How to care for your woolens?

We've been approaching autumn and its chilly weather for a few days now. And if you're like me, one of your favorite things to do is wrap yourself in a sweater or a large shawl to keep warm.

We're knitters, aren't we? And we particularly appreciate wool, animal and plant fibers for what they bring us: warmth in winter, coolness in summer.

These fibers have the advantage of being durable and resistant to time.

So how can we give them the longest possible life?

In this article, I'm going to share with you a few little tips I've learned along the way to keep my woolens looking as good as the first day.

1. Refresh your woolens between uses

Did you know that it is not necessary to wash woolens regularly, especially those made from animal fibers?

This is something I frequently remind my teenagers who, as soon as they wear an item of clothing for a day (or even a few hours), put it in the dirty laundry basket.

Wool (see note) is indeed endowed with many interesting characteristics:

• insulating
• hydroregulatory
• antistatic
• feltable
• tintable
• flame retardant
• antibacterial
• sustainable and resilient

The characteristics that interest us here are its antibacterial and hydroregulating properties. This means that it is able to breathe, absorb perspiration and moisture while keeping the skin dry and, above all, not allowing the proliferation of bacteria that gives that particular odor to clothes worn several times.

It is therefore not necessary to wash your woolens very regularly, especially if they are made of pure wool. Airing them is generally enough to freshen them up.

To air them, I do the following: I hang them inside out on a wooden hanger or place them on a wooden chair in my room and I don't wear the same sweater every day.

Every now and then, as soon as the weather permits, I put them outside on a hanger and let them air out for a few hours.

Another solution is to wear a cotton t-shirt under your woolen garment so that you don't have to wear it next to your skin.

If it turns out that I'm not going to wear them for a few days, I fold them and put them in my closet and place a handkerchief with a few drops of true lavender essential oil inside.

Note: when I talk about wool here, for convenience I am essentially talking about animal fibers, not fibers from petrochemicals.

2. Clean stains immediately

To avoid having to do a major wash of your woolens every time you get a stain, I advise you to clean them as soon as possible.

Even though wool is dirt-resistant, we are not immune to staining our clothes.

If this happens, I proceed as follows:

If it is liquid, I absorb the remaining moisture with a cloth or tissue.

If it's food, I gently remove as much of the residue as possible.

Then, I wet the stain with a little soapy water (I use no-rinse wool detergent but a little organic dishwashing liquid or baby shampoo can work) and I rub gently with a sponge or brush. Be careful not to rub too much to avoid felting!

3. Shave the lint

If you use animal fibers, you will not be safe from pilling unless the yarn has been treated with an "anti-pill" treatment.

Due to its structure, a wool yarn always pills a little. Some more than others, but this is not necessarily due to the quality of the yarn: cashmere will pill faster than long-staple sheep's wool. This is due to the spinning process itself and the length of the fiber; shorter fibers are not trapped in the twist and eventually escape.

You will then see small balls of felted wool appear on your knitting, especially in areas where it rubs, for example under your armpits, chest, stomach, etc.

And that's where shaving becomes necessary.

I use a wool shaver from the Prym brand, you can use a anti-pilling comb or a Gleener razor (I heard it was magical but I've never used it).

4. Iron your woolens

To avoid damp blocking and therefore immersing your wool in water (simply wash it), you can freshen up your wool, your shawl by blocking with an iron.

You will find my tips in the YouTube video below.

5. Wash your woolens

At some point, you have to come to terms with it: you have to wash your woolens.

Personally, whenever possible, for sweaters, I machine wash cold, short "spin" cycle with a high-speed spin (around 1200 rpm).

But be careful, I know my machine, I know that if I put it on cold, the water will be really cold and I don't rinse. I remind you that the conditions for felting wool are: soap + friction + change in water temperature.
So I use a no-rinse detergent such as Eucalan or Soak.

I will then lay them flat on a bath towel using locking combs to reshape them.

Since they were spun at high speed and I usually choose a day when the sun is out, they dry very quickly.

As for shawls, hats, gloves, I proceed as if I were blocking them (I advise you to watch the video above, I explain how I proceed).

6. Store your woolens

Once washed, I fold them properly. Take a look at the document available on the Brooklyn Tweed website on folding, it's in English but the images are clear enough for you to understand it even if you don't speak a word of English.

Then I put them in my closet if I'm going to use them.

Or I place them in a vacuum storage bag if I am storing them for a long period.

In either case, I place moth-proof cedar wood there to prevent infestations or fine lavender essential oil.

I don't think this is a miracle solution. The best way to combat moths is prevention: check your woolens regularly, wash them before storing them for a long period, and avoid storing them in dark places.

If I really have doubts because yes, I have already had moth infestations, I put the woolens either in the freezer for a few days or I put them in the oven at 50-75° for an hour or even for my skeins, I have already stored them for a day in my car in full sun (especially when it is very hot).

With these few tips, I hope you are ready to maintain and keep your knits for many years to come.

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See you soon,

Christelle