Cashmere pilling
I'm new to wool garments this past year
I wonder how you guys handle pilling. I used my beard trimmer to shave some pilled parts off a beloved sweater just now - it seems fine to me, but i worry it might be risky to keep doing. Is a cashmere comb any better? I assume you're just removing excess fabric in any case and there's no real way to reintegrate it. So is the best strategy just to only remove the fuzz when it's very noticeable?
6 Replies
you cant reintegrate it you are right. trimmer or a comb or a stone are the classic options. a stone or a comb is less likely to catch another bit of fabric,but if you are using a guard it might be fine
id just get a comb or a stone personally, but im fairly clumsy
the beard trimmer i have is electric, seems it doesn't operate by directly cutting, like, it can still get a lot of pill without pressing at all. Perhaps i should check a comb too
Most cashmere garments do pill a lot. Apparently cashmere garments made from very long staple yarn (that therefore pill less) do exist but from what I understand they're very expensive. I tend to stick with sturdier lambswool stuff for that reason (cheaper and less fussy). Stone/comb/razor will probably be fastest but if you really want to avoid damaging the sweater or removing excess yarn, I'd cut the pills off very carefully with thread cutters or embroidery scissors. Or pull them off with your fingers. Takes ages but it's how some knitters I know look after their prized garments haha
You think it's better to do actively? Or only very sporadically?
I'd say do it when it bothers you
agree with wonky: with the garments I've knit, i cut pills individually to keep the garment from getting damaged over time
I use a fabric shaver. Works pretty well for me on anything that pills