How to wash your wool sweater

Keeping your cosies clean.

Since around 10,000 BCE, our species has been utilising the wondrous properties of wool. Primitive humans occupying the Mesopotamian Plain are reported to have used sheep for all their basic needs – like food, warmth and cover. As the human species developed, they learnt how to spin and weave the soft fibres, and the Persians, Romans and Greeks distributed the woollen wares through Europe.

Over 12,000 years of washing, weaving and wearing wool and a lot of us still don’t know how to care for it. And that’s okay! Without the proper knowledge, it can be a tricky textile to care for. In the last few years alone, I’ve felted an expensive scarf, picked enough pilling off my jumper to knit a whole new one and shrunk a variety of garments down to hamster-appropriate size.

Discover more up-and-coming local designers in our Fashion section. 

Here’s a scenario: you’ve just purchased a simply stunning merino knit sweater after mulling over the purchase for a little while. It’s finally arrived. You pull the soft, hand-knitted turtleneck over your head, letting its warmth envelop you (I’m picturing a Frisson Knits sweater, for context). Reaching for your big glass of cranberry juice (maybe you have a UTI?), your hand slips, spilling the vibrant pinky-red liquid down the front of your Frisson. It’s a disaster! Pure chaos.

How to wash your wool

Never fear! You have this handy guide to bring your merino back to life. As the Woolmark website explains, “Washing wool is easy. Wool is naturally stain-resistant, odour-resistant and also crease-resistant, so actually requires less washing”. This means you don’t have to clean your sweater often, just when you feel it needs a freshen up (or when you’ve spilt cranberry juice on it). In this instance, your jumper likely won’t stain – as long as you get it in the wash quickly.

Merino wool is both luxurious and resilient, a combination I wish I possessed. We can’t have it all. To start the washing process, check your garment’s care instructions. If you’re lucky, you can follow the recommended steps, turn your sweater inside-out, pop in some specialised detergent and wash on a gentle wool setting.

Unfortunately, if you’ve splurged on merino it’s likely you’ll need to hand wash. It’s more tedious, but always worth it. Just fill a clean basin with lukewarm (not hot, otherwise you will felt your garment), soak it in specialised detergent for 10-ish minutes, rinse with lukewarm water and follow with a final cold wash.

Drying right

Unless your sweater’s care instructions definitely state it can be tumble dried, you’ll need to dry your garment flat. Woolmark recommends you place the sweater over a lint-free, light-coloured towel, preferably on an elevated surface (like a fold-out clothesline). You want to kind of mould the sweater – gently – into its original size and shape using your hands.

If you leave your wet garment to dry on a hanger, it’s likely the water weight will cause it to droop and stretch out. So allow it to air dry on your flat surface and remember – patience is key. It’ll probably take a day or so (depending on the weather) to completely dry, but you’ll be left with a sparkling, juice-free knit.

For more on wool care, head here.