How do you keep your knits looking nice? I like to wear my sweaters a lot, and they always seem to look not very nice (worn and old) before very long. Some people manage to keep their knits looking lovely for years.
How do you do that?
Jenn
OK, this may seem like a labor-intensive way to keep your sweaters looking lovely, but for me, my scheme is to have a lot of sweaters. When you have a bunch of sweaters, none of them gets worn all the time, so they all stay better looking longer.
Iām pretty weird about knitting sweaters. I knit them because I like to knit them. Itās not really about needing to augment my wardrobeāitās about GAH THATāS PRETTY and I LOVE THAT YOKE. Thatās a recipe for ending up with a jillion sweaters.
I do think that a soak in a wool wash gives new life to a sweater that seems tired. And depilling with that Lilly SOS brush will make a pilled-up sweater look better.
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OMG that brush is Awesome!!! (if it really works that well) And her Be Forever Furless. I canāt decide if I need just the one or both?! Anyone have experience with either of these brushes? Ann you have a kitty-Kermitšø Have you used the BFF brush?
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Ann, do you prefer that one to other de-fuzzers, or did you come to a full stop once you discovered that one? I have a Gleener (non-Amazon link), which is great, but I like to have ALL the tools.
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Oh no, this looks awesome too!! Decisions decisions;) Do you know if it removes fine cat hair in knit fabric too? Or just pills?
Thank you Ann 
I do have only a small number of sweaters (3 that fit at the moment), so that may be part of the problemā¦ will look to rectify that next year.
I have a co-worker whose sweaters always look like newā¦ I may have to approach her as well
Jenn
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A Gleener has magic de-pilling properties, and a lint brush end. Alas, I donāt live with a kitty so I canāt speak to the hair management question. Perhaps I can convince the husband for the purpose of finding out . . . for science!
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Thank you Julia. And yes, you absolutely need a kitty to research this topicš» Theyāre great for blocking your knits too! (Hence the question about cat hair on knits:) )
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I have a greener too (actually two). Very useful.
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It works pretty well on dog hair. I realize not exactly the same, but similarly omnipresent.
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Thanks much for your endorsement!
Sounds good, Iāll try itš
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Tell me more! Does it work on amorous golden retriever fur???
I just finished a large black cardigan for my large son. There is so much dog on this thing!
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I donāt own either of these tools; Lilly SOS brush and Gleener (see Ann & Juliaās posts above). Iām looking to get one, something that de-pills and removes fine cat hair. Sabograd reports that Gleener has a lint brush at 1 end that works for dog hair. Google Gleener and read about it! I did
My dogs are short haired, but our bully sheds a lot (and is almost 5he color of a golden), but I canāt really vouch for that.
So I ordered the Gleener, it arrived today, and Wow!! It really works on fuzz balls/fabric pillsš I highly recommend it
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Glad to hear it. I always worry a bit when people take my recommendations as expectations can be so different.
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Well, how do you define āniceā, to begin with? As I type this, Iām wearing an Aran pullover I made about 40 years ago. I just put a patch on it this past week, I love it and canāt imagine not having it in the lineup. I have more ābeautiful ā hand knits and I love and wear them, too, itās all about how you want to wear your things. Treat them nicely, wear them with pride, and enjoy them all. Wear what you make!
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Iām thinking of how structure and fibre affect sweater life, and since no one seems to have answered along these linesā¦ Sweaters I knitted to a looser gauge havenāt held their shape as well as I would have liked. Sweaters I made in wool seem to have lasted better than other fibres and than some mixed fibres. Cotton has had a shorter life and has often shrunk for no good reason, and itās colour hasnāt been as stable. Sweaters that are multicoloured (fair isle, intarsia) have consistently lasted longer. Oddly, I notice that some sweaters with set-in sleeves donāt hold their shape as well as others ā Iām thinking they may have been poor fits from the start. Yarns with more plies seem to look better for longer. And lastly, sweaters with loose stitches vulnerable to cat claws look ratty quickly in my house! Hope this helps.
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Interesting. I might only add that mercerized cotton holds color pretty well for me. Otherwise I tend to agree with the whole assessment.
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I havenāt used much mercerised cotton and you have just given me great reasons to seek it out! Thank you.
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