Cashmere is tougher than its reputation. Most knitted cashmere sweaters wash beautifully by hand, and plenty of people have a drawer of “dry clean someday” sweaters that would have been fine in a sink.
What ruins cashmere is not water. It is heat, rubbing, wringing and hanging a wet sweater up to dry. Get those four things right and learning how to wash a cashmere sweater is simple: cool water, a gentle wool or cashmere shampoo, a soak instead of a scrub, then press, roll and dry flat.
Below: the full method, pilling, storage before moth season, and when we would rather you brought it in.
Contents
- Before you start: label, stains and trims
- How to wash a cashmere sweater by hand
- Can you machine wash cashmere?
- Drying: where most cashmere gets ruined
- Hand wash, machine or dry cleaning: a comparison
- Pilling, and how to deal with it
- How to care for cashmere in storage
- What goes wrong: felting, shrinking and stretching
- When to bring cashmere to a professional
- The bottom line
- Frequently asked questions
Key takeaways
- The short answer to how to wash a cashmere sweater: by hand, in cool to lukewarm water, with a cashmere or wool shampoo.
- Soak the sweater and squeeze gently; never scrub, twist or wring it, because agitation is what felts the fibres.
- Press water out, roll the sweater in a towel, then dry it flat and reshape it while damp. Never hang it wet and never tumble dry it.
- Pilling is friction, not a defect. Remove pills with a cashmere comb or fabric shaver once the sweater is dry.
- Clothes moth larvae feed on animal fibres, so wash or clean cashmere before you put it away and store it in a sealed container.
Before you start: label, stains and trims
Before you work out how to wash a cashmere sweater, check the care label. A tub with a hand in it means the maker has tested hand washing. Only a circle, or a tub with an X, means the maker approved dry cleaning rather than washing. Our guide to laundry symbols explains every mark you are likely to find.
Next, look the sweater over in good light:
- Stains. Dab a little wool shampoo onto food or makeup marks with a fingertip first. Do not rub.
- Blends. Cashmere mixed with silk behaves differently in water; our note on washing silk safely covers that side.
- Trims. Leather patches, beading or a lining mean it is no longer a simple knit.
Turn it inside out. That keeps any rubbing on the inside face, where pilling will not show.
How to wash a cashmere sweater by hand
This is the method we recommend for most knitted cashmere. Johnstons of Elgin, a Scottish cashmere mill, gives the same basic steps in its own cashmere washing guide: lukewarm water, a small amount of cashmere shampoo, a short soak, a gentle squeeze and several rinses.
1. Fill a clean sink or basin with cool to lukewarm water. It should feel neutral on your wrist, never warm. 2. Add a small amount of cashmere or wool shampoo and swish it through before the sweater goes in. More soap just means more rinsing. 3. Submerge the sweater and press it gently under the surface so it soaks through. 4. Let it soak for a few minutes. Squeeze the suds through the fabric softly, especially at the underarms and cuffs. No rubbing and no scrubbing. 5. Drain and rinse with water at the same temperature. Repeat until no suds come out when you squeeze. Johnstons advises rinsing several times with water of the same temperature, and that consistency matters. 6. Press the water out. Gather the sweater into a ball and press it against the side of the sink. Do not wring or twist. 7. Roll it in a towel. Lay the sweater flat on a thick, dry towel, roll the two up together like a sleeping bag, and press down along the roll.
If you remember one rule for how to wash a cashmere sweater, make it this: lift, squeeze and press, never twist.
Can you machine wash cashmere?
Some labels allow it, and many washers have a wool or hand-wash cycle. If your label permits it, keep the risk low:
- Use the wool or hand-wash cycle, cold water and the lowest spin setting.
- Put the sweater in a mesh laundry bag, inside out.
- Wash it alone or with a few similar knits, never with jeans or towels.
- Use the same wool shampoo you would use by hand, in a small dose.
The caveat: no machine cycle is as gentle as your hands, and even a delicate cycle tumbles the sweater against itself. If you would be upset to lose it, hand wash it. Johnstons’ knitwear guidance describes hand washing only.
Drying: where most cashmere gets ruined
After the towel roll, lay the sweater flat on a fresh dry towel or a mesh drying rack. Reshape it while it is still damp: pat the body to its original width, line up the shoulders, straighten the ribbing at the cuffs and hem. Johnstons tells its customers to reshape and smooth the knit while damp and to avoid direct heat.
Turn it over once the top feels dry.
Things to avoid:
- Hanging it wet. A wet sweater holds a lot of water, and that weight pulls the shoulders and body longer.
- The dryer. Johnstons’ guidance is simply never to tumble dry cashmere. Heat plus tumbling is the fastest route to a felted, shrunken sweater.
- Sun and heaters. In Mesa it is tempting to use a patio chair, but direct sun can fade colour. Dry it indoors or in shade.
Hand wash, machine or dry cleaning: a comparison
| Method | Best for | Main risk | Our view |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hand wash | Most knitted cashmere sweaters, scarves and hats | Stretching if hung wet | The method we recommend for everyday knits |
| Machine wool cycle | Sturdy knits whose label allows machine washing | Felting from tumbling; varies by machine | Acceptable with a mesh bag, cold water, low spin |
| Professional dry cleaning | Woven cashmere, coats, lined or tailored pieces, stubborn stains | Very little when the label allows it | The better choice when the knit is not simple |
Pilling, and how to deal with it
Pills are small balls of short fibres that work loose where the sweater rubs: under the arms, at the sides, on the cuffs. They are a normal part of owning cashmere, not a sign of a poor garment.
Remove them once the sweater is completely dry:
- A cashmere comb is gentle and works well on light pilling. Lay the sweater flat and comb in short strokes in one direction. Johnstons recommends a cashmere comb for this.
- A fabric shaver is faster on heavier pilling. Keep the sweater flat and taut, and use light pressure so the blades do not catch the knit.
Avoid pulling pills off by hand. That drags more fibre out of the yarn and makes the next batch worse.
How to care for cashmere in storage
It is late September. In the East Valley, sweaters are about to come out briefly before going back into a drawer for most of the year, and that long storage stretch is when cashmere is most at risk.
The threat is clothes moths. The University of California’s pest management program notes in its clothes moth guide that the larvae feed on wool clothing, furs and stored woollens, and that fabrics with food or perspiration stains are more subject to damage. Cashmere is an animal fibre too.
How to store it:
- Clean it first. UC IPM says insects are less likely to feed on clean fabrics than on heavily soiled ones. A sweater put away after one wear still carries skin oils.
- Fold, do not hang. Hangers stretch knit shoulders over months.
- Use a sealed container or a zipped garment bag. UC IPM advises storing clean, pest-checked items in an airtight container.
- Do not rely on cedar alone. UC IPM calls the effectiveness of cedar debatable and notes it loses its effect after several years; a tightly sealed container matters more than the wood.
- Check it mid-season. UC IPM notes damage generally appears in hidden spots such as beneath collars and cuffs.
If you already see holes or webbing, UC IPM notes that because many woollens should not be washed in hot water, a dry cleaner may be the only suitable option.
What goes wrong: felting, shrinking and stretching
Felting. Animal fibres have tiny scales on their surface. When they are wet, warm and agitated, those scales lock together and the knit mats into a thick, stiff fabric. Felting is permanent. It usually comes from a regular machine cycle, hot water, or a dryer.
Shrinking. Felting and shrinking are the same event seen from two angles: as the fibres lock, the sweater gets smaller. Our guide to preventing shrinking clothes covers the causes across fabrics. A truly felted sweater does not come back.
Stretching. The opposite problem, and just as common. It comes from hanging a wet sweater, wringing it, or storing it on a hanger. Stretched cashmere can often be reshaped by washing it again and drying it flat, pushed back to its proper dimensions.
Most people searching how to wash a cashmere sweater are really trying to avoid these three outcomes, and the method above prevents all of them.
When to bring cashmere to a professional
Hand washing covers most knitted cashmere, but not all of it. Bring it to us when:
- It is woven, not knitted. Johnstons recommends professional dry cleaning for woven cashmere pieces such as scarves and coats.
- It is tailored or lined. A cashmere coat or blazer has structure inside that water distorts.
- There is an oily stain. Oil, makeup and food grease do not come out well in cool water with a mild shampoo.
- The label says dry clean only. That is a warning, not a suggestion.
Our dry cleaning service handles cashmere coats, sweaters and scarves. Tell us what caused any stain when you drop it off; it changes how the mark is treated.
The bottom line
The honest answer to how to wash a cashmere sweater is: gently, briefly and flat. Cool water, a small amount of wool or cashmere shampoo, a soak instead of a scrub, then press, roll and dry flat away from heat. Comb off pills when they appear, and store it clean and sealed before moth season catches up with it.
For woven pieces, coats, stubborn stains or anything labelled dry clean only, bring it to us at 1911 E Brown Rd, Unit 1, in Mesa, Monday to Friday 8 to 6 or Saturday 9 to 3. The 24-hour drop-off box outside the store takes garments any time, and if you would rather we collected, call (480) 969-9982 to schedule East Valley pickup and delivery on a Wednesday or Friday.
Bipin Kanabar — Owner, Bartoli Cleaners & Laundry, serving Mesa since 1957.
Frequently asked questions
Will cashmere shrink if washed?
Cashmere can shrink if it is washed with heat or agitation, but it should not shrink in a careful hand wash. Shrinking happens when wet fibres are rubbed, twisted or heated and their scales lock together, which is called felting. Cool water, a gentle shampoo, a short soak with no scrubbing and drying flat away from heat keep a cashmere sweater at its original size.
Is it better to hand wash or dry clean cashmere?
For most knitted cashmere sweaters, hand washing is perfectly good and leaves the knit soft. Dry cleaning is the better choice for woven cashmere such as coats and many scarves, for lined or tailored pieces, for oily stains, and for anything labelled dry clean only. If the label shows a hand in a tub, hand washing is an approved method.
Can I use Dawn dish soap to wash my cashmere sweater?
We would not use Dawn or any dish soap on cashmere. Dish soap is made to cut grease on plates, not to clean a fine animal fibre, and it can leave the knit feeling dry. It also foams heavily, which means more rinsing and more handling. Use a cashmere or wool shampoo, or a mild hair shampoo if that is all you have.
What happens if cashmere gets wet?
Nothing bad happens to cashmere just because it gets wet. Water alone does not damage it, which is why hand washing works. The trouble starts if a wet sweater is rubbed, wrung, heated or hung up, because that is when it felts or stretches. If yours gets caught in the rain, press out the water and dry it flat.
How often should you wash a cashmere sweater?
Wash a cashmere sweater only when it needs it, not after every wear. Airing it out between wears and wearing a layer underneath keeps it fresh for longer. Always clean it before storing it for the season, though, because skin oils and food traces attract clothes moth larvae during the months it sits in a drawer.
