Washing Felted Pieces

I have always been a little nervous about washing my finished pieces in the washing machine. I didn't know what would happen. How much it would shrink, if it would be ruined, etc. But this weekend, I took the plunge. During a trip to the airport, I accidentally dragged the bottom portion of my felted, lined, button topped purse through the dirt. There was a nice little line of gray along the bottom. I tried just brushing it off - nothing. I thought, "What the heck, I'll just throw it in the wash." So, along with a bunch of other like colored clothes, I put it in my front load washer. After the wash was done, I checked it. It was clean, and not distorted at all! I had washed it in a cold, normal cycle. Yeh! Now, granted, it was a fairly thick purse to begin with, and I probably wouldn't throw it in a top loader with agitation, or wash something this way that was a very quick felter, but now I know! And it makes things so much easier!