Two sweaters, different brands, both around 70% merino. Both developed dense pilling under the arms and along the sides where my bag strap sits, within about four wears. Rest of the sweater is smooth. I hand wash cold and dry flat. Is this just what happens with merino at this price or is there something in my routine causing it?
The bag strap line is the tell. Switch to a bag you carry in hand or a wide flat strap for the days you wear knitwear. I lost two good sweaters to a thin crossbody before that clicked.
One thing to check: are you washing them inside a mesh bag or loose in the sink? Loose in a sink with agitation is closer to machine washing than people think. Also skip fabric softener entirely on wool — it coats the fibre and makes surface fuzz worse.
No softener, but I definitely swish it around a fair bit. Will try just letting it soak.
Slightly contrary view — 70% merino means 30% something else, and if that's nylon it should be more pill resistant, but if it's viscose or acrylic it'll be worse. Check the label. Acrylic pills form hard little beads that don't shed, which is why they look so bad so fast.
Cheap fabric shaver from any supermarket, £8ish, has saved more of my knitwear than anything else I own. Do it in daylight near a window so you can see what you're doing.
@merino_max · 2mo ago · 3 replies
Pilling is friction, not washing, and it shows up exactly where two surfaces rub — underarms, sides, seatbelt line, bag strap. Your routine is fine. What's actually driving it is fibre length: cheaper merino is spun from short staple, and short fibre ends work loose and tangle. A sweater at three times the price with the same fibre content can pill dramatically less because the yarn is combed longer staple.
Practical fixes:
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@merino_max · 2mo ago
It slows a lot. The first crop of pills is the short ends near the surface; once those are gone the remaining fibre is anchored in the twist. Shave conservatively — light passes, don't press — and it'll stop being a weekly job after a couple of rounds.
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@tidy_tuesday_max · 2mo ago
So the pilling actually stops at some point? I assumed shaving would just thin the sweater out over time.
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