Putting a Knit Back Into Shape

CARE GUIDE

Most of what goes wrong with a knit is a change of shape, and most of it can be undone at home.

Stains are rare on a knit top. What actually happens to one is quieter: the shoulders grow two small horns from a hanger, the neckline loosens, a thread pulls, the place where a bag strap rides starts to pill. None of that needs a dry cleaner. It needs ten minutes and the right order of steps, and the same is true of the two things that go wrong with a pair of jeans.

Hanger Bumps at the Shoulder

A knit on a hanger hangs by two points, and the yarn stretches at exactly those two points. The fix is to stop hanging it: fold a knit in half with the sleeves tucked in and stack it on a shelf. If the bumps are already there, dampen the shoulder area with a wet hand, lay the top flat, press the bump out with your palm until the yarn sits level, and leave it flat until dry. Steam from a kettle held a hand’s width away does the same job faster.

A Neckline That Has Grown

Pulling a top on and off by the neckband, a few hundred times, is what loosens it. Rib recovers better than other knits, which is why so many of our tops are ribbed, but it still needs help now and then. Wet the neckband only, lay the top flat, push the band inward with your fingers until it sits the width it started at, and dry it flat. A wrap-front top with gathering under the bust is reshaped the same way, by wetting the gathered area and patting it back together.

A Pulled Thread in Pointelle

Open-stitch knits catch on rings, zippers and the corner of a table. Never cut the loop. Turn the top inside out, push a blunt needle or a crochet hook through from the back at the base of the pull, catch the loop and draw it to the inside. Then stretch the fabric gently in both directions around the spot so the surrounding stitches take up the slack. The loop sits on the inside where nobody sees it, and the knit is whole again.

Pills Where the Bag Strap Sits

Pilling on a knit almost always shows up in one place: the shoulder and chest where a bag strap rubs. A sweater comb or a sweater stone, drawn across the pills in one direction with the fabric held flat, lifts them off in a minute. Do it before washing rather than after. Then move the bag to the other shoulder for a week, which spreads the wear instead of concentrating it.

The Knee and the Waistband on Denim

Denim without much stretch has two habits. The knee bags after a day of sitting, and the waistband loosens after a few wears. Neither needs a wash. Hang the pair by the waistband overnight and the knee flattens under its own weight. A waistband that has relaxed tightens again with a cool wash and air drying, which is also the only time denim here needs to see water: when it has stopped fitting, not when it has been worn.

Dark Denim Under a Pale Knit

A new dark wash gives up a little dye in its first wears, and the hem of a cream or white knit is where it lands. Wash a new black or deep blue pair alone, twice, before pairing it with a light top. If a pale knit has already picked up a blue cast at the hem, soak that part in cool water with a little detergent the same day and the color lifts out; left a week, it sets.

What Cannot Be Put Back

A knit that has been dried hot and shrunk a full size, a rib that no longer springs back at all, a denim seat worn thin enough to see light through: those are the end of the road, not a repair job. A piece that arrives looking like any of them is a different matter, and our Return & Refund Policy covers it. For questions about a specific piece, the sizing and care answers in our Frequently Asked Questions are a good place to start.

Thank you for shopping with us, and for leaving the house in a knit and a pair of jeans you did not have to think about twice.