It is so nice to just grab your favorite comfy sweater when its cold out, but sometimes our favorite sweaters end up getting donated and sometimes even in the trash. Here are three tips for keeping your sweater looking like new.
- WASH THEM WITH CARE
Unfortunately, too many times we ignore the care labels that come in our clothes. I was guilty of this, I didn’t even know I was supposed to do that and then I would end up blaming the clothing piece; complaining that it was cheap and not worth the price. Knowing the material of the garment you own is most of the work; once you know, it is easy to separate them and wash them appropriately.
Almost everything we own has cotton on it and cotton is the easiest because you can machine wash most cotton blends. However, most sweaters should be hand washed; sweater fabrics tend to pill, snag, and fray easily. To hand wash, fill a bucket or sink with cold water, add a bit of laundry detergent, submerge the sweater, and let it soak for about 30 minutes. Then, rinse it under cold water.
Yes I know, what an inconvenience! Trust me, I don’t have time to wash my sweaters by hand either!!
To machine wash sweaters properly, make sure you select the gentle/delicate/hand wash cycle and then make sure the settings are in the coldest water possible and no spin.
To dry, never use the dryer, always air dry.
- FOLD THEM, DO NOT HANG
Fold your sweaters to store them. You should always fold your sweaters and not hang them. Hanging them can stretch out and create peaks in the shoulders. Properly fold them by laying them front-down on a flat surface, fold each arm in and then, either fold it horizontally in half or roll from the bottom hem up to the collar.
If you really need to hang your sweaters, fold the sweater over the hanger to avoid stretching.
- REMOVE PILLS
Pilling is normal! Oh my God, I can’t even count how many sweaters I threw away because of pilling. Unfortunately, all sweaters will eventually pill, pilling is caused by rubbing during wear and is more common in the elbows, under armpits, and on sleeves, but it can occur anywhere on the sweater.
To remove pills easily, lay the sweater flat and shave the pills off (one at a time) with a razor. You can also use a pill/lint remover. Make sure you do not pull at them because the pilling will become worse.