How to Deal with Clothes Moths in Your Stash

It’s probably a nightmare of every crafty person who uses a lot of wool and natural fibers: a moth infestation.

Haley at the Zen of Making recently suffered through such an infestation, which caused the loss of a big chunk of her yarn, fabric and felt stashes and the necessity of cleaning her apartment from top to bottom to ensure that all the moth larvae were taken care of.

It’s a harrowing tale, but she’s very specific in talking about exactly what you need to do to stop moths that have invaded your home. She talks about what to do with yarn skeins, knit and crocheted items, fabric, clothing, bedding, furniture, rugs and more.

Vinegar, a vacuum, a good washing machine and lots of time are the tools you will need to win this battle. The knowledge that moths don’t care if your house is clean or dirty may also help.

Let’s hope this is not a problem you ever have to face, but if you do, you’ll want to have this guide at the ready. Thanks for sharing, Haley!

Have you ever dealt with moths? I’d love to hear if you have any tips to add.

[Photo via the Zen of Making.]

Next Pattern:

I’ve shared a lot of Christmas stocking knitting patterns over the years (see posts 1, 2, 3 for example) but what if you want to knit a stocking for a non-human member of your family. If you’re looking for Christmas stocking knitting patterns for your cats or dogs, this is the post for you.

These large paw print stockings are perfect for either dogs or cats, so they’re great to knit if you have both. They are worked in the round using DK weight yarn, and the stocking measures about 17 inches/43 cm from the top to the heel. You can get the pattern from nicolaluke.

The K4 Project has a super cute Kitty Christmas stocking pattern, which is worked in worsted weight yarn. They also have a dog version, or you can buy both and get a discount if you have both dogs and cats to knit for. Both projects have two patterns, showing how to work the stockings flat or in the round.

Put your dog into a Christmas scene with this stocking pattern from ifanhourChild. It shows a dog in a dog house in the snow, and has room for the dog’s name at the top. It’s worked flat using worsted weight yarn and the pattern includes charts for many small and medium dog breeds (there’s a separate listing for bigger dogs) so you can stitch a dog that looks like yours.

Annie’s Woolens has both dog and cat stocking knitting patterns that are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. You can change up the colors to suit your pet if you want, and they come with an alphabet chart for personalization. Or you can stick with holiday colors and buy a kit to make the dog or cat stocking.

Waiting for Santa Paws is a pattern from Kate Agner on Ravelry that would be cute for a dog or a cat. It looks like a leg with a paw print on the bottom part of the foot and more paw prints running around the top of the leg. This is a great option if you don’t want to mess with a heel turn because it doesn’t have a heel, because dogs and cats don’t have heels so why would their stockings?

Book Review – 20 to Knit: Tiny Christmas Toys to Knit

Book Review – Knit Christmas Stockings

Comments

Kara Brandon says
November 7, 2014 at 2:51 pm
No moths, but I have dealt with a pest that is more common in our area, the carpet beetle. The control recommendations are about the same http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7436.html
Sharon says
November 8, 2014 at 10:52 pm
Had an infestation about a month ago. Never did find out where exactly they were coming from, but I got cedar balls and blocks and put them in coat closet and cupboard where my cloths and stash were. Fingers crossed it seems to have worked … no moth sightings

Next Pattern:

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