February 27, 2013

How to de-pill your clothing

One of my most frustrating things that I encounter in the thrifting/refashioning/and clothing in general world is pilling. Pilling is the balling up of fibers on your clothing. Aka, these black jeggings and sweater vest. Just to make a point, I wore them both the same day and shaved my entire outfit. Yes, shaved! Just borrowed the razor from the shower and some masking tape I had laying around and went at it. Or you could go buy a lint shaver from the store, but I find this to much more successful since I have done both. Just make sure to do it slowly so you don't accidentally slice a hole in your clothing. I have done that before, sadly.

1. Wash
2. Shave
3. Use a lint roller or tape to pick up the pilling




35 comments:

  1. My friend and I were just talking about doing this! We were trying to explain it to a friend, but when she tried it she cut a hole up the side of her favorite cardigan - sad day!

    xx Ashleigh
    www.ashflynn.blogspot.com

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    1. Yes, that happened to me too with one of my floral knit tops that adored. Luckily I cut it right under the armpit. You must be very slow and gentle. I did it while I was wearing it and I found it easier. When I had it flat on the table, that is when I cut it. I'm not sure why that helps, but it does. Hopefully she will have better success next time!

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  2. this is so genius. i have one of those ridiculous sweater shavers but i find it doesn't really "work". i'm going to try this!

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  3. These tricks are a life saver! Great tutorial, thanks for sharring.

    www.McKennaBleu.blogspot.com

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  4. i must do this. seriously i hate when this happens.
    you are a genius!

    K

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  5. Oh I do this too! I buy cheap razors to use for this though, b/c once I've shaved a sweater, the razor is useless on my legs. Great use for the dollar store razors though!

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  6. oh. my. gosh. i wish i had known this years ago before i threw my clothes out because of those little balls. you are a lifesaver!

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  7. I have also used my husbands electric razor, it looks like I'm shearing a sheep.

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  8. Be glad you shaved it! Most lint shavers I've used ended up cutting holes in my clothes, despite how lightly I pressed.

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  9. o! what a good idea! who knew? thanks!

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  10. Great idea! Off I go to save (make that shave!) some old clothes of mine!:D

    Great post dear!
    best, zia
    http://tisallaboutthefashion.blogspot.in/

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  11. Thanks for the tip! The after pics look a million times better!

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  12. I remember when I first saw this on Anthea Turner's "Perfect Housewife" show, it was just the solution I'd been looking for. I've used it a lot and it always works like charm, you just have to be careful.

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  13. Oh... THANK YOU!! I needed this! Thanks. :)

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  14. This is great! I have a bunch of leggings I want to bust out soon for Spring and I'm sure a bunch of them are like this.
    Jillian - http://epic-thread.blogspot.com

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  15. This is going to come in handy , great advice .

    xo Meg<3

    Meghan Silva's Blog

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  16. I just found your blog and literally read the whole thing!! I'm a Mormon too and I can never find many cute modest outfits here in Australia so you have totally inspired me to try making some of my own clothes! What would you suggest I start with? Is a dress too adventurous?
    Ellen xx

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  17. This is a great tip! Thanks for sharing. (:

    xx
    www.naturally-christina.blogspot.com

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  18. Wow. So awesome! I can't wait to de-pill everything in my closet!

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  19. Well done! I have a de-piller that is actually a pumas stone. I picked it up at the local fabric store when I worked there.... but it's from www.sweaterstone.com and it works wonderfully also! The nice thing there is that you don't have to worry about cutting a hole. I do like your idea though! Now that I think of it... you could just use a pumas stone that you would use on your feet. 'Cept I think I would use it just for de-pilling! LoL...

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  20. Oh I so needed this. I have a lovely J.Crew gold weave sweater but it unfortunately has pilled like no other since I wear it so often. I'm so excited that I'll be able to wear it again!!! You're a sweater saver. xx

    Allie @ callmesassafras.wordpress.com

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  21. HA I usually just sit there and pick off the pills and it takes forever and doesn't really work! Thanks for this.

    -hanalei @ foggydress.wordpress.com

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  22. great idea, thanks for sharing! I have a newly thrifted coat that is perfect except for some weird pilling <3

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  23. Thanks alot for sharing. I de-pilled a sweater dress I haven't been wearing for a while because of the pilling today and wrote about it on my blog. I put a link to this blog post, I hope that's cool. You can look at the post here:
    http://bastelbazooka.blogspot.de/2013/03/spring-shaving.html

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  24. this is so great. I feel a little silly for not thinking of that before. I just used it on a bunch of my workout pants. So brilliant.

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  25. Thanks for the tip. I've done this in the past but I had since forgotten about it.

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  26. Great tip, worked like a charm. Thanks for sharing!

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  27. Interesting. Never knew there was a solution to that problem. Thanks for sharing.

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