Cashmere Care 101: Extending the Life of Your Most Precious Sweaters

A well-maintained cashmere sweater can outlast trends, marriages, and even some mortgages. Yet most of us treat these investments with surprising carelessness, tossing them in the wash or hanging them on wire hangers like common cotton.

The Washing Question: Less Is Always More

The first rule of cashmere care maintenance is knowing when not to wash. Cashmere fibres are naturally antimicrobial and odour-resistant, meaning that jumper you wore for four hours at dinner doesn't need immediate laundering. Air it flat on a drying rack overnight instead, allowing any moisture or ambient smells to dissipate. Most cashmere pieces only require washing every five to seven wears, unless you've actually soiled them.

When washing day does arrive, hand washing remains the gold standard. Use cool water (never hot, which causes felting and shrinkage) and a dedicated cashmere shampoo or baby shampoo. The Laundress Wool & Cashmere Shampoo works beautifully and contains natural cedar extract that deters moths. Submerge your piece, gently agitate for two minutes, then let it soak for up to thirty minutes. Skip the wringing entirely. Instead, press the water out gently, then roll the garment in a clean towel to absorb excess moisture.

If you must use a machine, choose the delicate cycle with cold water and place your cashmere in a mesh lingerie bag. Loro Piana actually recommends machine washing on gentle for some of their sportier cashmere pieces, though always check the care label first. Never use fabric softener, which coats fibres and reduces their natural breathability.

Drying and Reshaping: Patience Pays

How you dry cashmere matters as much as how you wash it. Hanging a wet cashmere sweater is the fastest route to misshapen shoulders and a stretched-out body. Always dry flat on a clean towel or mesh drying rack, reshaping the garment to its original dimensions while still damp. This is when you can coax sleeves back to their proper length and ensure the neckline hasn't stretched.

The process takes twelve to twenty-four hours depending on humidity and garment thickness. Resist the urge to speed things along with direct heat or sunlight, both of which can cause discolouration and weaken fibres. If you're short on flat surface space, invest in a stackable sweater drying rack. They're unglamorous but genuinely useful for cashmere care maintenance routines.

Storage: Folded, Protected, and Breathed

Proper storage extends cashmere life significantly. The non-negotiables:

• Always fold, never hang – hangers create shoulder bumps and stretch the knit
• Use breathable cotton storage bags for off-season pieces, not plastic which traps moisture
• Add cedar blocks or lavender sachets to deter moths without chemical mothballs
• Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight
• Give pieces room to breathe – don't compress them under heavy items

Cashmere's natural enemy is the clothes moth, specifically Tineola bisselliella, which feeds on keratin in animal fibres. These creatures prefer dark, undisturbed environments, so regular wardrobe rotation helps. If you're storing pieces for months, check on them periodically and give them a gentle shake.

Pilling: Prevention and Removal

Pilling is inevitable with cashmere, caused by shorter fibres working their way to the surface through friction. Higher-quality cashmere with longer fibres (Brunello Cucinelli sources primarily from Mongolian goats with fibre lengths of 34-36mm) pills less, but no cashmere is completely pill-proof.

Prevent excessive pilling by being mindful of friction points. Avoid wearing the same piece two days consecutively, don't carry bags on the same shoulder constantly, and consider what your cashmere rubs against. That canvas tote or rough denim creates more friction than smooth leather or silk.

When pills appear, resist picking at them, which damages the underlying knit. Instead, use a proper cashmere comb (not a disposable razor) and gently work in one direction. The Gleener fabric shaver offers three different edges for various knit types and genuinely works without thinning the fabric. De-pilling after each wear prevents buildup and keeps your pieces looking fresh.

The Long Game

Thoughtful cashmere care maintenance transforms these pieces from seasonal luxuries into wardrobe anchors that improve with age. The slight softening that occurs over years of proper care creates that coveted lived-in quality that new cashmere simply cannot replicate. Treat your pieces well, and they'll return the favour for decades.