KNITWEAR

All of our knitwear is hand-framed in either 4-ply cashmere or 4-ply cotton. When looked after, jumpers in either material can last decades. Below are a few of the ways you can help prolong their life.

WASHING

For cashmere and cotton, the best way to wash a jumper is by hand. Though the process is slow, it can also be relaxing!

The best way to go about a hand-wash is as follows:

I. Preparation. Draw a basin of lukewarm water, and mix in a small amount of soap. Baby shampoo or wool wash products are also good, as they are low in chemicals. Do not use fabric softener, as it will stiffen the fibres.

II. Washing. Turn your jumper inside out (to protect its surface) and submerge it in the water. Leave it to sit for a few minutes, then slowly start to massage the water into the jumper with your hands.

III. Rinsing. Rinse the jumper slightly by hand, then bag it and place on a spin-cycle in a washing machine. If a machine is not to hand, an alternative is to roll the jumper up in a towel.

IV. Drying. Spread the jumper out flat, with no weight on it, so that it dries evenly, and doesn’t lose its shape. Then leave in a warm room overnight with fresh air. Do not leave on a radiator. If the jumper has persistent creases after drying, use a steamer to flatten, or if persistent a steam iron, though make sure to press with a scrap piece of cloth between the iron and the jumper for protection.

If hand-washing is too time-consuming, a cold-cycle inside a bag is low-risk for cashmere pieces, though slightly riskier for cotton. If machine-washed follow the same steps as above for rinsing (III) and drying (IV).

Dry-cleaning in place if either a machine or hand-wash is also fine.

PILLING

Pilling - when the surface of the jumper forms into bobbles - is caused by loose fibres twisting together and rise from the bed of the jumper. It is not a sign of poor quality, but is the inevitable by-product of using all-natural, and untreated, yarn. This is especially true of pure cashmere.

A pure, unblended, cashmere jumper, will shed a first layer of pilling soon after you start wearing it. A wash will help get rid of much of this, and regular washing should keep bad pilling at bay thereafter, as the wash helps realign the fibres, and bunch them back together.

If you do want to remove pilling manually, there are specialist de-pilling devices and cashmere combs for the task, but a simple nail file or Emery Board also work very well, and should scrape off the loose fibres effectively.

STORAGE

When storing your jumpers, try always to fold them rather than hanging them, as hung up they may stretch and lose shape over time.

Folding and storing with as much space as possible will also help with piling, to which abrasion is a contributor.

SHIRTWEAR

All of our shirts are hand-sewn in only natural fibres - cotton, cotton voile, silk, linen etc. Some are more robust than others, so care should be weighed vs. fibre.

WASHING

Like knitwear, shirts are best washed via hand-wash for longevity, due to the relatively lower stress on the fibres. However, different materials will react differently, as set out below:

Cotton - Hand wash, dry-clean, machine wash on cold or lukewarm cycle.

Voile cotton - Hand wash or dry clean only.

Silk - Hand wash or dry clean only.

Linen - Hand wash, dry clean, machine wash on cold or lukewarm cycle.

A hand-wash should follow the same steps as for knitwear, with the caveat that shirts can be dried hanging as well as flat.