How to Thrift and Care for Secondhand Sweaters This Fall

Sweater season has officially landed in Northwest Arkansas. The mornings are crisp, the afternoons still argue about it, and every thrift rack in town suddenly fills up with knits. Secondhand sweaters are one of the best deals in resale: they're often barely worn, they come in patterns and colors you won't find on this year's new-arrivals wall, and buying one keeps a perfectly good garment in orbit a little longer.

The trick is knowing what to look for on the rack and how to look after a sweater once it's home. Here's a practical guide to both.

Start with the tag, not the price

The single most useful thing on any sweater is the little label sewn into a side seam or the neckline. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission's textile and wool labeling rules require most clothing to list its fiber content by generic name, in order of how much of each fiber is in the garment by weight, along with the country of origin and the company responsible for it. A separate FTC care labeling rule requires most clothing to carry either a washing or a dry-cleaning instruction.

That means the tag tells you two big things before you ever try the sweater on:

• What it's made of. Wool, cashmere, alpaca and mohair are animal fibers. They're warm and breathable, but they need gentler care and can attract clothes moths. Cotton, acrylic, polyester and blends are usually easier to wash and aren't on a moth's menu, although they can pill.
• How it wants to be cleaned. If a label says dry clean only and you know you'll never take it to a cleaner, that's worth weighing before you buy.

One more nerdy detail from the FTC guidance: wool has to be named on the label even when it makes up a tiny share of the fibers, so if you have a wool sensitivity, the tag is a reliable place to check.

Give it a quick once-over on the rack

A sixty-second inspection saves a lot of disappointment later. Hold the sweater up to the light and check:

1. Cuffs, collar and hem. These edges take the most wear. Look for stretched-out ribbing or unraveling.
2. Elbows, underarms and sides. According to Woolmark's guide to pilling, those fuzzy little balls form from rubbing during wear, most often around the elbows, armpits, sleeves and sides where the arms brush the body. Light pilling is easy to fix; heavy matting is harder.
3. Tiny holes. A cluster of small holes, especially in folds or hidden spots, can be a sign of moth larvae. Extension entomologists at Utah State University note that damage usually shows up in hidden places such as cuffs and folds.
4. Shoulder bumps. Little points at the shoulders usually mean the sweater lived on a hanger. They often relax after a wash and a flat dry.
5. Seams and buttons. A loose button is a five-minute fix. A split seam on a chunky knit is more work, but still mendable.

Wash it like you mean to keep it

Even a sweater that looks clean deserves a wash before it joins your closet. The University of Kentucky's entomology department points out in its clothes moth fact sheet that laundering or dry cleaning kills any eggs or larvae that might be hiding and removes the body odors that attract the pests in the first place.

For a wool or other animal-fiber sweater that's labeled hand wash, Woolmark's washing instructions boil down to a few steps:

• Turn the sweater inside out.
• Soak it for about ten minutes in lukewarm water (around 30°C, or the mid-80s Fahrenheit) with a mild wool detergent.
• Rinse in lukewarm water, then again in cold.
• Don't rub, twist or wring it. Agitation is what turns a sweater into felt.

If the care label says the sweater is machine washable, Woolmark suggests turning it inside out or using a laundry bag and choosing the wool, cold or delicates cycle. Woolmark also recommends skipping bleach and heavy-duty or enzyme detergents on wool, and going light on fabric softener, which can actually make pilling worse.

Cotton and synthetic sweaters are more forgiving, but the same rule of thumb applies: when in doubt, go cooler and gentler than you think you need to.

Dry it flat, never on a hanger

This is the step that ruins the most sweaters. Woolmark's drying guide explains that line drying or hanging a wet knit lets the weight of the water stretch it longer and pull it out of shape, and wire hangers are especially bad for leaving shoulder humps.

Instead:

1. Roll the sweater up in a clean towel and press gently to squeeze out excess water. A pale, lint-free cotton towel works best so no color or fuzz transfers.
2. Unroll it onto a dry towel or a mesh drying rack.
3. Pat it back into shape, smoothing the sleeves and hem.
4. Let it dry in the shade, away from direct sun, radiators and heaters.

A sturdy set of cotton bath towels earns its spot in the laundry room for exactly this job.

Fix the fuzz

Once it's dry, take care of any pilling. Woolmark suggests three ways: pick a few pills off by hand, comb them away very gently with a sweater comb, or use a small battery-powered fabric shaver for bigger patches.

Store knits folded, and store them clean

Knits want to be folded, not hung. Hangers that are fine for button-downs, blouses and jackets will stretch a sweater's shoulders over time. A practical setup is to give your woven pieces slim, non-slip hangers, which frees up shelf and drawer space for neatly folded knits.

For off-season storage, the extension experts all agree on the basics. The UC Statewide IPM Program recommends making sure anything you put away is clean and pest-free, then storing it in an airtight container. Clear lidded bins make it easy to see what's inside without unpacking everything. A few other tips from the same sources:

• Cedar is a helper, not a guarantee. UC IPM notes that aromatic cedar oil can kill small moth larvae but not large ones, and it loses that quality after several years. A tight container matters more than the wood.
• Skip mothballs in open closets. They only work at high vapor concentrations in sealed containers, they're toxic to kids and pets, and UC IPM warns they can soften plastic buttons and hangers.
• Vacuum the closet. Lint, hair and dust along shelves and baseboards are exactly what moths look for.
• Freeze a suspect sweater. If you're worried a find came home with hitchhikers, the University of Kentucky says to seal it in a plastic bag and hold it at 0°F for at least a week (a freezer that reaches -20°F can do it in about 72 hours), then let it warm to room temperature for about a day before opening the bag.

A find to start with

If you'd rather skip the digging, our Closet Picks are one-of-a-kind secondhand items from right here in Bentonville. Right now that includes a Dokotoo green and white checkerboard knit V-neck sweater vest, brand new with its original tags. A sweater vest is one of the easiest knits to style for fall: layer it over a collared shirt for something a little retro, or over a plain tee when the afternoon warms up. Check its care tag when it arrives, follow the steps above, and it should look sharp for many seasons.

You'll find the hangers, storage bins and towels mentioned here in our Amazon Picks, alongside plenty of space-themed gear for the stargazers in your life.

The short version

• Read the tag first: fiber content and care instructions tell you most of what you need.
• Inspect cuffs, elbows, folds and seams before you buy.
• Wash every find before it joins your closet, cool and gentle.
• Dry knits flat, in the shade, never on a hanger.
• Fold sweaters, store them clean, and keep moths out with tight containers and a tidy closet.

Treat a good secondhand sweater well and it'll keep you warm for years. Live long and prosper, and stay cozy out there.