A guide to caring for wool knitwear

Wool wants far less from you than the care label suggests. Mostly it wants air.

Wash it less

Wool is naturally antibacterial and releases odour when it is aired. A sweater worn twice a week needs washing perhaps three times a season. Hang it by an open window overnight and it will smell cleaner than a shirt that has been through the machine.

When you do wash it

Cold water, wool detergent, no more than thirty minutes of soaking, and never any agitation. Squeeze the water out against the side of the basin, do not wring, then roll the garment in a towel and press.

Dry it flat, always

A wet sweater on a hanger will grow four centimetres in the shoulder and never come back. Lay it flat on a second dry towel, reshape the cuffs and the hem by hand, and leave it out of direct sun.

Pilling is not a fault

Every wool garment pills where it rubs: under the arms, at the cuff. A comb or a sweater stone removes it in a minute and the garment stops doing it once the loose fibres are gone.

If a moth finds yours before you do, bring it into either store. Reweaving a small hole is free for the first two years and about the price of a coffee after that.