How to Wash and Care For Your Cashmere Sweaters

As winter wears on, you might be thinking about how to wash and care for your cashmere sweaters. Cashmere has gained popularity, especially among younger consumers. For people my age, we have known forever that cashmere is luxurious, soft, and the preferred choice. 

What do we love so much about cashmere?

It’s soft, warm, and comfortable to wear without anything under it. Unlike some wools, it’s never scratchy. With proper care, sweaters can last for many, many years. 

The preferred way to clean your cashmere garments

Washing your cashmere items over dry cleaning will help preserve your sweaters. We often think taking our sweaters to the dry cleaners is best to protect our clothes, but that’s not the case with cashmere. 

A care label often says ‘Dry Clean’ or ‘Dry Clean Only,’  but I have never dry cleaned our cashmere sweaters and have always had excellent results. This was something I learned from my mom growing up. I don’t think I had any cashmere sweaters, but I did have Austrian ski sweaters and Geiger jackets. The sweaters were thick wool. We only wore them for skiing…who knows why. But we could come home after a long day of skiing, and my mom would hang them outdoors in the cold air. Even after sweating and wearing it for 12 hours, an hour or so out in the cold Denver air, it smelled like it had been laundered. I think we only washed them once a season. 

Does anyone remember Geiger jackets? Boiled wool that never pilled or showed any sign of wear. I’m pretty sure those were only washed at the end of the season, too.

How to launder your cashmere

This may be controversial, but hand washing is not always necessary to launder cashmere sweaters. Before tossing your sweater into the machine, consider a few important factors.

• A front-load washer with a handwashing cycle is the best washing machine for all clothing, especially fine washables. My machine has a “handwashing cycle,” but it may just be called a “gentle cycle.”
• Use cold or lukewarm water with the delicate cycle,
• A fine washable bag must be used if you have a top-load washing machine. One sweater per bag.
• It’s best to wash at least two sweaters at a time to keep the machine balanced during the “gentle” spin cycle,
• Button the sweater (if it’s a cardigan) and turn it inside out, even if you use a fine washable bag.
• Use a small amount of laundry detergent and wash on the gentlest cycle with cool water.  Choose the lowest spin cycle. 
• Some people say they add a little fabric softener, but I never have, and my sweaters are super soft even after washing.
• Remove from the washer immediately and carefully turn the sweater back to the right side. 
• Lay the sweater on a drying rack or flat surface covered with a dry, clean towel, shaping it to its original shape and size.
• Once the sweater is dry, steam (never iron) any wrinkles. 

What is the best kind of soap for washing cashmere pieces?

A mild detergent like L’AVANT works beautifully. I use L’AVANT for everything. It’s plant-based and free of phthalates, phosphates, parabens, bleach, or dyes. It’s highly concentrated, so I use only a minimal amount as my cashmere loads are small. I typically wash only two sweaters at a time. If I have a stain, I usually treat it with a little dish soap right on the stain, especially if it’s a grease stain. 

The Laundress also sells Wool and Cashmere detergent, a 16-ounce bottle that will wash 30 loads. 

What other kind of gentle detergent or soap can you use?

If you don’t have a mild detergent, use good-quality shampoo instead. I’ve done this many times when washing cashmere socks while traveling. I soak them for a few minutes in cold water using shampoo, rinse them, place them on a dry towel, and squeeze excess water from the so

How often should you wash cashmere sweaters?

Less than you think. I wash my cashmere sweaters at the end of the season. Occasionally, if I wear a sweater often, I wash it twice a season, but rarely. 

How to freshen up your sweaters between wearings

When I wear a sweater, I will never return it to the closet until I give it some fresh air. After every wear, we hang our sweaters outdoors in the cold air for a few hours. The cold air freshens them so well, and it’s the best way to freshen any wool sweater. I try to avoid direct sunlight to prevent fading. 

You can use Vodka in a fine-mist spray bottle to mist the underarms a little, if necessary, and then hang in the fresh air. The Laundress sells a cashmere spray, but the Vodka works beautifully; I travel with an empty spray bottle and then buy a small bottle of Vodka at the airport. It helps freshen all fabrics and removes odors. 

Tools I use to help maintain my cashmere 

Fabric Shaver—

I use this fabric shaver to remove pills or little balls from sweaters. It works well and is perfectly safe if you use it correctly. 

First, you want to lay out the sweater on a flat surface for the best results. Carefully move the fabric shaver over the sweater in circular motions. I work in sections, doing one side entirely and then moving to the other side of the sweater. Then, I will do the back and arms the same way. Never lift the sweater, and try to remove the pills while holding the sweater. This will cause holes. The surface of the garment must be flat to avoid causing a hole. 

You can lay the sweater flat on a table on top of a towel, or even safer, you can use an ironing board. I have a tabletop ironing board that I use for this. Once I have removed the pills and admired how beautiful they look, I will then hang them to steam the sweater. I will allow it to dry from the steam and then fold it to store it. I never hang sweaters to store them. 

What causes pilling in the first place? Cashmere clothing can pill due to friction. Excessive pilling is usually in areas like under your arms or where you carry a tote bag. My favorite cashmere sweaters never pill, and they are at least 15 years old. Yes, they were expensive, but then I have a very expensive cardigan that I bought in Paris from an excellent brand known for cashmere, and it pills more than any sweater I have ever owned. So, bottom line…I have no idea what causes excessive pilling.  

Embroidery Scissors

I like to keep a nice pair of embroidery scissors to trim threads around button holes and any stray threads.

Sweater Stone & Sweater Comb–

If I have just a few pills around the collar or on the cuffs, I’ll gently use a cashmere comb to remove them. A sweater stone is used in the same way to remove pills from knits, cashmere, and cashmere blends. 

Drying Rack–

If you have the space, a drying rack intended for drying clothing flat is useful. It will speed up drying since air can circulate around the clothing. 

Continuous Fine Mist Spray Bottle–

Fill a bottle with Vodka and spray clothing to refresh it between washings. Hang in the cool, dry air to freshen wool clothes or any clothing. I use it in the summer for linen clothing. 

Measuring Tape for Cloth–

When washing a sweater for the first time, I always measure it so that you can stretch it to its original size if it shrinks. 

Storing Cashmere Sweaters

I always fold my sweaters and keep lavender sachets tucked in and around the sweaters. 

My Favorite Cashmere Sweaters

I have several sweaters I’ve had for years. Most of my new cashmere is from Quince. What I love about Quince is the number of choices in style and color. Quince is the best option when it comes to price, too. Quince can charge less because of their business model (you can read more about this in this post). They show comparable prices to other brands right in the description.

My favorites include the Mongolian Cashmere Oversized Boyfriend Cardigan Sweater (brown), the Mongolian Cashmere Fisherman Crewneck Sweater (black), and the Mongolian Cashmere Fisherman Quarter Zip Sweater.​

​One thing to note about Quince is their reliable sizing. If a sweater is oversized, you can still order your regular size, which will be slightly oversized. I always buy my regular size, and sizing with Quince has always been spot on! 

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