Wool takes a little special handling, so to keep your wool scarf in great shape, you need to take good care of it.

Method 1
Method 1 of 3:

Hand Washing a Wool Scarf

  1. 1
    Determine what your wool scarf is made out of.
    • Most modern wool scarves are made with blends of wool and man-made fibers. This helps to make it much easier for care and washing.
    • It's best not to wash your scarves in hot water. Even if your scarf is "shrink-resistant", you may be wise enough not to wash your scarf in hot water.
  2. 2
    Fill up your washbasin with cool water. You may wish to use a gentle detergent.
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  3. 3
    Let the scarf sit for just a little while, before returning.
    • When it's finished soaking, swish it around a little to loosen up the dirt.
  4. 4
    Pour out the soapy water and pour in some new, fresh, cool water.
    • Continue to gently swish your scarf around in the water to loosen up the left over dirt.
  5. 5
    Continue to pour and refill until the water runs clean.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 3:

Machine Washing Your Wool Scarf

  1. 1
    Set your machine to "gentle" setting and remember to wash in cold water.
  2. 2
    Avoid your scarf getting tangled in the wash. There are a couple of ways to do this:
    • You can zip your scarf into a lingerie bag that's made for washing small things so that you scarf doesn't free float in your wash.
    • You can also place the scarf into a pillowcase and fold it over close once (or twice) and safety pin it close. Your scarf won't tangle upon itself and stretch!
  3. 3
    Remember to set your machine on "Gentle". When you set it on "Gentle" this keep the material from stretching or ripping.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 3:

Air Drying Your Wool Scarf

  1. 1
    Try not to ring or twist the scarf before drying it. This will loosen the yarns out of shape and will stretch in different directions; in other words, it will look lopsided.
    • You can place the scarf on a towel and role up the towel with the scarf inside. That will drain the excess water.
  2. 2
    Lay it on a flat dry towel until it's dry.
    • If you want, you can hang it on a hanger or two, spread from one to the other. This is to make sure the scarf doesn't stretch out of its shape.
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About This Article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 25,744 times.
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Co-authors: 7
Updated: August 15, 2022
Views: 25,744
Categories: Scarves | Wool Care
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