Jumpers that won’t bobble within 3 mins of wearing them?

[ShadesOfPemberley]

That also don’t cost an absolute bloody fortune…

Does this holy grail exist and if so, any idea where to find it?!

eg Bought a Soufflé knit from Uniqlo last year which I did love the first couple of time I wore it but it bobbled v quickly (before even a first wash, and then was a total bobble-fest once I had in fact washed it…)

Perfectly happy to spend more (70/80 quid max) but I just want a nice plain jumper that won’t bobble so much!

I wash my jumpers as little as possible but let’s face it they can’t NEVER be washed. When I do wash them I use wool cycle, no spin or lowest spin possible, delicates/wool liquid.

I prefer blends with some synthetic fibres in them to pure wool or cashmere as I worry about pure wool in the machine (and I just won’t hand-wash, it’s not worth pretending I will) but is it the blends that bobble worst?

Finer jumpers like eg Uniqlo merino are nice and don’t bobble (and do survive my gentle machine washing) but I’m really in need of something chunkier.

Basically what I think I really want is a stunning £300 pure wool jobbie from NavyGrey and a personal laundress to wash it by hand for me but neither of those things are going to happen soon…

The fluffier the yarn the more it'll bobble, generally. Try pure merino jumpers, they tend to stay smooth. They will wash well in the machine if the label says they're machine washable. You can get reasonably priced ones from M&S or Uniqlo.

My blends bobble v badly. These days i buy wool jumpers from charity shops. Or Community Clothing.

Pure lambswool is also pretty bobble-free.

I often buy men's jumpers as they are far better quality and better priced.

It's worth hand washing a wool jumper every few weeks. It's maybe not the hassle you've made it out to be, unless you really have nowhere to dry it. Good quality pure wool doesn't bobble unless it's very loosely spun or knitted. Anything with 'touch of cashmere for softness" will be a risk as cheap cashmere usually pills badly and a few % is enough to ruin an otherwise decent jumper.

It's worth having a clothes shaver too as some jumpers just need a quick defuzz at the beginning.

Thanks Wrinkles (great name!) I have a few of the merino ones from Uniqlo and they are nice and don’t bobble etc but I really want something substantially chunkier. Partly for warmth and partly the style. I agree merino ones are nice and bobble-free but just not what I’m looking for this winter…

I've recently bought a fabric shaver to debobble jumpers as was getting annoyed by this also. It's worked really well so far to make a jumper look almost new again. Took a bit of time to do the whole jumper well, but easy to do in front of the tv

I would try Community clothing to start with.

Lambswool from community clothing.

Thanks everyone! Off to google community clothing… I guess I do need to get better at the handwashing thing. It’s just that in all honesty I never feel hand washed jumpers get properly clean… I do sweat quite a lot(I use bar soap and proper antiperspirant which cuts down the problem but I am peri and also have just always been a nervous sweat-person!) so honestly I don’t think handwashing totally cuts it if I’ve had a long day in a warm jumper and the pits have got a bit of a whiff to them…

I wash my jumpers as little as possible but let’s face it they can’t NEVER be washed. When I do wash them I use wool cycle, no spin or lowest spin possible, delicates/wool liquid.

This is the advice from & Daughter

The best way to protect and care for your jumper is to hand wash it carefully and not very often. We wash our knitwear once a year. The rest of the time we air dry or spot clean.

https://www.and-daughter.com/collections/shop-all

I follow their advice. I never put wool in the washing machine. I'm currently wearing a Brora cashmere cardigan which is so old I can't remember when I bought it - could be 20 years. I have Eribé cardigans which are ancient too and Palava knitwear which is pre Covid, none of it is bobbled

https://palava.co/collections/heritage-knitwear

https://www.eribe.com/collections/women

Lambs wool and merino are better for bobbling but - one of the most surprising things about my (fat jab induced) weight loss is that my jumpers bobble less. For me, a lot of it was down to friction where my upper arms rubbed. I’m not thin enough to be bobble free but have got a machine and a comb. I don’t go too hard with the machine as it makes the jumper look rather thin in places but the comb helps.

I share your pain with soufflé knits. from Uniqlo - love how soft it is but bobbles terribly. As pp says the pure wool stuff does better I think - I do machine wash them, inside out on the wool setting and they do okay. But the soufflé knit blend - and another wool blend cardigan o have from M&S have bobbled to the point of being unwearable

Definitely go for pure knits and go easy on the washing.

Woolovers stuff is generally bobble-free, well made, though on the generous side for sizing. However, the styling and colours have gone off a bit over the past couple of years; rather middle-aged, safe colours so choose carefully. For context, I'm early 70s, so looking at middle-age in the rear view mirror.

You can get decent cashmere jumpers from www.nearlynewcashmere.co.uk . They also have a fab debobbler and show you how to wash your cashmere. Prices are around £65. It's a really interesting British company with a strong sustainability ethos. I'm not affiliated, I just think what they do is great.

Echoing what @IHaveAlwaysLivedintheCastle added, wool or cashmere jumpers don’t need washing that often, once a year may be fine if you aren’t wearing them directly next to your skin

navygrey.co/pages/how-to-care-for-your-knitwear

I only wear vests under wool jumpers and it really helps stop the sweat fest under the pits, even if I wear a thin cotton t shirt I sweat to hell.

Pure wool is self cleaning alllegedly. Rarely need to wash and stays good quality, just air them or spot wash. Looser or softer knits will bobble more, eg M and S now tend to use wool that's too thin for the tension it's knitted at. A good stiff wool doesn't bobble! Any mix with synthetics ( uniqlo souffle) will bobble.

I love merino jumpers for the winter and cotton for the summer. I’ve bought a couple from Seasalt, their Fruity jumpers, 80% merino, 20% recycled nylon, I loved the colours but I’ve found they are the worst at bobbling I’ve encountered. Whether it’s the inclusion of the nylon, I don’t know, but I won’t be buying again.

I agree I have several of those jumpers and find the same thing.

I have a cashmere jumper from Hush that I’ve worn about 10 tiimes and it’s bobbled under the arms. It was about £150 I think, and I haven’t even washed it. Is that to be expected at first?

Just get a debobbler as a previous poster suggested, I have one and have a de-bobble fest when I'm bored and jumpers come up like brand new!! Honestly, probably one of the best gadgets I've bought. Did my sister's old black wool coat that she was thinking of binning because it was so bobbly. Came up beautifully and really quite a satisfying little job!

Good quality pure wool doesn't bobble unless it's very loosely spun or knitted.
This just isn't true anymore I'm afraid. Or it may be, but how can you tell what is 'good quality'? I buy pretty much only pure wool. Quality is not determined by price and in my experience no brand is reliable any more. My partner used to buy John Smedley pure merino jumpers, in recent years he has stopped as they started bobbling. I certainly wouldn't wash a jumper every few weeks unless I had spilled food on it.
My vintage jumpers though, some 40-50 years old and not a bobble on them!

A lot of modern wool yarn is, I believe, specially treated to allow machine washing. Maybe this contributes to the bobbling vs. older wool? 🤔
Most of my knitwear is now vintage St Michael (80s, 90s). I go for pure wool usually but there's also a lot of acrylic/blends about in that era too. (Unlike today's fluffy polyester 'knitwear' they look like they'd survive an apocalypse.)

As PPs have said, airing and lightly steaming wool rather than washing is the way to go
https://www.theguardian.com/thefilter/2025/oct/23/how-to-look-after-knitwear-expert-tips

I have a range of cashmere cardigans I wear for work and only wear once before washing. Probably excessive but I don’t want to risk armpit odour!
I use the wool cycle and delicate detergent and they keep going for years.
I often buy second hand on vinted.