Knitwear that doesn’t go bobbly

Casdon, I used to swear by Crew but I have had two jumpers recently that I had to take back as they bobbled and at £60 they weren’t cheap !! Have to say there was no argument but I was sad because they were lovely . Now I don’t know where to go😪

It’s obvious that we all learned these tips from our Mothers like I did, hand wash (after a few wearings) with special liquids in lukewarm or cold water, no rubbing but gentle squeezing, roll in towel to remove excess water, reshape carefully and dry flat. I love the cashmere that I can now afford, but the best one I have ever had was a F & F cashmere jumper from Tesco that long outlasted my M & S cashmere ones costing £79-£99. Obviously I do expect to
de-fuzz these due to the nature of cashmere. It’s all of the others that are a waste of money now, but didn’t used to be. Cotton is too cool for me in Winter. I know that I have been lucky, but the cost of living crisis is obviously prohibitive to many of us now and not everyone is willing or able to stand doing the hand washing/ drying routine. Off to the Men’s section……..

I’ve been told that high quality wool and cashmere will still bobble when quite new. I have 3 expensive wool jumpers from Whistles and they all bobbled. However, I bought the electric gadget like a shaver from musthaveideas.com and it is excellent. Before that I used to use the special comb very vigorously and then hand wash and also iron which cured the problems - much more work, though!

I only wear cashmere jumpers. I have no problem, I wash them in my washing machine, hand wash cycle and I use a special cashmere detergent I buy from Amazon. I only use a very small amount. I am very careful to stretch them into shape before I dry them flat on top of a towel which is over a laundry basket in my boiler room. . I get rid of any bobbling before I wear them. The jumpers I’m wearing this winter will probably last for another couple of years before I get bored with them. They are expensive but I do get an awful lot of wear out of them.

I'm another who prefers cotton.

- I recently bought a polyester/acrylic Isle cardigan from Edinburgh Woollen Mill and it's bobbling already. Absolute rubbish.

- Two cotton Isle cardigans from Edinburgh Woollen Mill are perfect and still going strong after 4 years.

- George polyester jumper is 4 years old, lovely and soft and still no bobbling.

- F&F (Tesco) cotton/acrylic cardigan many years old still going strong.

- Berkertex cotton cardigan many years old still going strong.

So acrylic seems to go with cotton but not polyester, and polyester and cotton both seem to be good by themselves. The polyester/acrylic mix doesn't seem to work, or is it the quality of the yarn?

i purchased an expensive cardigan from damart, (expensive for me) i only wore for a couple of hours but it had started to bobble the second time without even getting to the wash. i usually wear items more than one before washing as i usually have them on for just a few hours. i have found that putting cardigans and jumpers into a clean pillow case and washing them that way last a bit longer.

I buy Seasalt 'Fruity' jumpers. I probably have half a dozen of them and I think they cost around @£65.00.
Yes they do bobble at first but after two or three handwashes in cold water (yes a pain) and a good de-bobbling with the little comb things they settle down and the bobbling appears to stop. I did foolishly try to wash one of these jumpers in the machine on a cold wool wash. It shrank and I did all the things I'd heard of like using baby shampoo and also used fabric conditioner to relax the knit. It never came back to it's former self. I gave it to my daughter but honestly she could probably walk the dog in it but she would not wear it for anything else. I did read either Sea salt or Woolovers advice about pure wool jumpers and not washing them too often. Now I can get about five wears from a jumper before washing it again. I put them on hangers on the clothes line in a good stiff breeze, I peg the hangers onto the line. It is even better if the sun is shining as it seems to help in killing any deodorant smells. Anyway after about 3 hours the jumpers smell fresh again. I avoid getting perfume on my jumpers and at this time of year I wear something between the jumper and me, so the jumpers are relatively fresh for about 5 wearings.I arrange the jumper back to shape between two towels and then gently roll them up to get rid of excess water and I dry them flat on two drying racks on the garden table.

Just noticed that the Musthaveideas gadget is now out of stock and they don't know when or if they are going to have any new stock. Seems that many, many others have knitwear nightmares!

I''m following this thread with great interest as it popped up just as I was tackling a really bobbly cardigan with a pair of embroidery scissors! I agree that M&S knitwear is now rubbish - either bobbly or very thin and easily snagged - and Woolovers quality has really gone down despite always washing in Woolite on a proper wool wash. I do have a couple of older Woolovers cashmere and merino tunics which bobbled a bit initially but I was able to remove them and they've been good ever since. However, I bought a merino wool cardi from them in January, wore it just once and my husband thought I'd picked it up in a charity shop just as a cheap extra layer to keep warm. It was so badly bobbled that I sent it back for a refund - but had to pay the postage for doing so! Has anyone else noticed that men's knitwear is far less prone to bobbling? - my husband has 3 lambswool jumpers from Woolovers which have not bobbled. Do they source them from different suppliers? I notice they do not disclose where their garments are made on the labels. One final thought - I too have found the battery debobblers useless but has anyone tried this one? musthaveideas.co.uk/products/bye-bye-bobbles

I have a Joe Browns jumper that has bobbled very badly.

Bobbling is such a nuisance! It seems to happen to jumpers very quickly these days.
I bought a couple of jumpers from Poundland, of all places about four years and neither have shown any sign of bobbling. They’ve been machine-washed and tumble-dried numerous times, too. It’s crazy, isn’t it?!

Washing the garment inside out helps a bit but depends on the yarn. I find man made yarns like acrylic are the worst so try to steer clear.

I have wool sweaters from both M & S and Benetton. My 1980’s M & S botany wool jumpers and cardigan are still in excellent condition - no bobbling or shrinkage. More recent merino wools ones are practically see through, and half the weight of the old ones, and have gone slightly bobbly. I still have Benetton knitwear also from the 80’s and 90’s, which are also brilliant. The ones which I bought from about 2010 onwards have definitely got something synthetic in them, and they feel nothing like the old ones, and have become very bobbly. The older ones have kept beautifully. I haven’t bought any, but on examining the merino knitwear in Hobbs, they feel, to me, that they might keep well.

UNIQLO are opening shops (16) in the UK now or on line. They are a Japanese firm and I have found their clothes wash well. I buy their 100% wool cardigans as well as the sleeveless feather padded jackets They have a winter sale on at the moment.

M and S buy such cheap rubbish now and it’s only fit for rag bag. I prefer to buy more expensive I.E. Joe Browns and at least that garment you love lasts more than a year….you know , just like M&S used to be!!

I’ve found my Fat Face, Mountain Warehouse and White stuff jumpers do not bobble. Many bought “used” from EBay too.

I'm a knitter and the things I knit don't pill, but hand-knits aren't right for every occasion. I've been very disappointed with a jumper from Seasalt and the people in our local shop said they'd had other complaints about pilling.

Thank you Joseanne for the recommendations that I was hoping for. I don’t think we should just have to accept that quality has gone downhill & “be ready to deal with it” BlueBalou has a jumper (or more) from the days when we didn’t have to throw them away after one season!

The only sweaters I have that can be guaranteed to last and not bobble Are lands end men’s cashmere. It’s worth waiting for the sales to get a bargain but they last and last. I like them because they are made long and I can wear the crewneck ones with a shirt underneath

Most of the brands you are mentioning on here would count as cheap (sorry) and very cheaply made. You really can't expect top quality. I hardly buy any wool items any more but I have several cashmere items that I got from Pure and from Brora a long while ago. Sure they were expensive at the time but they've lasted so well for absolutely ages. Cost per wear is probably less than M&S if you're going to chuck it out after a year.

Joseanne

^Where can I buy good quality that lasts more?^
Expensive, but try Whistles or Basler.

I havent bought Basler for years as there is nowhere that stocks it around here but still have two or three jumpers that must be 10 years old and still not bobbly.

However, I think they're knitted cotton.

I bought a couple of soft-ish M & S jumpers in December and couldn't work out why all the fine threads were pulling, then realised the velcro on my jacket was clinging to the wool. All down my front!
I find Next jumpers aren't bad, Woolovers aren't good.

I rarely buy anything but wool sweaters and have not had a particular problem with bobbling. It varies from wool type to wool type and supplier, without a pattern.

Why not just accept that if you buy knitted clothes, some bobbling is to be expccted and be ready to deal with it.

Where can I buy good quality that lasts more?
Expensive, but try Whistles or Basler.

I had a thought, just realised that I am wearing a hand made knitted poncho made from my spun yarn. The yarn was merino/silk. I know that silk has a long filament, not staple and the poncho is wearing very well, no bobbles in spite of being a woollen (looser) spin and only singles plied together. It has a haze, not bobbles and looks good