ;)

[Spinster]

Some laundresses are not as bright as others....:oops:

[124rr88]

Mrs. Lawson,

What, if any, changes occur with the color after boiling?

[flattop32355]

Mrs. Lawson,
What, if any, changes occur with the color after boiling?

That depends upon how strong and fast the dyes are, and the fiber quality/content of the materials.

[Shortround]

I made the mistake of putting my sack coat through the washer and dryer once; wool cycle and delicate dry. It was a size 46+.

It then fit my 12 year old son perfectly.

They did it mostly to get the lice out and get a few days sanity until the graybacks took over again. They also knew they'd eventually be getting new clothing from the government; something we are not in the loop for.

They also put the clothing back on wet, or at least fairly damp.

I've always known about the problem with wool shrinking. One time I went on a campaign and my uniform came back with infested with mites and skabies. My wife wisely made me take my uniform off outside. I took the uniform to the dry cleaners and the chemicals killed off the little creatures that took up residence in the wool.

The problem came up afterwards. I had the best pressed and cleanist uniform in my unit. That looked very odd for a few reenactments until the wrinkles and grime came back.

But I sure didn't miss the ich...