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I also wash my cashmere by hand with barely warm water and fine wash powder but i haven't tried drying them in a machine - i lay them across a drying rack near the window or wherever it's warm. For wool blankets, it depends on how cheap/old they are - some things you take chances with and others are so special i don't trust the washer completely.

handwash for all articles of manageable size, definitely, with woolite soap. dreft is also good, and very hypo-allergenic.

For years I have been machine washing all of my cashmere, in the delicate cycle, cold, using shampoo instead of detergent. No dryer though. The women at Tse told my mother in law, and she told me and changed my world. It works great.

Wash your cashmere with gentle shampoo. Two things that will shrink wool and cashmere are warm water and agitation. Even if you wash with cold water, and there is enough agitation in the cycle, it will shrink the fibers. So, washing on a delicate cycle with cold water should be fine, but don't use the dryer!

I also wash all my knit wools and cashmere in the machine, cold, gentle, with Woolite (although I do have a couple super-fragile/thin cashmere pieces I hand wash in the sink) and air dry.

I also do many woven wools/cashmere in the machine (like blankets, scarves, throws, pashminas), just nothing lined or structured (like a suit).

I've found high-quality woolens hold up better (surprise, surprise) which is why some of my vintage things are nicer than brand new ones (sad to say...).

I had a TERRIBLE moth problem a few years ago (1st time ever) and since then wash everything wool at least once a year and never store anything long-term that has been worn/used (even once).

All my cashmere & silk items fall into 3 categories (from least to most delicate):

1. safe for washing machine.
I have a top loader, so I put all items in delicates bags so that they don't get strained. I use Dr. Bronner, Nordstroms fine washing powder, or WinterSilks liquid wash.

2. can be handwashed in a bucket.
I only use WinterSilks liquid wash for these.

3. dry cleaner only.
This is only if I'm unwilling to risk the item to handwashing -- it's mostly pleated stuff.

I always use cold water to avoid any dye running.

You can wash cashmere, there is a detergent made for wool and cashmere. But dry flat on a towel, don't wring. If there is a little shrinkage you can mist it with a little bit of water and put it on. It will cause the fibers to relax a little and reconform. (worked in a cashmere company for a bit)

Silks.....I'm not too sure about. I've always had trouble with water marks and my boyfriend tried to wash his silk suit and it ended up wrinkling in an odd way. I think it has something to do with the weave, if it's a tight weave it's resistant to shrinking or something. He normally just takes his suits to the cleaners.

I always handwash silks-although I usually take prints to the dry cleaner's, since bleeding is not an uncommon problem. I would definitely not handwash anything like suits or jackets - they should always be dry cleaned.

I always wash cashmere in cold water with shampoo. I've even washed mongolian lamb skins (the dry cleaner even said shampooing should be okay.). I think it's something about shampoos preserving the natural oils in wool fibers.

Eucalan! Order it online - use for cashmere and wool. A spoonfull in a bucket or sink, soak the item for 20 minutes, no rinse, dry flat! WONDERFUL!!

Wool and Cashmere detergent from The Laundress. There is a how to video on their site for hand washing.

i use hand wash detergent....i like caldrea.

the thing to remember about silk and wool and cashmere and is that they're more delicate when wet, so try not to pull or wring them.
these are all pretty strong fibers when they're dry.

i always use cold water.

I hate what dry cleaning does to cashmere sweaters / unstructured garments / throws. I handwash all my sweaters and wraps. I wash some silks on delicate, some get handwashed. Anything that may run or bleed, though, goes to the cleaners.

That said, I would NOT handwash a cashmere or cashmere blend coat that's been blocked and interlined (this adds structure to a garment). Water distorts the shape.

Front-loaders are better for these items -- no agitators.

If you wash a weighty brushed or twill silk, it will never be the same, no matter what you use.

DON'T use Woolite! It's hard and is not good for your delicates. You're better off using a mild shampoo. I'm a knitter/seamstress/general fiber whore and I learned the hard way that Woolite is not all that it's cracked up to be.

I've been seriously burned by the dry cleaners several times in the past several years. I swear they're getting more and more incompetent. They try to blame it on the shoddy construction of new clothes, but they've ruined some clothes that used to belong to my mother and are anywhere from 20-30 years old. I'm done with them, except for really heavy items like my wool coat. These suggestions will really help.

Ditto what Monica said. Woolite is actually pretty harsh, and mild shampoo works great for cashmere. Washing will also make it softer over time.

I learned this tip a few years ago: When you're finished hand-washing a cashmere sweater, lay it on a towel, then roll up the towel with the sweater in it. It wrings out most of the water without distorting the shape of the sweater.

I hand-wash all of my silks except for my saris, which are vintage and not colorfast. They get wet-cleaned at the cleaners

Wool- you want to be very careful when your wool is wet because the fiber is a lot weaker so always be very gentle and never hang to dry. you can wash it by hand with warm water but don't agitate it and never let wool come in contact with chlorine bleach, it dissolves into a gooey substance.

Silk- I would always dry clean because most dyes used in silk are water soluble!

I'm a knitter and I say hand wash. You can use baby shampoo, dishsoap, or a fancy soak like Eucalan. Be careful not to agitate cashmere too much, or it will felt.

I used to only dry clean, but I never felt like they got truly clean. Plus, I couldn't justify spending so much on my fairly inexpensive clothes! I either hand wash or gentle cycle my sweaters/scarves. I don't wash wool ones much--especially if I have worn something under them. I allow to dry flat.

With suits and lined things, I do dry cleaning.

Once you start handwashing your cashmere sweaters, you'll appreciate how much better they smell and feel after a handwashing. I used liquid Ivory soap, rinsed the sweaters carefully, laid them out on a clean towel (arranged like you would arrange a shirt), rolled them up in the towel, and when close to dry, would lay them open over another clean towel to finish drying.

I can't take credit for this method. There was a wonderful obsessive-compulsive feature on the subject in Martha Stewart Living, back when Martha actually edited the magazine and people who didn't have palatial vacation estates in Maine regularly read it.

I always hand wash, except blankets because I don't have the room to dry them.

I like to use Ecover's Delicate Wash- it's a green version of Woolite, works really well and the bottle lasts me a really long time.

I do this. I take them into the shower with me and clean them with shampoo there-- conserves the water, is gentle, and comes out just fine. Just remember to dry them flat, rather than hanging them, so they don't stretch.

I wash my cashmere sweaters in the washing machine (gentle cycle) with either Tide (no bleach) or Woolite. Then, I dry on low heat, gentle cycle for 10 min and take the items out to air dry flat.

I used to hand wash my wool and cashmere, but I find this method works just as well, doesn't damage my sweaters, and saves me time. I find it makes my sweaters softer too.

For silk sweaters, I will definitely hand wash. I only take coats to the dry cleaners now.

Seconding *not* woolite. I do like Eucalan though.

I handwash everything but coats/suits.

In winter, I pretty much live in an oversized cashmere shawl bought in Europe more than five years ago. I never dry clean, only wash, and it still looks new. Too big to wash in the sink, so I use a net bag in a front-loader machine on delicate with eco-friendly lavender-scented liquid detergent, a tiny bit of ecover fabric softener and cold water. Roll in a towel after washing and gently press out as much water as possible, no dryer. Finish drying draped over a table (with an old shower curtain underneath to protect the surface). Much fluffier and softer than dry cleaned, and smells lovely too.