One of the many reasons we love knit sweaters is that they are resilient and have the potential for a long, hard-wearing, and useful life. From early fall to the end of winter, a sweater is undoubtedly your best friend. And like any other best friend, sweaters require love and care. Here are five sweater care tips to help you properly take care of all your knits so they can last as long as you want them to:
1. Know how to wash (and when)
Probably the most important question when buying knitwear is how do I wash it? It may seem very obvious, but we can’t stress enough the importance of following washing instructions when it comes to knitwear care. Each piece of knitwear will have different needs. From cashmere to cotton and angora to wool each fabric will need to be washed differently.
Most cotton and cotton blends can be machine washed, while cashmere should always be hand washed or dry cleaned. To hand wash, fill a bucket or sink with cool water, add a few squirts of gentle laundry detergent, submerge the sweater, and let it soak for about 30 minutes. Then, rinse it under cool water and gently squeeze water out the sweater (never wring it out) and roll it up in a towel (like a sleeping bag or sushi roll) to suck up all the excess water.
Cotton, silk, and cashmere should be washed after three or four wears, while wool and wool blends can make it for five or more. But make sure to follow the garment’s care labels, and don’t wash more often unless the sweater has a stain (like sweat or a spill).
2. Dry knitwear flat
After wash, it’s imperative that you dry your knitwears flat, on a towel to ensure that they keep their shape. Hanging them to dry may cause stretching and tumble drying will cause severe shrinkage and dry out the fibers. Once you’ve placed the knitwear on the towel, make sure to stretch out your garment to its original shape, especially the ribs and the length will have contracted during wash. Therefore it may be good to make a note of the shape before washing. Finally, make sure that the garment is completely dry before putting it away for storage.
3. Remove pills the right way
Pillling is unfortunately an inevitable result of wearing your favourite sweater. All sweaters pill—it’s caused by rubbing during wear and is more apparent around the elbows, under armpits, and on sleeves, but it can occur anywhere on the sweater. However, there are ways to reduce the amount of pills and to remove them when they do show up. Our top tips to avoid pilling would be to ensure that when you wash your knitwear, it’s inside out. If bobbles do appear, brush with a lint roller, clothes shaver (yes shaver) or knitwear comb to reduce the appearance.
4. Rest wool garments between wears
It is important to let wool garments rest between wears for at least 24 hours. This gives the natural resilience and spring in the wool fiber time to recover and return to its original shape.
5. Store sweaters properly
Knit sweaters should be stored folded flat but avoid folding and storing your sweater directly after wear. Best is to hang it over the back of a chair to breath before folding and putting it away in a drawer or wardrobe, away from direct sunlight. You should not hang knit sweaters on hangers as it will cause sweaters to stretch out and create peaks in the shoulders. To store them in a way that maintains their shape and quality, keep sweaters folded or rolled in drawers or on shelves. Properly fold them by laying them front-down on a flat surface and fold each arm (from the sleeve seam diagonally across the sweater’s back). Then, either fold it horizontally in half or roll from the bottom hem up to the collar. Also, make sure that you don’t store them to tightly as it may cause them to wrinkle.Hot tip: Do not put sweaters in vacuum-sealed storage bags. It might seem like it’s saving space, but locking in moisture can cause yellowing or mildew. If you must hang them, fold the sweater over the hanger, on top of a piece of tissue paper to prevent creases.
As one of the leading sweater manufacturers, factories & suppliers in China,we carry a range of colors, styles and patterns in all sizes. We accept custom men's knit pullovers, kids' sweaters and women's cardigans, OEM/ODM service is also available.
Post time: Jul-01-2022