Have You Put Your Sweaters Away for the Season?

My guess would be that for most people in the Northern Hemisphere, we are coming out of sweater season. Through the cold weather I don’t wash my sweaters every time I wear them (because they don’t need it) but it’s always a good idea to make sure everything is clean before you store them away for months. Sweat and skin particles on your sweaters can attract bugs, and it’s just nice to know when sweater season comes around again that everything is fresh and clean.

If you happen to have a top-loading washing machine, it’s actually really easy to bulk wash your handknit (or storebought but in need of hand washing) sweaters. Hunter Hammersen has a very detailed description of how she does this on her Patreon (you can view it even if you are not a supporter). I think this is brilliant, and if I still had a machine like this I would definitely do it this way.

I don’t though, so I use buckets. I have a bunch of five gallon buckets, though I still tend to only wash one sweater at a time. I fill them with lukewarm water and a couple of pumps of baby shampoo (if it’s good enough for human hair it’s good enough for sheep hair). Then I add the sweater and let it sit 20 minutes or so.

I drain the water and rinse in the sink, then press out as much water as I can by hand and then by rolling the sweater in a towel.

I have enough drying racks that I can wash four or five sweaters in a day, so working around drying times and when I need my dining room table, it takes a few weeks to clean everything at the end of the season. But it’s really satisfying when you know everything is clean.

Do you have a system for washing sweaters and other cold-weather stuff at the end of the season? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo: Hunter Hammersen.]

Next Pattern:

I know that my posts can be read at different times of year and in different years by different people, but as I write this we’re on teh cusp of summer. And I know a lot of people don’t knit as much, and certainly don’t wear a lot of knits in the summer, but I want to encourage you to make and to wear your makes no matter the temperature.

To introduce you to the joys of summer garment knitting, I offer the Tied Vest from Lion Brand Yarn.

This easy project is great to make and wear throughout the year but it’s especially good for summer. It’s worked flat in one piece from the bottom up, mostly in stockinette stitch with a seed stitch edging. The I-cord ties are worked directly onto the garment so you don’t have to sew them on.

The project uses worsted weight yarn, and calls for a blend of cotton and hemp that’s great for warm weather.

There are eight size options, ranging from a finished chest measurement of 35 to 62.5 inches, or 89 to 159 cm. That makes it sound like it should be worn with at least a few inches of positive ease, but the pattern doesn’t specify.

The ties at the front give it a casual look and make it great to wear over a tank top or T-shirt when the weather is warm.

I also think this one would be good to knit in wool or a warmer fiber, too, to make a version you could wear more comfortably in the winter months, too. Though of course you could layer the summer version over a long-sleeved shirt and wear it throughout the year, too.

The tied vest is a free pattern available from Lion Brand. You can also purchase a kit that includes the yarn and optional needles and stitch markers if you need them.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

Knit an Easy Hooded Vest

Knit Vests to Help Transition to Warmer Weather

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