It’s October, the days are getting cooler (well, some of them are) and it’s time to spring our sweaters from their summer slumber. Sometimes, no matter how meticulously you packed your sweaters away and protected them, they still end up with little holes, which of course you don’t notice until you put them on. Today’s post is about mitigating the damage that’s already been done.

1. Inspect

As soon as you spring your sweater from storage prison give it a good inspection. In a well lit room give it the once over, hold it up to the light to check for holes or weak spots. If you find any immediately put a pin in the hole to keep it from growing, or temporarily sew it up with some contrasting coloured sewing thread.

DO NOT WASH your sweater until you have permanently mended the holes! If you do, the holes will get bigger, and be much harder to repair.

2. Shave

Now is a good time to remove any pilling or fuzz from the surface of your sweater. As you go pay close attention to the surface of the textile and look for more problem spots.

I love my new Gleener, it’s proven to be a great little gadget (and it’s Canadian)! They come with 3 different heads to accommodate different textiles. Above is my very fine store bought cashmere  sweater, on which I used the gentlest head. If you aren’t sure which head to use just start with the gentlest and move up. Be sue to read the instructions that come with your Gleener, or you can download them from the Gleener website.

3. Secure & Repair

Secure your holes! While Gleening I found one in my cashmere sweater and temporarily secured it with a pin. As soon as possible mend the holes; small ones are easy to fix almost invisibly, but larger ones will cause drama and tears.

I generally sew up little holes with matching sewing thread. (Whenever you are at a dollar store and see a set of tiny little sewing thread spools in a pile of colours GET IT! They are an excellent and cheap source multiple colours of thread, which come in extremely handy when making repairs.) If the holes are larger you may need toe fix them with left-over yarn from the project ….. but that kind of mending is a whole other blog post.

Now, once mended, if you want to wash your sweater, go for it. I suggest using either Eucalan or Soak delicate wash, both are excellent products, are Made in Canada, and you don’t need to rinse them out.

Now you are ready for fall!