Wednesday 23^rd March 2011

My black cashmere cardy went bobbly. Only had it in September. Bought at the Prada Factory Shop, Montevarchi (beside the Autostrada del Sole) with the money saved from paying for the villa last summer. What I mean is the others bought all the food, so it felt free. Prince Dmitri and I had forked in advance of course and by the time actually there the massive wound to the finances had healed.

Isn’t money funny? Did you listen to the Cancelleria’s budget speech? They had it on the Radio. I couldn’t believe that they didn’t cut to something else.

But my cardy went bobbly before Christmas. Jeeves of Belgravia said they could do something about it. Maybe. But it was returned still old dog. I hung it in the wardrobe and tried to forget. Then, sudden flash, great gash of inspiration – I remembered my De-fuzzing device, bought years ago to tackle a Nicole Farhi knit that bobbled terrible.

Was it where it should be? The device. Yes, it was. So I got that cardy splayed on the floor, absolutedly kneed to the floor. And scraped, and scraped, and scraped; a good hour, Poor Little Rich Gays, and you must back up with an excellently stern clothes brush. The whole experience was as difficult for me as for the cardy, I can tell you. Ghastly slugs of black wool all over the place.

But it worked. My cardy restored. I could have driven through the streets to St Paul’s for a Service of Thanksgiving, so rare is redemption.

Now Joshua Baring, our youngest Poor Little Rich Gay and the voice for the future, tells me that you can put your knits in the freezer overnight and they’ll never bobble again. But he’s checking the process, so don’t try it at home just yet.

My Black Prada Cardy - Before Scraping

My Black Prada Cardy After Scraping

The Implements Required

The Mess Involved