How to remove pills from sweaters, skirts and coats

A favorite sweater starts to look tired long before it wears out. Small balls of fuzz gather at the elbows and under the arms. A plaid skirt goes rough along the hip where a bag strap rubs. A wool coat gets a matted patch by the pocket. The garment is fine. Only the surface needs attention.

Pills come off with a few minutes of care, and fewer come back when you change how the clothes are washed and worn.

Why pills form

The Woolmark Company, the organization behind the Woolmark wool label, puts it plainly: pilling is caused by rubbing during wear. Loose fibers work their way to the surface and tangle into small balls. Woolmark lists the most common spots as the elbows, armpits, sleeves, belly and the sides of a sweater, and notes that a more active wearer sees more pilling.

On skirts and coats, look wherever something rubs: the hips, the seat, the inside of the arms and anywhere a cross-body bag sits.

Some fabrics pill more than others

In general, the looser the knit and the softer and shorter the fibers, the more a fabric pills. Tightly knit sweaters and smooth, woven fabrics pill less. Blends that mix a natural fiber with a synthetic one can be stubborn, because the synthetic fibers hold the pills on instead of letting them fall away.

None of that means a soft sweater is a bad buy. It means it needs a little more care, and the tools below take a few minutes a month.

A few pills: pick them off

If there are only a few pills, Woolmark says they can be removed by hand. Pinch each one gently and lift it away, rather than pulling, which can draw out more fiber. This takes a minute and works for a sweater you notice early.

Wool: use a comb, gently

For a wool sweater with more pills, a sweater comb works well. Woolmark notes a comb can be used, but should be used very gently and carefully. Lay the sweater on a table, smooth it out and hold the fabric taut with one hand. Draw the comb across the pilled area in short, light strokes, all in one direction. Stop when the surface looks even, and check your progress often.

Bigger patches: a fabric shaver

For larger areas, or for blends and synthetic knits where pills cling hard, a fabric shaver is the quickest tool. Woolmark mentions small battery-operated de-pillers, also sold as fabric shavers. Used with a light touch, they clear a pilled patch in a minute or two.

1. Lay the garment on a table, smooth it out and hold the fabric taut.
2. Move the shaver in small, slow circles with almost no pressure.
3. Empty the lint catcher often, since a full one stops cutting cleanly.
4. Stay away from seams, buttons and loose knits, where the blade can catch.
5. Check as you go, and stop as soon as the surface looks smooth.

Pressing hard is how a shaver cuts holes. Let the blade do the work.

Lint, hair and fuzz

Once the pills are gone, brush the whole garment with a soft clothes brush, working in one direction. It lifts the loose fuzz the comb or shaver leaves behind, along with lint and dust, and smooths the surface. A quick brushing between wears keeps wool coats and sweaters looking fresh.

Prevent the next round

Since rubbing causes pills, the fixes are about less friction:

• Wash knits inside out, on a gentle cycle, or by hand.
• Keep them away from rough items in the wash, such as jeans, towels and anything with zippers or hook-and-loop fasteners.
• Give sweaters a day off between wears.
• Watch the bag. A cross-body strap rubbing the same spot every day causes a lot of the pilling on coats and skirts. Switch shoulders, or carry a tote on cold days.
• Store knits folded, not hung, so the weight doesn’t pull the fibers.

What to actually buy

The comb. A Lona Scott cashmere comb, a double-edged sweater comb about 3 by 2 inches that comes with a small storage bag.

The brush. The Laundress cashmere brush for wool and fine knits, 10.4 inches long, which lifts lint, fuzz and dust from sweaters, scarves and wool coats between wears.

Who this is not for

• If a sweater has pills in one small spot, your fingers and two minutes are enough.
• If a garment is cashmere or very fine knit you’re nervous about, use the comb gently or ask a dry cleaner to do it.
• If a sweater pills heavily after a single wear, the fiber or knit is prone to pilling, so keep it for home days and look for tighter knits next time.

Start on any Monday

This week, pull out the three pieces that look the most worn and check them in good light.

Pick off what you can, comb the wool and use a shaver on the rest. Then turn your knits inside out for their next wash, and move the cross-body bag to the other shoulder.