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…

{mention:ShadesOfPemberley}@ShadesOfPemberley, embrace the love of good wool knitwear and its care! Once or twice a year I sit down at the table with a glass of wine and an audio book, and any thing that needs debobbling.

If you're wanting to wash your wool so frequently, then mayve it's too fitted, being worn when the weather doesn't call for it, or you need to wear layers so that you can take it off when you're getting hot? But you have my sympathy, we can ask get caught unaware. I wore a fabulous jumper last week, but was wearing a tee under it with the wrong bra, so I couldn't take the jumper off. I got into a very tense situation and was so hot. Thankfully the fit of the jumper is loose on me and airing over the banister was fine.

I see someone has already recommended one, but a debobbler really was a game changer for me! My woollen jumpers went from looking scruffy to literally brand new, and it’s oddly satisfying to do. I got a cheapie one from Amazon, and can’t sing its praises enough!

I agree there's no firm way of knowing what is good quality.

I knit some of my own jumpers and have been wearing wool knitwear all my life so I've worn and washed everything possible. Some of the handknits bobble a bit but I love them and don't mind defuzzing then. Others in expensive yarn deteriorated almost instantly to scruffy rags. Fine cashmere from Pure Collection was brilliant (15 years ago). Cheap own brand cashmere from TK Maxx lasted one week. Fine knit merino is usually a safe bet but not exactly cosy. Shetland, tweed and lambswool are pretty good but hard to find. I like Jigsaw knitwear for style but it rarely wears well. Even Woolovers aren't what they were. Eventually every manufacturer sells out to cheapness and "softness".

That's why I was so impressed with Community Clothing, it was the best jumper I've bought for decades. I agree with Patrick Grant, decent clothing that lasts should be in reach of average people. (Twice the price but 20x quality of M&S). I've never splashed out on Celtic &Co or Eribe but they look promising.

(I agree with @SharonEllis about the infrequent washing but since PP's are washing their jumpers every time they wear then I didn't want to horrify them.)

This. I buy mine from second hand shops, and some of the jumpers I have bought, have been really good quality.

There's also the fact that most chain brands chop and change their suppliers from season to season so clothes that look similar or wore well before, can't be guaranteed to be the same.
Literally today I got this email from Jigsaw , surely a bobble fest waiting to happen.

I have an AllSaints jumper I love but am wondering whether to send back because its synthetic but costly. But I do love it.

Animal wool seems to make me itch, and the moths eat mine, even with moth stopping products.

My longest living one is a 'casmillion' (I that is what it was. Over 10 years old) from M&S.

How can you not wash jumpers more often? Don't they smell of sweat or cooking? I hand wash mine, unless cotton.

Can anyone recommend a debobbler? I have one that just scrapes and isn’t very good. Are the battery operated ones better?

Merino wool is the best for not getting bobbly .
at the moment I don’t have any merino wool as I put weight on and the one or 2 I had were given to my daughter’s friend.
I got a cream M&S soufflé knit cardigan and it’s an absolute state , was bobbled within 2 washes so I only wear it in the house .
I have some Pure cashmere which is good quality and also a Landsend cashmere cardigan bought on sale .
The Landsend isn’t as good quality and has bobbled .
i do have a de bobble comb which I use regularly

Pure wool is antibacterial and doesn't really hold smells. It can be aired after wearing as long as it's not actually stained. You can always do a sniff test. We are wearing out our clothes with over-washing IMO.

My experience of Celtic knitwear is that it bobbles. Also its very hard to assess quality onluline! One of the many reasons I like to buy in a shop. I've been buying Jigsaw for years and find its generally good on the bobble front but often rather weak yarn that just wears away. I just composted a beatiful jigsaw cardigan that was over 10 years old. It had disintegrated under the arms so too weak to darn. But not a bobble anywhere despite being a thicker softer yarn tjan some of their jumpers.

I will check out Community clothing.

I’ve bought vintage wool and older cashmere jumpers. They don’t seem to bobble except a little under the arm. I’ve found that newer ones do? I also got a decent debobbler to tidy up any that appear. That made an All Saints cashmere jumper from Vinted look brand new. They don’t need much washing (depending how you wear them of course!). I spot clean, spray the inside lightly with isopropyl and let hang in the air.

I mostly wear long tunic jumpers from Woolovers for work and I invested into a battery operated bobbler. It's quite therapuetic and after 4/5 wears, the bobbling stopped. They're super soft, and wash really well in the machine on the wool cycle, then dried flat on the heated airer. I think they are cashmere/merino blend and around £70.

A cheap disposable Bic razor works perfectly as a pill remover.

(I'm a knitter of 100% wool jumpers, wouldn't ever use merino wool though as that's far to soft for clothing, best kept for hats and scarfs).

Aran knits are good but they may be a little scratchy x

Its so hard to tell when you first buy something, isnt it?
I have 2 cheap sh*y cardigans from Primark that have both been washed and worn the same and one has bobbled to the point of only being fit for the bin and the other one still looks brand new!
Where is the logic!?!LOL

Cashmere every time for me.
I use the Wool cycle on my machine.
Always iron after drying them. And if bobbles do appear use a debobbler BEFORE ironing.

My friend will only wear synthetic fibres and her new jumpers look so scruffy after a few wears. Whereas my cashmere ones look the same year after year.

I always open the windows when I cook and wear an apron. You can air your jumpers if they smell a bit. It goes naturally anyway as someone upthread said, wool really doesn't hold smells. I wash heavy jumpers once a year probably, if that. I always wear a t-shirt under a jumper and decent neutral deodorant. I find its the smell of deodorant as much as sweat that is stinky. Also don't get too hot! A lot of people tend to overheat theit houses I think.

https://amzn.eu/d/azHwfh5

this is the one I use.

Uniqlo cashmere has not bobbled for me.

I have a low effort hand wash method for wool:
Short soak and Wash in no rinse wool wash like Eucalan ( smells lovely). Then low speed short spin in the machine. ( I might do the roll up in a towel thing of I had expensive cashmere but don’t usually bother).
They don’t need washed often as I wear t shirts underneath and wool just doesn’t seem to get smelly quickly.
i have never found a synthetic jumper that doesn’t bobble or stretch. Mostly wool with a bit of nylon is OK but hard to find and is still better hand wash to retain softness IMO.
Annoyingly you can often find wool or wool mix jumpers in the men’s dept ( at least until recently) but the colours are usually rather dull.

I think the increasing bobbling of both wool and synthetic jumpers is due to the way they spin the yarn to make a lighter fluffier yarn that uses a lot less fibre than more tightly spun smoother yarn. It’s a cost saver and also looks and feels nice on the hanger but it wears badly as all the fluffy bits turn into bobbles with the abrasion of wearing and washing.
I’m a knitter and have done some spinning so could go into technical details but that’s the basics.

I have pure cashmere cardis that I bought 10 years ago that are barely bobbled. I have mended them under the arms.

the newer cashmere from JL is definitely more bobbly

it is to do with the manufacturing of the wool fibre I think and the process must have changed

People are more willing to see things as disposable I suppose. Drives me mad, I like wearing clothes I've had for 10+ years! I also love secondhand shopping but the quality in charity shops is dire now.

I use a disposable razor to debobble.

I've bought Cashmere from everywhere, as I'm allergic to wool. I've had good & bad cashmere from Wrap, Whistles, Pure, Boden, Tk Maxx, Stefanel & Ganni.
I'm not sure any brand is consistently good quality these days, though Cos does seems to come out well. I also really like Crush Cashmere, although I think it's now called Colorush. Daddy's Daughters also do fantastic quality Cashmere.

I use a Beldray debobbler & machine wash on a delicate wash every 3-4 wears. All Cashmere gets bobbly, as do synthetic jumpers. I just accept that this happens less in the heavier weight Cashmere. Mine is repaired by an excellent local tailor who does invisible stitching, even the cheaper pieces & the smallest holes. My daughter's regularly borrow pieces for a few months & inevitably bring them back holey... for repairs.