Those of you have been following the blog for a while, may remember my delight at ‘transforming’ a coat I found in a charity shop, by simply changing the buttons. The coat served me very well last Winter, and has been pressed into service again this year. But it is, well, a little on the filthy dirty side.
I have no idea what this is-I suspect it may be bird poo….
And this might be guinea pig poo….
I checked the label and was dismayed to see the instructions “Dry Clean Only”. 
Bums. I really didn’t want to dry clean it because: a) I really hate all the horrible chemicals they use at the dry cleaners; and b) the cost of dry cleaning it would probably be more than I paid for the coat! So I decided to ask for advice from the lovely, knowledgable bunch in the Make Do and Mend-able Facebook group. We had a great thread going, and the vast majority of people seemed to think it would be fine in the machine, on a wool/handwash cycle, using a gentle detergent. I was also advised to put it in a pillowcase when I washed it. So I gave it a go….
Coat in a pillowcase (in case you were struggling to visualise it)
My “I’ve just put my Dry Clean Only coat in the washing machine” selfie face
And……. It worked! It was sopping wet when it came out of the machine, as it didn’t really spin it much, so I laid it out flat over the bath to dry: 
It took about 3 days to dry completely, but I am pleased to report it still fits, and both the outside and the lining seem to have survived. AND the suspected poo is gone!
Apologies for the crappy photo, but hopefully you can at least see that it still fits…!
Happy Days!
My Make Do and Mend Year 
Well done! As you may have read in my post last week I don’t dry clean anything [or iron either]. I think manufacturers are just covering themselves by putting a label on an item “Dry Clean Only” in case it shrinks. I have even seen this label on underwear.
Can you imagine if underwear needed dry cleaning..!!
No I can’t that is why I found it so preposterous. Mind you I wouldn’t want them to shrink either.
Nothing worse than tight pants…!
I’m glad it worked for you. My beloved winter coat may also get the same treatment now. It’s been worn for 2 winters and is showing the signs of wear. I had thought this might be the last winter I could get away with before dry cleaning it but I’m so glad I’ve got an alternative now. Thanks Jen x
Starting to feel some pressure now-don’t want to be responsible for everyone trashing their dry clean only clothes..!
Ahh… I have a very muddy long wool winter coat (too much jumping muddy puddles.. its a hard life). I may give this a go, think I will need to soak it first due to levels of mud though!
Oh crikey-that must have been some walk!
I am so glad to hear that your coat survived. Well done you. I too never dry clean anything.
Hurray for the dry cleaning rebels!
Funnily enough I was just looking at second-hand (and rather well worn) Christmas jumper made from merino wool and wondering if I should dry clean it. The pillowcase is a great tip – will try it!
Be really careful with wool Kathryn! Do you have a hand wash cycle on your machine? That’s what I use for my woollies
I ‘took the plunge’ and actually washed a suede jacket in my machine recently. Remarkably pleased with the result! I am so glad your lovely wool coat came clean x
Oh wow, suede-that’s super brave!
I also don’t dry clean. Even when I go to thrift stores, I look at tags to make it doesn’t say ‘dry clean only’. However, I can usually tell when a fabric will uphold to gentle cycle or hand washing.
Always check the labels! Something I usually forget to do!
Well done. The washing instructions can often be less rigid than we are led to believe. Great button idea!
Thankyou! I love it-everyone always comments on the buttons 🙂
Its great!
I generally always ignore the dry clean only label. There seemed to be a time (maybe 20 years ago?) when everything was dry clean only… in theory 😉.
Crikey, really? Was there a whole dry cleaning thing I missed?!
Maybe it was just the clothes I was choosing to buy 😉
🙂
I have heard many garments are safe for water wash, even when they say dry clean only. I do have a pair of fine linen pants with water stains on the cuff (they definitely will not do well in the wash), but does anyone have any advice for that?
Oh gosh, sorry to hear that Liz. Not sure what you can do once the stains are there, short of dying the trousers a whole new colour to cover up the stains?
Thanks Jen. It’s not noticeable, just a little bit of a shame.
Unfirtunately I shall have to dry clean my winter coat because I have found moth holes (GRRRR!!!) and don’t want to risk more damages. But I normally hand wash or machine wash at the gentlest setting the few Dry Clean only garments I have and they have all survived so far. Dry cleaning is only for moth killing purposes, when the garment is too big, like my coat, or too impractical, because I need it soon, to put in the freezer for weeks (it kills moth eggs).
Boooo to moths!
*UnfOrtunately* grrrr to iPad
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Thanks so much for sharing!