How to Wash and Care for Wool Knitwear
Caring for your wool knitwear is worth doing, as good quality wool garments can last decades if you look after them. I have several sweaters that must be around 20 years old now, and I bought them second hand. So I’ll share my wool care tips, including washing and how to avoid common causes of damage.
Washing pure wool sweaters can seem a bit daunting at first if you haven’t done it before, but once you know what you’re doing it’s very straight forward and it’s a very key part of wool care.
Wool is a great natural fibre, and one of it’s many benefits is that it has anti-bacterial properties and so it doesn’t need to be washed unless it’s actually dirty. You can air it in between wears to freshen it. Do wash it before you store it though, to avoid moths.
I generally recommend that you hand wash your woollen scarves, hats or jumpers, rather than machine wash. However, it is possible to machine wash your woollens too, so I’ll make sure to give you tips for both here!
Tips for How to Wash Wool
Wash sparingly. I know I’ve said it before, but unless it’s actually dirty, give you wool a good airing, and avoid washing it unnecessarily!
To hand wash or machine wash your lambswool knitwear, use a delicate detergent suitable for wool. There are a variety of makes out there, in a range of prices, but I think anything that’s suitable for delicates (silk and wool) is fine.
Gently remove any pills (bobbles) before washing. You can do this with a pill removing comb.
If washing a wool jumper, put it inside out. This way any pilling that may happen should happen on the inside of the garment as it rubs with other items in the wash.
How to Hand Wash Wool Knitwear
Use lukewarm water with the detergent.
Very gently move the item in the water- do not rub or agitate. Over agitation and rubbing can cause the wool to felt and pill, so be gently with it.
Rinse it a couple of times. Try to keep all rinses the same temperature, as changing it may shock the wool and cause it to felt and shrink.
Once it is rinsed, very gently squeeze out the excess water. Do not wring. Place flat on a towel, in the right shape, and roll it up like a swiss roll. This will help get rid of excess water.
Unroll it and place on a dry towel and leave to dry flat, away from direct heat.
How to Machine Wash Wool Knitwear
I have to admit that I wash all my knitwear in a machine. I was very hesitant at first, but I trust it. If you’re not sure about your machine and how your knitwear will come out, I suggest you try it with something that is not your favourite jumper, or stick to hand washing wool!
Choose the woollens cycle. This bit is very important- it is not the same as the delicate cycle, so do not treat them as interchangeable!
30 degrees is fine for wool.
Turn the rpm down. I adjust the rpm on my machine to 900 for wool. It could probably be a bit higher, but I don’t like to risk it. It basically means I’m agitating the knitwear less.
Dry it flat, away from direct heat. Do NOT tumble dry!
How to care for your wool knit knitwear once it’s dry
Once your washed woollens are dry, press with an iron (only if need be- it might not be necessary) on a low heat suitable for wool, with the steam on. Steam and only gently press down with the iron. If you are nervous about pressing down with your iron, you can place a damp tea towel over your knitwear and press on that instead.
Taking care of wool: moth damage can be repaired with colourful darning and visible mending.
Taking Care of Wool
There are many ways your sweater can become damaged, and there are a few things you can do to take care of your wool knitwear.
The first, as I’ve already mentioned, is not to over wash it.
The second, is to avoid moths - I have plenty of tips for avoiding them. Moth damage is very common, and can be very distressing! Make sure your knitwear is clean before you put it away to help avoid moths. If storing for a while, keep in a sealable bag (I often just fold the bag opening over rather than fully dealing it so it’s slightly breathable. I choose to believe moths wouldn’t be bothered with the hassle of working their way in, but iI may be being optimistic)!
Moth damage isn’t the end of the world though, and you could view any holes as creative opportunities for visible mending. If you’d like to learn how to mend you knitwear, then my book ‘Visible Creative Mending for Knitwear’ is a great place to start.
Pet damage is something I’ve come across fairly frequently. It’s the reason I started visibly mending my knitwear, as my puppy had a taste for sleeves and regularly jumped up and bit mine when she was young. So keep your clothes out of harms way!
An example of damage at the hem and cuffs. the cuffs were too long and had been turned up.
Wear and tear is a big cause of damage, and it’s hard to avoid. Some of the common areas I find that wear away first are under the arms, cuffs, elbows and hems. To guard againsst some of this, avoid chunky belts that may rub against the bottom of your sweaters. Don’t do what I do and push your sleeves up a lot. This stretches out your cuffs, and while they do tend to recover, I think it weakens them, especially if they also rub against things (eg. tables, laptops), and it helps them wear more quickly.
If your sleeves are too long, or you’ve rolled them up, be aware they may wear away at the fold.
If you can spot you knitwear thinning under the arms or at the elbows, you can reinforce them using a technique called swiss darning (also known as. duplicate stitch). It’s much easier and quicker to reinforce these areas before they become holes, and as they saying goes, ‘a stitch in time saves nine’. The benefits of swiss darning are that it looks like knit, so you can choose to make it blend in or stand out, and it retains the stretch of the fabric.
When storing, fold your knitwear, as hanging it up may result in stretching.
Do you have any tips for caring for wool that I haven’t covered? please add them in the comments.