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How to Deal with Clothes Moths in Your Stash

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Excellent tips for dealing with a moth infestation from the Zen of Making.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.]

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Comments

  2. 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

Have you read?

Knits with Sheep

It felt like it had been a while since I’d done a roundup of knitting patterns involving sheep, and if search is any indication, that is true. I found a roundup of patterns for knit sheep from a few years ago, but the only one with v I could find is from 2015. So it’s definitely time to revisit this fun genre of knitting patterns.

This all started with a headband. Alyssa Kaat’s Icelandic Sheep Headband (free on Ravelry) to be specific. Ravelry showed it to me as a pattern highlight and I couldn’t resist taking a closer look. It’s worked with two colors of worsted weight yarn and alternates sheep with stars around your head.

Another great sheepy headband is this one from Loch Fyne Crafts on Etsy. These sweet little sheep are worked in bulky yarn and you can make the background look like field and sky or work it in a solid color.

Or make a headband (or a hat, cowl, or all three) covered with a flock of sheep with this set of patterns from New Age Knitting CA. These pieces also use the field/sky coloring, but you can use whatever colors of worsted weight yarn you like.

Speaking of hats, there’s also the sheep hat from Lynann Knits Designs. The sample was worked in Icelandic wool to make the sheep and the hat extra fuzzy and warm, but any worsted weight yarn will work.

There’s also the Wandering Sheep hat from Kat Hudon (on Ravelry), which features a fun collection of speckled sheep that can be worked in different yarn weights to make different sizes of hats for kids and adults.

And lest you think sheep need to be knit in traditional stranded colorwork, check out the Rebel Sheep Mob blanket by Deborah Moore. This one is worked in mosaic knitting using fingering weight yarn. In mosaic knitting you’re only working with one color per row so it’s pretty easy. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

I can’t possibly share sheep knitting patterns without mentioning the amazing Black Sheep Shadow Shawl by Mark Jamieson. Shadow knitting is a technique I want to do more of, but it involves working two rows alternating in two different colors and the pattern emerges when you look at the design from an angle. It’s so cool and the sheep on this one are amazing! It’s not a beginner project but well worth the work. You can find it on Ravelry or at the designer’s website.