A knitted garment is more delicate than a woven one because its structure is a mesh of loops that can stretch, felt or snag if handled roughly. The good news is that caring for knitwear well is mostly about restraint: washing less often, at low temperatures, with gentle handling, and never letting a wet knit hang under its own weight. Master a few habits and you protect not just the look of a sweater but its shape and lifespan — which is the whole return on buying well in the first place.
Always check the garment's own care label first; the guidance below is general and the manufacturer's instructions take priority.
Wash less than you think
Wool and cashmere are naturally odour-resistant and self-freshening, so they rarely need washing after a single wear. Airing a sweater overnight is often all it needs. Over-washing is one of the main causes of premature wear, so wash only when a piece is genuinely soiled or has picked up odour. Spot-clean small marks rather than laundering the whole garment.
Hand-washing, the safe default
For wool, cashmere and delicate blends, hand-washing is the gentlest option. Use lukewarm or cool water — never hot — and a small amount of detergent formulated for wool or delicates. Submerge the garment and press the suds through gently; do not rub, wring or twist, as agitation is what causes wool to felt and shrink. Rinse in water of the same temperature, then press the water out by hand and support the garment's weight as you lift it, so it never stretches while heavy with water.
Machine-washing, carefully
Many modern knits, including some superfine merino and cotton, tolerate a machine wool or delicate cycle. If you go this route, use cold water, a low spin, a wool-safe detergent and a mesh laundry bag to reduce friction. Turn the garment inside out. When in doubt — especially with cashmere or anything loosely knitted — hand-wash instead. The risk of a hot or vigorous cycle is not just shrinkage but irreversible felting.
Never do these
Don't wring or twist a wet knit; don't hang a wet sweater to dry; don't tumble-dry wool or cashmere; and don't wash in hot water. Each of these permanently changes the fabric — stretching, felting or shrinking it — in ways that cannot be undone.
Dry flat, always
A wet knit is heavy, and hanging it lets gravity stretch the shoulders and hem out of shape. Instead, lay the garment flat on a clean, dry towel, gently reshape it to its correct dimensions, and let it air-dry away from direct heat and sunlight. Roll it in a towel first to remove excess water if it is very wet. Flat-drying preserves the shape that good construction built in — the same shape retention discussed in how to identify quality knitwear.
De-pilling: normal and fixable
Almost all knitwear pills a little, especially early on, as short surface fibres work loose under friction at the cuffs, underarms and sides. This is normal and not a defect. Remove pills gently with a fabric comb, a dedicated de-pilling tool or a cautious pass with a sweater shaver, laying the garment flat and working in one direction. Regular light de-pilling keeps a sweater looking new; heavy, persistent pilling that returns quickly points to shorter-staple fibre, which we cover in natural vs synthetic knitwear.
Store folded, not hung
Hanging knitwear stretches it over time, so fold sweaters and store them flat on a shelf or in a drawer. Give them a little room to breathe rather than compressing them tightly. For seasonal storage, make sure garments are clean first — moths are drawn to body oils and food traces, not just to wool itself — and store them in a breathable container. Cedar or lavender can help deter moths; airtight plastic for long periods is best avoided for natural fibres, which prefer some air circulation.
Repair early
A small snag or a loose stitch is easy to fix and disastrous to ignore. Gently pull a snag through to the inside with a crochet hook rather than cutting it, and mend small holes or seams promptly before they grow. A well-made, fully-fashioned garment is often more straightforward to repair because its structure is stable — one more quiet advantage of good construction. Cared for this way, the pieces from the brands in our luxury and natural-fibre guides genuinely can last a decade or more.
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