Garment Care: Pilling Special
Are pills a bad sign? Both yes and no.
Pills in wool occur when short fibers detach from the yarn. It is a natural process that will decrease over time.
Pilling clothes can be a sign of:
- Yarn made from short fibers
- Loosely spun yarn
- Careless use or incorrect maintenance
Friction will increase the amount of pilling, for example, between a garment and a bag or backpack, or due to excessive or harsh washing.
Blended yarns with both natural and synthetic fibers will pill more and have pills that adhere more stubbornly to the garment. Pills in wool loosen by themselves or can be easily removed with a fabric shaver, while removing pills from blended materials (e.g., cotton + polyester) will weaken the garment.
Clothes that do not pill can be a sign of:
- High-quality yarn, with long fibers and/or tightly spun
- Plastic-based finishing; a thin plastic coating covering the wool
The coating holds the fibers in place and thus reduces pilling. At the same time, it inhibits the natural properties of wool such as breathability and temperature regulation, and causes microplastic emissions. This is a very common practice in the clothing industry today and is also used to cover up poor quality.
To reduce the amount of pilling without chemicals, you can choose yarns with long fibers. You can choose combed yarn (an extra step after carding the wool, where shorter fibers are separated from the longer ones). And yes - the longer the fibers, the more expensive the yarn.
You can also choose tightly spun yarn. This will hold the fibers better, so they don't "escape" and form pills. The downside is that the tighter the yarn is spun, the less soft and fluffy the garment will feel.
