Washing a yarn haired plushie?

[themaltesepony]

The tag says surface wash only, but I wonder if anyone has tried washing one tied in a pillow case in the washing machine? Like, will the yarn unravel?
If no one has horror stories, Pinkie Pie is going to get the treatment. :1745:

 

[01mlplover]

I actually have bought a couple from someone on here that ran them through the wash machine first and they came out fine. I dont know that itll work everytime though...

 

[Firefly]

I put mine in on a gentle setting and they were ok But I put them in with a whole bunch of other stuffies .. I don't know if that makes a difference. You could wash them in the sink too.

 

[Recyclebella]

I have done it before and had no problems. Like you said, just stick 'em in a pillowcase and you should be good to go. Mine turned out beautifully. Oh, I did tie back their manes and tails into buns with those soft stretchy hair elastics before I put them in the pillowcase so it wouldn't tangle, and when they came out I shook out their hair before they dried.

 

[woodbines]

Do you know if the yarn is wool? If it is you run into 2 possible problems with washing that I can think of off the top of my head:

1 - felting (the fibers rub together and make a matted fuzzy appearance)
2 - shrinkage (wool shrinks in the dryer)

I don't think there would be a problem with polyester fiber, but I can't be a 100% on that. I know you can machine wash some polyester yarn on delicate and dry on low heat (like a knitted sweater or scarf) but machine washability depends on the manufacturer

 

[themaltesepony]

I actually washed three plushies in separate pillow cases with some regular laundry in cold water, threw 'em in the dryer even, I am happy with how they turned out. Especially Pinkie Pie who had been playing on the floor of a thrift shop with Children, can you believe it, lol.
Anyway, she was soiled, but fresh and clean now. :daisy: Daisy Fresh.

 

[xayide2]

Most inexpensive yarns these days are made of acryllic, and pretty much all of them can stand a gentle washing in the washing machine. She'll be fine.

 

[miss]

kinda off the subject, but i ran a normal plush thorough, and she looks better after!


if you have a wool setting it use that, id just put in on her own too, my washing machine did the job nicely if you dont have settings then i think woool has to be on a low heat setting, to stop it shrinking.

 

[jljb]

I've run them all through (G3 yarn hair plushies, G1 plushies, care bears, and pound puppies) in a pillow case on the gentle cycle in cold water. I haven't had any problems and they all came out looking great.

 

[babycrumpet]

Agreed - I wash all my yarn-haired Plushies in a pillow case with the machine on gentle/delicate. I even add Oxy Clean powder, which works espcially well on the grungy, thrift-store-floor Ponies