Cashmere Sweater Hierarchy

[Johnny80]

I’ve messaged them, I’ll see what they say.

Could it be due to the jacket I wear? I usually wear it with a windbreaker(since I walk) with a polyester lining.

From my point of view, this can be due to a garment made from a short fiber/yarn...
Let us know what they have to say...but i expect something like "its normal for the garment to pill in the beginning etc etc" I hope you explain to them all what happened

 

[Goofy]

I’ve messaged them, I’ll see what they say.

Could it be due to the jacket I wear? I usually wear it with a windbreaker(since I walk) with a polyester lining.

Did you include the picture you posted here in your correspondence with JoE? If not, I’d recommend you do so. A picture is worth a thousand words, and that picture clearly shows the extent of pilling. I’d go as far as to claim the product is faulty and request a refund after returning it.

No knitwear, but I have a JoE scarf that looks like new after several wears.

 

[dan'l]

I’ve messaged them, I’ll see what they say.

Could it be due to the jacket I wear? I usually wear it with a windbreaker(since I walk) with a polyester lining.

Does your windbreaker have a care tag or similar on the inside? I noticed that when one of those rubs on my pullover, it creates wear in that spot which leads to piling.

Judging by the pic you posted, I would suspect that on the inside of your windbreaker there is a tag in that general location (on the inside, side seam) like this:

 

[PairOfDerby's]

I have 6 Johnstons of Elgin. 1 was from Private White VC, 1 from Sunspel, 1 from Ralph Lauren and 3 Johnstons from a local menswear store. Non of them pill after several wears and a couple of washes. The 3 plys pilled a little to start with and the 2 plys hardly pilled at all. The worst sweater I have had for pilling is a RL made in china. It pilled a lot for the first year with many many times wearing it. Now I never see a single pill on it. I read somewhere to never wear cashmere under a jacket / coat with a lining made of man made fabric.

 

[AAE]

Does your windbreaker have a care tag or similar on the inside? I noticed that when one of those rubs on my pullover, it creates wear in that spot which leads to piling.

Judging by the pic you posted, I would suspect that on the inside of your windbreaker there is a tag in that general location (on the inside, side seam) like this:

View attachment 1739267

Yes, there is a tag like that on the left side. The right side of the sweater is where the pilling is. There is also a larger patch showing/explaining the materials used(coincidentally same place where the heavy pilling is taking place..). Initially I didn’t think that would cause pilling but maybe that is the reason.

In any case, surely it shouldn’t pill this bad though?

I will check my navy roll neck(I don’t think I wore it with that particular windbreaker). So after checking it, I’ve worn this once or twice(not with the windbreaker):

 

[dan'l]

Yes, there is a tag like that on the left side. The right side of the sweater is where the pilling is. There is also a larger patch showing/explaining the materials used(coincidentally same place where the heavy pilling is taking place..). Initially I didn’t think that would cause pilling but maybe that is the reason.

In any case, surely it shouldn’t pill this bad though?

I will check my navy roll neck(I don’t think I wore it with that particular windbreaker). So after checking it, I’ve worn this once or twice(not with the windbreaker):

View attachment 1739280

Yeah, a good quality sweater shouldn’t pile so much. In my personal experience, the areas that pile tend to be the ones with wear or rubbing, like on the sides or armpits/under sleeves. I also get them at times at chest level and they tend to correspond with an internal breast pocket I have on my windbreakers.

 

[double00]

while i don't regard pilling as a *flaw* of yarn or knit-craft this convo is interesting , here are a few thoughts :

- a combed prep is going to offer a more uniform ( and longer ) staple length of fiber and will also groom the resulting yarn as more closely worsted than woolen . in general i would expect this to counter teased ends and flyaway from self-drafting into pills

- in a knit , plied yarn will have more integrity than a single and imho yields a better bias .

- jersey is a terribly exposed pattern there is a *lot* of surface , while ribbing ( or any other more dimensional pattern ) will tend to self protect

- depending on how a knit is finished i'd consider washing it prior to wear , for 2 reasons : the first is to remove any leftover oil or grease which will abet pill drafting , the second is to encourage the yarn to full a bit and lock itself up locally . when we wear knits this happens anyways but in a wash everything gets * seated * uniformly and doesn't implicate the yarn so much . i'd rather have the process happen off-mannequin so to speak .

also worth remembering we're talking natural fibers here , there is an attendant spectrum of product

 

[Johnny80]

I’ve messaged them, I’ll see what they say.

What they had to say? In general they respond in 24hours

 

[breakaway01]

- depending on how a knit is finished i'd consider washing it prior to wear , for 2 reasons : the first is to remove any leftover oil or grease which will abet pill drafting , the second is to encourage the yarn to full a bit and lock itself up locally . when we wear knits this happens anyways but in a wash everything gets * seated * uniformly and doesn't implicate the yarn so much .

Curious—you clearly know a lot about knitwear. Is this something that is generally known/believed in the industry or your personal opinion? Do any makers routinely wash their knitwear to reduce pilling?

 

[JamaisAssez]

Why does good knitwear pill?

In the case of JOHNSTONS OF ELGIN, I don't believe the pilling is due to over finishing or their washing processes at the time of manufacture.

I would recommend the handwash-soak-lay flat dry method mentioned in the article to help with pilling. Handwashing helps lock in the fibers and prevent further pilling.

 

[JamaisAssez]

No knitwear, but I have a JoE scarf that looks like new after several wears.

I can attest to this as well. My Burberry check scarf - made by JOHNSTONS OF ELGIN - looks brand new after a decade, with regular wear every year from Fall through to Spring.

 

[JamaisAssez]

Inside the cashmere mill of Johnstons of Elgin

Lots of influencer fluff, but also offers an insight into the raw materials and their processes.

 

[reidd]

Curious—you clearly know a lot about knitwear. Is this something that is generally known/believed in the industry or your personal opinion? Do any makers routinely wash their knitwear to reduce pilling?

Pretty much all knitwear is washed and in some cases pretty aggressively "scoured" after manufacturing to remove these oils which are either inherent to the natural fiber (lanolin in the case of wool), or those which are purposefully applied to synthetic fiber (this is called sizing) to lubricate it to run through the machines better.

 

[breakaway01]

I would recommend the handwash-soak-lay flat dry method mentioned in the article to help with pilling. Handwashing helps lock in the fibers and prevent further pilling.

Pretty much all knitwear is washed and in some cases pretty aggressively "scoured" after manufacturing to remove these oils which are either inherent to the natural fiber (lanolin in the case of wool), or those which are purposefully applied to synthetic fiber (this is called sizing) to lubricate it to run through the machines better.

So if manufacturers all wash their knitwear then what is the additional benefit of washing yourself to prevent pilling?

 

[reidd]

So if manufacturers all wash their knitwear then what is the additional benefit of washing yourself to prevent pilling?

Personally, I have tried washing sweaters myself to "prevent pilling" and I have never found it to make any difference. So in my opinion, there is no benefit. Others may disagree.

Pilling happens primarily because the fibers are too short and after they are spun into yarn and worn, they begin falling out of the yarns and accumulating as little pills on the surface of the garment. This can also happen if the yarn or finished garment is "over processed" which is basically washing it too aggressively which causes fibers in the yarn to break which also causes them to fall out and accumulate on the garment. Basically, longer staple cashmere or wool fibers will resist pilling the best. Cheap, short staple fibers will pill more. Other factors in the spinning and finishing process have some effect as well but the quality (length) of the raw fiber is the most important.