I hate being cold, so it seems that my style uniform this winter has become a pair of jeans or corduroy pants and a pullover sweater, or a jumper as it’s known in some parts of the world. A style uniform is simply a combination of clothing that you know you can always rely on and feel comfortable wearing.

Since I’m wearing them so much of the time, sweater care has been on my mind and today I’m going to share a few tips for keeping your sweaters going strong.

Washing 

Begin by reading the care label. Most will advise hand washing in cold or lukewarm water as hot water may cause the fibres to shrink or the sweater to become misshapen. I’m very thankful that my washer has a gentle hand wash cycle, but if you do wash by hand, avoid wringing or twisting as this is also hard on the fibres and might stretch the sweater out of shape. When washing by machine, turn the sweater inside out to help reduce pilling and place it in a mesh laundry bag so that it doesn’t catch on anything. If your sweater is wool, use a mild, wool-specific detergent. Personally, I wouldn’t buy a sweater that needs to be dry cleaned.

Drying 

If washed by hand, begin by laying the sweater out on a dry towel and rolling it to squeeze out excess water. This step isn’t usually necessary if the sweater is machine washed. To dry, lay the sweater flat on a drying rack or another towel and gently reshape if needed.

Removing pills

Pills are the tiny balls of fluff that often form on the surface of knitted fabrics regardless of how carefully you wash them. DO NOT try to pull these off. Simply run an inexpensive fabric shaver over the affected areas as needed. This is the one I use.

Storage

There are two options for storing your sweaters; folding and hanging. Folded sweaters can be piled neatly in drawers on on shelves. If you simply hang a sweater on a hanger the way you would a shirt, gravity will stretch the sweater and leave those nasty little hanger bumps at the shoulders. Instead, I’m going to show you two options for hanging your sweaters that will avoid these problems.

Method #1

Step 1:  Lay sweater flat and fold in half lining up the sleeves.

Step 2:  Position hanger as shown so that the hook lies between the arm and body of the sweater.

Step 3:  Wrap the sleeves over one shoulder of the hanger.

Step 4:  Wrap the body of the sweater over the other side of the hanger.

Method #2

Step 1:  Same as above.

Step 2:  Fold sleeves across the body of the sweater.

Step 3:  Slide folded sweater over the crossbar of hanger with sleeves inside.

Personally, I prefer the second method. It’s simple, neat and tidy, and there’s no chance of the sweater slipping off the hanger.

Following these tips should keep your sweaters looking good season after season.