So I'm finally getting around to washing my many woolen sweaters after re-wearing them to the point of being a little stinky (whoops!). That said, I'm going the hand wash route and I'm completely miserable! Questions:

-Is there any safer way to the garment to get water out of it after it's been washed and rinsed? I know that wringing and and twisting is a HUGE no no and I'm currently using towels to get excess moisture out but a) I need more towels than I currently have to get all of the sopping wetness out of the sweaters b) I don't have a dryer at home so I feel like each sweater "dirties" at least 2 towels with it, creating a nightmare laundry situation as I wait for the towels to dry out before I can wash another sweater.

-I know you're supposed to lay out sweaters flat as they dry and I picked up one of these nifty flat sweater dryers. However, many of my sweaters are oversized so parts of them hang off the sides. I've been folding my sweaters onto themselves when this happens so folding a long hem toward the middle of the sweater or placing a sleeve on the torso of the sweater to maximize room. Is that bad?

-Is there anything in the hand-wash process that can cause woolens to shrink? I wash my knits with ice cold water and I thought avoiding the dryer in general saved sweaters from shrinking but a few days ago I washed a beloved wool cardigan and found it snugger than it was prior to washing. It was oversized to begin with so the shrinking wasn't very dramatic but quite noticeable to me when it was on. Is it because as I stated in point 2, that I'm having to fold the sweater onto itself so that it will all dry flat?

Thanks, in advance, for the advice. I've never owned real wool or cashmere sweaters until recently and I really want these to last given how darn expensive they were to procure.