How to hand wash knitwear

Hand washing good knitwear can seem scary, or a little too much work.
In this video, Simon Crompton of Permanent Style demonstrates that it can be easy, quick and satisfying, and brings the best out of quality jumpers - with the help of Ronnie Chiu from knitwear brand Colhay's.
The video is set in the Permanent Style pop-up between tenant brands, and uses a piece of Colhay's knitwear to show the washing process. Try it yourself.

[@ShellyDub1]

Hello from the U.S. 👋 I do typically follow what you have done, with a few exceptions. 1) I use these wonderful laundry flakes with 4 ingredients, 2) I rinse until my water is clear - using the same method, 3) I don’t worry about spots or stains, except to blot what I can, then wait to wash, which sounds crazy, but different stains & fabrics require different removal methods, 4) I will never go back to any dry cleaner, 5) If I’m trying to dry on a towel, I use a fan or ceiling fan. If it will fit onto a flat rack, that helps. My 100% wool fisherman’s sweaters, and all else, are dry within 24 hours. I will switch towels & positions to prevent mildew. THANK YOU!

[@PermanentStyleLondon]

@@ShellyDub1 Thank you, very interesting

[@emoney2480]

Love these informative videos. Please consider filming a series on home laundering of shirts

[@PermanentStyleLondon]

Sure, will do

[@edwinmaestro9427]

more videos about different knitwear materials 👌👍

[@PermanentStyleLondon]

There's two detailed chapters about that on the PS site if you're interested - this is part of our Guide to Knitwear series that includes them

[@i.o.3563]

Thanks, really nice video.

[@audiophilear698]

thank you for the informative video, would like to see a video on how to wash suits made from pure wool, most sartorial advisors say that dry clean is bad for your suits but there is no alternative being presented to that, brushing is fine for a certain amount of time after which the suit has to go to a dry cleaner.

[@PermanentStyleLondon]

It's frequent dry cleaning that is really bad. If you brush a suit, and occasionally steam or press it to get out bad wrinkles, you should be able to dry clean very infrequently. You certainly shouldn't wash a well-made suit, as it will ruin the interlining. There are videos on this channel showing how to brush and press a suit at home - have a look

[@bartderuyck]

Informative video but the audio quality is a bit poor. Was Ronnie's mic on? There's a lot of echo in his voice and it sounds distant. Also partly due to the room, I suppose. It seems his mic was off and the sound was picked up by your mic, Simon.

[@PermanentStyleLondon]

Yeah, unfortunately it was the background noise from outside - they started building work that morning! Cutting that down affected our sound

[@qarhsi]

Simon, you're missing a pocket square? Nice video, could you also do one that shows us how to wash the yellow collar ring on dress shirts?

[@PermanentStyleLondon]

I rarely wear pocket squares these days to be honest, they seem out of place. There's a whole article on the website about that if you're interested. On yellow stains on collars, the key thing is prevention - use a stain remover on there as soon as you see it starting to develop

[@sonnyngo2371]

Thank you for the video, Simon! Would you treat cashmere knitwear the same way?

[@PermanentStyleLondon]

Yes, exactly the same

[@ManForToday]

Have just tried this step-by-step on a merino/cashmere blend, a fairly thicker knit. There is a kind of mildew smell however, not far from a wet dog (sheep) smell. Is this normal, does it go? Does it need air or what? Hope you can help. Was quite therapeutic but definitely a skill in there!

[@PermanentStyleLondon]

It should be fine, yes. Has it entirely dried out yet? If it hasn't, do that first. If it has, try airing it outside or put some steam through it with an iron (hanging the knit on a hanger)

[@ManForToday]

@@PermanentStyleLondon Will let it dry completely first and give that a try - thanks so much Simon!

[@PermanentStyleLondon]

No problem at all @@ManForToday

[@jac627]

Was that rinse thorough enough, and is it OK to leave so much detergent/soap in the garment before rolling it?

[@PermanentStyleLondon]

It was enough, yes. There wasn't really any detergent left once the knit had been washed in clean water

[@ManForToday]

Would leaving it to dry on a maiden cause any distortion? And does it matter so much if it was placed not very far away from a radiator (not on it)?

[@PermanentStyleLondon]

A maiden should be fine as long as you can avoid the sleeves or particularly the body hanging down. Also keep away from a radiator

[@ManForToday]

@@PermanentStyleLondon Thanks Simon

[@VanderWolls]

I remember you have an older video where you discussed the same topic with Anderson and Sheppard, where you presented putting knitwear inside of a laundry bag or pillowcase and bunging it in the washing machine on a spin cycle. Is this still something you think is fine? I've done it once or twice and I don't think there's been any problems.

[@PermanentStyleLondon]

Yes, that was giving advice on ways to mitigate the risk of using a machine. It's hard because there is always a little risk, but perhaps more importantly a hand wash will always be better for the best quality knitwear in the long run - a machine won't ruin it often, but it won't care for it quite as well either. There's a decent gap between the two

[@marc-antoinefiset8321]

In this older video, it is suggested to wash sweaters every half a dozen wears or so. This clashes with the advice here (twice a year). What is your preference?

[@PermanentStyleLondon]

@@marc-antoinefiset8321 It depends how much you wear a piece, how sweaty you are (sorry to be indelicate) and so on. I'd say err towards twice a year, but can be more frequent depending on those points

[@normanwebb5366]

Can you wash cashmere knitwear in the same way, please?

[@PermanentStyleLondon]

Yes, absolutely

[@Test-id6ns]

1- Is there a legitimate reason to wash knitwear besides it getting dirty? 2-Could you shed some light on to how to handle stains on the knitwear (which would be the main reason for me to wash one)

[@PermanentStyleLondon]

1 - yes there is, as explained in the video, the initial wash settles the fibres. Others help keep those fibres lined up and ordered too. 2 - that's a bigger topic as it depends on the stain (water based, oil based etc). But the first thing to try with wool is simply soaking the area for a few seconds, in warm water, and see how it responds. Some stains almost just float away - it's so much easier than cotton or synthetics

[@crackhead187]

Isn't most wool clothing, dry clean only?

[@PermanentStyleLondon]

Absolutely not. Wool knitwear can nearly always be washed by hand - and it's much better for it as well

[@crackhead187]

@@PermanentStyleLondon so if it's pure wool knitwear then ignore the label?

[@PermanentStyleLondon]

@@crackhead187 If it's pure wool then yes hand washing should be possible and also better for it. Care labels always err on the side of caution to avoid responsibility. However, if you want to be sure then ask the brand - usually they'll say hand washing is fine

[@TheTerryE]

This is why I have a valet.

[@PermanentStyleLondon]

Lucky thing