How to Wash Mohair Sweaters so They Stay Soft and Fluffy?

A sweater lifted out of the basin burns the hands with the weight of the water, and the pile that floated with every movement yesterday now lies flat and sticky. Mohair is washed by hand, in water up to 30 degrees, without wringing and without spinning. The rest is decided while it dries.

Can a mohair sweater go in the machine?

A mohair sweater tolerates a machine only on a wool programme, at 30 degrees and with the spin switched off. The drum turns more slowly and less often then, so the fibres do not catch on each other hard enough to bond. Put the sweater in a mesh bag and wash it alone, with no zips or hook fastenings in the same load.

The risk with a machine is not the water, it is friction combined with heat. Felting is the permanent tangling of the scales on the surface of the hair, and it cannot be undone by combing or stretching. If the sweater matters to you, choose the basin. The same caution applies to most long haired knits, including pieces from sweaters.

What does washing mohair by hand look like step by step?

Hand washing mohair takes about fifteen minutes and comes down to soaking, gentle kneading and two rinses. There is no scrubbing and no rubbing one part against another. The hand works as though kneading a sponge: press and release, and the water passes through the stitch and carries the dirt out.

Prepare four things before you run the water:

• Wool detergent. With lanolin or at least without enzymes, in the amount stated on the bottle, never universal powder.
• Two terry towels. They will press out the water, so they have to be dry and larger than the sweater laid flat.
• A flat surface. A worktop, a horizontal dryer or a board covered with a towel, somewhere without a draught.
• A soft brush. For combing the pile out once it is dry, with sparse natural bristles.

The values below show where mohair forgives and where it leaves no margin.

Two rows decide everything. Rinsing at the same temperature as washing protects against shrinkage, because a sudden move from warm water to cold clamps the scales of the hair shut. Pressing between towels takes up to half the water out of the knit, so the sweater dries faster and stretches less under its own weight.

Why does mohair have to dry flat?

Mohair stretches under the weight of its own water, which is why a wet sweater has to lie flat and must never hang. Wet knit weighs two to three times more than dry, and all of that weight pulls the stitch downwards. A sweater hung on a hanger lengthens across the shoulders and sleeves by several centimetres and never returns to its original shape.

Lay the sweater on a towel, arrange the sleeves alongside the body and even out the shoulder line and the lower edge with your fingers. After a day, change the towel for a dry one and turn the sweater over. Drying in the shade, away from a radiator, is the only method for a long haired knit whose pile is meant to keep its spring.

How do you bring the fluffiness back after washing?

Fluffiness returns once you comb the dry sweater with a soft, sparsely set brush. Work in one direction, from the bottom upwards, without pressing. Dry mohair in side light then looks like a light mist above the stitch, and with every movement the pile shifts by a few millimetres and deepens the colour.

If the knit builds up static, wipe it with a hand dampened in water or add a spoon of wool conditioner to the last rinse. Remove pills with a fabric shaver, holding the material taut across a flat hand so the blade does not catch the stitch. It is the same treatment that extends the life of anything long haired, including open styles you might layer under blazers.

What not to keep mohair next to

The greatest damage to mohair comes not from washing mistakes but from what surrounds it: rough materials, heat and weight.

• Never hang mohair on a hanger in the wardrobe, because the shoulders pull out into two distinctive points that cannot be pressed away.
• Avoid storing it beside anything with sequins, embroidery or metal fastenings, because every hard element pulls single hairs out of the stitch.
• Do not dry the sweater on a radiator, because temperatures above 40 degrees stiffen the hair and take its spring away permanently.
• Do not rub a fresh stain, press it out with a dry towel instead, because friction works the dirt deeper into the stitch.

What do you wear mohair with so the pile does not flatten?

Mohair flattens where it rubs against a hard material, so the layer underneath decides how long it keeps its texture. Smooth cotton, silk and viscose let the knit move freely. Stiff denim and heavy seams do the opposite.

The least friction comes from pairing it with soft surfaces. Thrown over a piece from dresses, mohair works as a second layer and rubs against nothing but fabric. With straight, high waisted trousers the only point of risk is the belt line, so it is worth leaving the hem of the sweater out. Under a structured collar a finer stitch survives better, because a heavy pile compacts there within weeks. A midi length from skirts behaves the same way, because a smooth woven surface gives the pile nothing to catch on. Open front styles also handle daily wear better than pull on ones, because they never pass over the shoulders.

What can you do once a mohair sweater has felted?

Felting cannot be reversed, because the scales of the hair have locked together mechanically and will not separate again. You can recover part of the softness by soaking the sweater for half an hour in lukewarm water with hair conditioner and stretching it gently flat while it dries.

How does washing mohair differ from washing merino?

Merino has a shorter, smoother hair and tolerates a gentle machine programme more often than mohair does. Mohair needs longer drying, because its long hair holds more water, and it always needs combing once dry, which merino does not.

How often should a mohair sweater be washed?

Once every five to eight wearings, as long as there are no visible marks or odour. Between washes, air the sweater overnight laid flat, because a long pile releases smells faster than the dense stitches used across most t-shirts and tops.

Can mohair go to a dry cleaner?

It can, provided you state the composition and ask for wet cleaning at a low temperature. Standard solvent cleaning strips the oil from the hair and takes away its natural spring, so the sweater comes back smoother and heavier than it went in.

A basin, lukewarm water and two towels are enough to bring a sweater back to how it looked on the first day. The last fifteen minutes, the ones with the brush, make the biggest difference: only then does the pile catch the light again. Use the same routine on every long haired knit you own.