Sweaters and knit fabrics tend to develop pills and fuzz. Knits are garments like hoodies, sweatshirts, T shirts, leggings and more. As the garment is rubbed, stretched and moved around while being worn and washed part of the outer yarn fibers break resulting is fuzz. The fuzz can then tangle into small balls called pills.
Some knits are more durable than others, but eventually fuzz and pills will likely show up. However, there are steps you can take to extend the wear of your garments. The first step is to minimize the formation of fuzz and pills.
Before you even buy the garment look for quality, especially if it’s something you will be wearing often. Does it have fuzz already? How does it look on the inside? Does it feel durable or delicate? Read the care instructions; will you be able to wash and dry it as instructed? It’s impossible to really know for sure how durable a knit is when you buy, but taking a close look can help.
Once you own the garment you can minimize fuzz and pills by following the 
care instructions on the label of your garment. If it says hand wash you need to hand wash it otherwise you will get fuzz and pills. Even details like “cold water” or “tumble dry low” make a difference. If you are ever buying a washing machine, check out front loading washers because they are gentile on clothes, clean them better and use less water.
Even though you follow the washing instructions, some garments will still show wear too quickly. Try an even more gentile washing and drying process: wash and dry it inside out, put it in a sweater bag and wash it, hand wash it, let it air dry. A sweater bag is a mesh bag made for washing delicate items in a washing machine. It protects the item yet lets the soap and water through. (Sweater bags are coming to our store as new item this month)
You are off to a good start! As you wear your garment it may still eventually show fuzz and pills. Fuzz and pills can be removed since they are only part of the yarn forming the knit garment (in most cases) your garment will remain intact for a long time. There are fuzz shaves on the market, but I’ve found the sweater brick (also called sweater stone) to be the most effective. The rough surface of this stone grabs the fuzz and pills and removes them from the knit garment. Our sweater brick was featured on the Today Show watch the video to see a demonstration. We’ve stocked it in our shop for over 5 years now, buy a sweater brick today.
