Pilling advice please

Yarn Talk
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I want a sweater to pull on everyday that does not pill. I am too old to be de-pilling all the time.

I am looking for kind knitters to chime in on this.

What wool content should I be looking for?

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I am no expert but in my experience worsted spun pills less than woolen spun, gauge may be a factor, and blends with silk or nylon may pill less.

Really looking forward to following this discussion.

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I think I remember that wool that has long fibers is less likely to pill. Does anyone know about that?

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I would like to know more about this, too.

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I think there are loads of us wishing for more information regarding (the avoidance of) pilling.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could read wise words from Jillian or Patty or Jen - or any other informed contributors?

Ann? Kay? Might you look into this for us?

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Clara Parks wrote a column about pilling a few years ago. I’m too brain dead tonight to figure out how to link to it, but if you go to MDK main page and search on ‘pilling’ it will come right up.

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Here is that article.

I agree with @sabograd that knitting at a firmish gauge is helpful and that worsted vs woolen spun is also something to consider.

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I find that Blue Faced Leicester is resistant to pilling due to its long staple length
I have just bought some BFL 2/6 from Jaggerspun and it beautiful!
I also find that yarns with a small percentage of mohair are also more resistant to pilling , Brown sheep is one example
I have knitted lots of garments in Lettlopi and find that it wears well, it becomes quite soft with washing and if a few pills develop over the years, they are easily removed
I have a sweater that I pull on at home that has never pilled, it is made from 2 strands of la gran mohair held together using size 17 needles, very warm and light
Life is too short to knit with yarns that pill😂

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Thanks for sharing your experience with yarns that are resistant to pilling. Very helpful.

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Also, if you already have knit the sweater, I find my battery operated sweater shaver is very useful to remove pills. There’s several listed on Amazon, mine is the Conair. And MDK sells the Lilly Brush for the same task.

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