Irish wool sweater - question on restoration

Posted by Ron on November 6, 2008, 5:47 pm

Pardon me if I'm in the wrong group, but I'm not sure where to post this
question. (Redirection welcomed.)

I've long owned a natural wool fiber hand woven Irish sweater. Over the
years, in trying to remove small stains, I've also removed the natural oil
so that there are now some patches that show brighter than the original.
Sorta like "clean spots," if you know what I mean. It's a very noticeable
contrast with the original "worn" color tone. These areas actually feel
less oily, too.

I'm looking for suggestions for restoring the oil to these areas, or perhaps
treating the entire garment to return to the original look and feel. Seems
the alternative would be to spray the whole thing with Shout, and wash.
That'll produce a uniform color again, but lighter (and "dryer") than the
original. I'd rather have the original, natural look and feel.

Is there a standard way to do this? If so, I'd appreciate suggestions for
the type of oil and a method for applying it.

Thank you, Ron

PS. While constructing this note, I discovered the following quote on a
website. Would still appreciate if anyone has a better idea.

"To restore lanolin to any wool garment (this includes store-bought sweaters
that feel coarse and dry), just buy an inexpensive hand lotion that includes
lanolin as one of the primary ingredients. Put about 2 inches worth into a
regular spray bottle, fill with water and shake to mix. Mist the sweater
fairly thoroughly - not wet but dampish and put it in a plastic bag and
stick it somewhere warm overnight. The lanolin will soak back into the wool
fibers and restore the lanolin content. This works on woven wools as well."

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