Fine knits
Cashmere pilling: why it happens and how to shave it safely
New cashmere pills within a few wears, and owners take it personally. It is the fiber behaving as it should. Here is what is happening and how to handle it with a light hand.
Pilling is not a quality verdict
Cashmere is a short, fine fiber, and short fibers work loose more easily than long ones. The first few wears release the shortest strands, they rub into small soft pills, and then the knit settles down. A heavily pilled new sweater usually just has more short fiber at the surface; a sweater that keeps pilling for years was spun from shorter fiber. Either way, nothing underneath is damaged.
The first three wears
Wear it, rest it a day, wear it again. Pills appear under the arms and along the sides where a bag or a coat rubs. Do not shave after the first wear; let the loose fiber come up over two or three, then take it all off at once. You will remove less and the surface will stay denser.
Shaving cashmere with the compact
Use the compact shaver with the height cover raised to its highest setting, which keeps the blade furthest from the knit. Lay the sweater flat, start on an inside hem, and let the shaver rest under its own weight in slow circles. The honeycomb guard takes the pills that stand up and leaves the fiber that lies flat. Stop as soon as the surface looks even; one pass is usually enough.
We would not take the large head to a thin cashmere pullover. Its mesh is made for weight and surface area, and a fine knit wants the compact's adjustable cover. The large head belongs on a cashmere throw, which is thicker and flat on a bed.
Washing and resting
Wash cold by hand or on a wool cycle, lay flat to dry, and never hang a wet cashmere sweater. Washing lifts the loose fiber to the surface, so shave after the sweater is dry, not before. Fold it with a day of rest between wears and the pilling slows to almost nothing by the end of the first season.
What to avoid
Razors, which have no guard. Pressure of any kind. Shaving over seams, ribbing and the neckline, where the knit is stretched. And shaving the same patch twice in one session; if pills remain, the blade is tired or the container is full. Our note on pilling, fabric by fabric covers the neighbors of cashmere: merino, blends and fine lambswool.
