How to Save your Sweater from Pilling

DIY trick for removing pilling on sweaters

I love sweaters, especially vintage ones but one of the quickest ways to sour a sweater look is if that piece has pilling.

The more you wear your favorite sweaters, even well-made, expensive ones, the more you risk one of the stupidest fashion problem ever: pilling.

Pills, those little balls of lint you get on sweaters that usually form in the armpits and down the insides of your arms, are caused by a break in the sweater’s fibers and made worse by friction.  There isn’t really any way to prevent them but you can remove them either with a clothing shaver, clothing comb or clothing stone (which not everyone has readily available) or with a sweet DIY trick I like to use.

I have seen some people remove pilling with razors but there is no way I trust a razor anywhere near my vintage sweaters.  Using a Velcro Roller is safe and super easy.

How to remove pilling with a velcro roller

Begin by laying your sweater on a flat surface and spread it out flat.

Take a Velcro hair roller (you can pick them up at any drugstore or dollar store if you don’t have one already) and push the roller onto the pilled patch.  Use some pressure.

How to remove pilling with a roller

Pull the area taut then slowly roll the roller in an upwards movement while pressing down. The roller will magically grab those little annoying blobs.

Repeat in any other pilled areas.

You’ll have to stop to clean the roller every so often, depending on how bad your pilling situation is but the whole process is pretty quick and simple.

How to stop pilling on sweaters

Click to shop some of my favorite sweater care products:

How to Save Your Sweater from Pilling

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28 Comments

  1. Thats awesome, although razor blade is kind of fast and stress free, but it will be nice to use other safer means. razor has ruined not just my sweater and some other cloths, but it has also ruined one of my finger.

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