In Seattle, cold weather has descended so I thought it appropriate to talk about a weapon in your sweater care arsenal you may not know about: The Sweater Comb.

Sweaters pill due to short or broken fibers gathering into balls, usually due to abrasion. In general, the longer the fibers of your sweater, the less pilling you’ll have. Often the quality (and cost) of a sweater is determined in part by how long the fibers are.

Sweater combs are a cheap option to help you maintain the look and extend the lifetime of your sweaters. You can use a sweater comb to gather pills and keep them from getting bigger.

When you comb your sweater, you’ll end up with a pill-ball, like this one. Well, maybe not exactly like this one. This sweater had a lot of pilling!

Always remember to check the fiber content of your sweater before you start combing it. You don’t want to use a wool comb on cashmere.

And a tip when shopping for sweaters: avoid fiber blends. Combining different types of threads make a sweater more likely to pill. You’ll notice fiber blend sweaters start looking rough earlier in their lifetime than single fiber sweaters.

That’s all for this week! Keep Calm and Comb On!