Snow Day Sweater Maintenance

 

Guest room bed / blocking station

Last Wednesday night about 1.5 feet of snow fell on us, our biggest snowfall since 2010. That meant SNOW DAY! Snow days were a lot more exciting when I wasn't home every single day, but still. Since CP was home with us, I decided to use the day for a little sweater maintenance, and washed a bunch of well-loved knits.

This was a little tricky, since our washing machine doesn't allow you to just fill and drain it--my go-to method for soaking sweaters before we moved here. It does have a cycle called something like "extra gentle hand wash," but I just don't trust it.

So I set the machine for the gentlest cycle, but watched it like a hawk, stopping it before agitation started, and then switching to "drain and spin."

This seemed to work well enough, and now all my sweaters are freshened up to wear for the rest of the winter, or for storage.

This is one of the first sweaters I knit, Eunny Jang's Tangled Yoke cardigan. I'd love to do this over someday, with all of the yarn and knitting knowledge I've acquired since. There's nothing really wrong with it, but I think it could be better.

This is another oldie but goodie, one of the few summery knit tops I own, my Lotus Blossom Tank. The yarn, some kind of bamboo blend I don't remember, is holding up fairly well, but it's a rather weighty piece, and stretches out after wearing, so it's not in heavy rotation--too much of a pain to wash it after every use.

Here's the infamous Puff-Sleeved Feminine Cardigan that was nearly a disaster after I ran out of yarn. This one is starting to show some signs of wear, and needs to be de-pilled. This is not a good maternity cardigan, though, so it's going to be put away until the fall.

Another non-maternity sweater that's going to be shelved until next season, my Backward Cable Pullover still looks fresh, despite a little pilling under the arms. This yarn is a silk blend, so it's not too heavy, and I'm looking forward to (hopefully) fitting back into this one.

The last 2 sweaters are pieces from Alana Dakos that I've blogged about relatively recently, both holding up quite well. Twigs and Willows is in heavy use because it's SO warm. Wildflower is more of a spring sweater, and will be a great maternity cardi with the open front.

How are all your winter knits holding up? Any maintenance tips to share?