No Excuses

First, however, I want to address the excuses listed above, armed with advice from people who know wool: handspinners. Even if you don’t spin, it’s worth looking at Judith MacKenzie’s The Intentional Spinner or Kate Larson’s The Practical Spinner’s Gu...

Equipment

Washing & Drying

1. Gather up a bunch of sweaters or other handknits that you want to wash. Mend anything that needs mending. Remove any buttons that can’t soak in water. Brush off dried mud, food, etc. (Remember that burrito explosion last week? That’s what I’m talking ab...

Storing

Now you’re ready to box up clean, dry garments. What sorts of containers work best? While some handspinners recommend storing fiber in airtight plastic buckets, sweaters don’t really require such careful treatment unless you’re worried about rodents or wool-chomping insects. Over the years, I’ve used plastic bins and decorative boxes with tight-fitting (but not airtight) lids, sized to fit closet shelves, the space under my bed, and so on. Do get containers with lids to keep everything clean and secure. Puppies and rabbits love to chew; cats love boxes and sweaters, so the combination could prove irresistible. Many pets shed, and while their fur can add a one-of-a-kind look to your handknits, it might not be the one-of-a-kind look you enjoy. If you’re going to store knitwear for more than a few months, I would avoid sealed plastic bags (which can trap moisture) and open baskets or bins. Seriously, lids are your friends.Store packed boxes of knitwear in places that won’t be affected by dampness, moisture, direct sunlight, or unwanted visitors from the animal kingdom. All of these things can damage knitwear.

Protecting

Dampness & moisture: Most of us can’t store our handknits in a room perfectly controlled for humidity and temperature. If you live in a humid region, or have to store your knits in a humid part of the house, you could add packets of desiccants to storage boxes. Buy these packets at craft stores or save all those little packets that come in shoeboxes.Pests: Rodents, carpet beetles, and certain moths love to nest in wool. The bugs’ larvae eat unclean wool, then grow up to produce more offspring to eat your wool. Mice like soft, dark, safe beds for themselves and their babies. Prevent infestations by making your stored sweaters unavailable (in airtight bins of heavy plastic) or unrecognizable. Moths smell wool, so mask the scent with lavender or aromatic cedar. Set out pheromone traps so that you can recognize an infestation at its earliest signs. If the worst happens, handspinners know all the best ways to stop a moth invasion. (Their advice also applies to yarn and fiber stashes as well as finished projects.)My handspinning resources all warn that it’s much easier to prevent problems than to try fixing them after the fact. They recommend checking storage bins and storage areas for signs of damage or infestation; vacuuming or otherwise cleaning storage areas; immediately quarantining infested yarn/fiber/knitwear to contain the situation. In other words, constant vigilance!

Out of Storage

When the seasons change, unpack your knits and check (again) for signs of damage. If you need to remove wrinkles or generally freshen them up, use your garment steamer. You shouldn’t need to wash these garments again unless something malodorous happened inside the storage containers. (I’ll leave this part to your imagination.)A closing note: never forget that Mother Nature works by contraries. The day after you wash and store all your warm sweaters, expect a freak snowstorm. A heat wave will occur right after you pack away light summer knits, as surely as night follows day. Fortunately, you should have plenty of clean, appropriate knits ready to rock and roll, no matter what the weather holds!Deb Gerish is the former editor of Love of Knitting Magazine.Originally published May 25, 2017; updated November 19, 2021; updated September 5, 2022.