Merino is forgiving cloth. It resists odour, springs back from creases, and regulates warmth better than fibres twice its price. The mistake is treating it like something delicate — or like something indestructible. It is neither.
Wear it two or three times before washing. Merino’s structure sheds smell overnight if you let it breathe on a hanger rather than folding it warm into a drawer. Most sweaters are worn out by over-washing, not by wearing.
When it is time to wash
Cold water, a wool-safe detergent, and either a gentle hand wash or a machine cycle marked for wool inside a mesh bag. Heat is the enemy — it felts the fibres and there is no return from felting. Never wring; press the water out against the basin.
Dry flat, always. A merino sweater hung wet will grow arms like a scarecrow and never fully recover the shoulder. Lay it on a towel, reshape it with your hands while damp, and let it dry away from radiators and sun.
Rest between wears. A day on a flat surface lets the fibres recover their loft, which is what keeps a knit looking new rather than tired. Pilling comes from friction on fatigued fibres — rest reduces both.
Five minutes of care, spread across a season, is the difference between a sweater you replace and one you keep.
