A close shave

Okay, this is going to sound like an infomercial. I was very disappointed when a lovely woollen pullover pilled almost the instant I put it on. It quickly became so lumpy that I wore it only around the house and was tempted to discard it entirely. Then, in the weekend, I bought a fabric shaver and the results are miraculous! To me, anyway. I’ve tried other fabric shavers which have been a lot of hard work for little result. My sister-in-law has a scary story about a shaved jumper which ended up full of holes! After much trepidation, I was very relieved that the new shaver did what it is supposed to do – and is easy to use and rechargeable. Today, I wore my pullover when I went out as it is almost as good as new.

The pilling experience makes me wary of imported woollen clothing. This pullover is from a reputable brand (Seasalt Cornwall) from a reputable shop (Ballantynes) which made it all the more disappointing. The fabric shaver has saved the day – and since I’m mentioning brands, it’s a Russell Hobbs.

The New Zealand-made woollens I usually buy do not pill very much, if at all – especially the high quality woollens from Untouched World. When our jumpers were hand-knitted by our mothers and aunts there was no such thing as pilling!

The care label on the blue pullover says ‘due to the natural characteristics of the yarn some pilling may occur‘ (my italics). I would replace the word ‘some’ with ‘total’ – and I did follow the washing instructions (gentle hand washing in wool detergent). Yet it is 46% wool, 41% recycled nylon and 3% elastane – not entirely natural yarn. Still, let’s hope I don’t have to shave it too often, although even from today’s wear I can see some pilling again. The label describes it as a ‘Cloud Chasing Jumper’. Maybe it’s meant to be lumpy, like clouds.