Fabric Care: How to wash wool and delicate sweaters

Great knitwear is an investment. So you want to make sure that investment will last a lifetime. When it comes to taking care of wool or knitwear, the very best way to take care of your pieces is to wash them as infrequently as possible. Best practice is to wear your natural fibre sweaters with an under layer, like a tank or long sleeve, to prevent sweat, deodorant, or perfume from penetrating the fabric. 

But soon enough, wash day will come. Here are the best practices for taking care of your wool and natural fibre knitwear:

HOW TO WASH WOOL SWEATERS

The very best way to wash your wool sweater will always be to handwash. Even on a gentle setting on the washer, the spin cycle could potentially pull or snag the knit and it will be hard to get the shape back. It could also agitate the wool and it will mat and shrink the garment, which cannot be undone. While there are ways to machine wash safely, we will always recommend the handwash approach to preserve the life of your sweater.

HANDWASH

This will always be the safest way to care for your wool. Be sure to use a gentle detergent. 

• Fill a sink or basin with cool water (not hot, as it could shrink the fabric).
  
• Submerge the sweater and gently squish it with your hands to get the soap throughout. Do not scrub or work the fabric. If you’re dealing with a stain, you can pre-treat that area ahead of time for up to 15 minutes.
• Let the sweater soak in the soapy water for 30 minutes.
  
• Rinse well by running the sweater under cold water until it’s no longer soapy.
  
• Do not wring the fabric! Instead, gently squish the excess water out. 

DRYING 

Unfortunately with wool, you can never put it in the dryer! This will cause the garment to shrink and could lead to many tears. 

• Lay the sweater flat on a large towel.
  
• Starting from the bottom roll the towel up with the sweater like a sleeping bag to soak up the excess water.
  
• Lay flat to dry – avoid leaving it near a heat source or in direct sunlight (do not hang dry as this could tug on the fibres).

STORAGE

Knit items should always be folded to prevent stretching or distorting. Do not hang your knitwear. The weight of the sweater will pull on the hanger and leave puckers in fabric.

Personally, we only wash our wool sweaters at the end of the season, before we pack them away for Spring. We try to keep them as clean as possible so we don’t need to wash them as often as our other clothes.

HOW TO WASH COTTON SWEATERS

Pima Cotton is slightly more durable than wool – so you can follow the same process as wool or opt-for the washing machine. If you’d prefer to use a washer, here are the best practices:

• Always was on a gentle setting 
• Use a gentle detergent 
• Wash with like fabrics and colours (do not wash with anything that could snag your fabric – eg, buttons, zippers, clasps, or velcro) 
• Lay flat to dry (never hang dry)
  

• Fold flat when storing