Moths have attacked my winter woolies

Septimia

Useful place, the Grainger Market, Marmite! Good luck with the embroidery.

Love that market! I need to go to buy some muslin. Thanks for reminding me!

I once asked a Woolworths' counter assistant in the Godalming store if they stocked mothballs and she asked 'what kind of group are they'!

I saw a programme on tv a few nights ago where they were putting dried basil leaves amongst clothes in drawers and wardrobes to deter moths.

Hi, try needle felting to repair the holes. There are lots of tutorials on the internet. You need to have ‘fleece’ but you can get small amounts in the right colours quite cheaply on the internet. And a needle felting needle which are quite cheap. Some sites sell small kits. Ive used this method very successfully on a cashmere scarf. The repair is more invisible and easier than darning especially if you get a good colour match. Good luck!

You might also consider putting your Woolens in the deep freezer. I think you have to keep them there for two weeks defrost then return to the freezer to ensure any eggs lurking will be killed off. The freeze thaw freeze thing makes them think they have done a winter hatch and the second freeze does the killing.

Take a sweater with you to the haberdasher & ask their advice. Appliqué motifs could be quite pretty.

I put bars of unwrapped soap in with my woolly jumpers and in the summer they go into airtight bags.
How very exasperating ?

Mothballs used to work but, I doubt if you can buy them now?
If. You have wool of same colour as the bits that are eaten, untwist it to one strand and catch the hole up around, then darn it in.

Also had problem. Bagged all woollies and hung bags of orange peel in wardrobes as I read moths do not like orange zest.
I don't want to smell of camphor, so any non-camphor tips would be useful.

I’ve had the same problem this year. I do have a camphorwood chest so I am now being very strict about putting my woollens in there.

Useful place, the Grainger Market, Marmite! Good luck with the embroidery.

Sorry to read this. I had a wool runner upstairs on our dark landing, and moths had eaten a long section away. I moved house and took this rug in the car and now sometimes find the moths in my car - but luckily also have spider webs, so nature takes care of them!

Thanks for the clever ideas! I'm going to try the embroidery idea - there's a stall in the Grainger market that sells embroidery wools in a big range of colours.
or maybe applique designs.
Darning - does anyone remember Darning mushrooms? mainly for heels of socks. Probably not often used now..

whoops, fraycheck

septimia, I just saw your post, good idea

spraycheck to stop the holes getting bigger. You won`t be able to darn invisibly but what about embroidering some flowers or suns or stars over to make a feature

Lakeland zip lock bags and moth repellant for me, always. I even bag yarn and fibre, anything containing natural fibre such as wool, cashmere, silk, alpaca

If you can match the colour to sewing thread and the holes are small, it can be easy enough to darn them with that. So long as the thread goes through the 'V' of the knitted stitch it will hold it without fraying, and small holes are unlikely to show when mended. Bring the thread through from the back to the front, and mend with the front facing you.

Failing that, depending on the style of the jumpers, you can repurpose them - eg cutting a few inches out of the sleeves and hemming at both ends to make wrist warmers, using a polo as a neck warmer etc. A jumper with cables or pattern on the front could make a cushion, that sort of thing.

To keep the blighters at bay, you could store clean jumpers in sealed bags, making very sure that they are bone dry after washing.

You could embroider some small motifs over the holes and scattered elsewhere on the jumpers. The sort of stitches that duplicate the knitted stiches would make it look like the motifs are part of the original garment.

Every spring I put my washed cashmere into airtight plastic bags with a moth repellent until the Autumn.
I use repellents and anti moth spray throughout the year, in the wardrobes and drawers.
If the holes are small you might be able to darn them.