Care · · 6 min read
How to make a sweater last three children
Wool wants less washing than you think, and a torn knee is a twenty-minute problem.
Merino does not need washing after every wear. It needs airing. Hang a sweater somewhere with moving air overnight and most of what you were about to wash out will be gone by morning. When it does need a wash: 30°C, wool cycle, dry flat, never a tumble dryer.
Knees are where children's trousers die, which is why ours are double-layered there. When the outer layer eventually goes, the inner one is still holding the leg together, and a patch takes about twenty minutes with a needle. We would rather you did that than bought another pair.
Pilling is not a defect. It is the short fibres working their way out of a natural yarn, and it stops after the first few wears. A comb takes them off in a minute.