How to Wash Sweaters (and Skip the Dry Cleaner)

by Madeline Berger
September 9th, 2021

Have you found yourself quietly uttering the words "sweater weather" over the past week or two? Perhaps it happened when a notably cool breeze wafted through the window, or as you realized it's too chilly to wear sandals while walking through the Halloween display at Target. We've noticed customers making a beeline to sweaters both on our website and in stores, and thought there'd be no better time than now to drop a bit of knowledge about our favorite cool-weather item. If you're anything like me, you have a sweater or two that you love to death and have worn many, many times. How often you've washed that sweater, however, may be a slightly smaller number.

I personally never really knew the proper way to wash sweaters, and would flinch as I gingerly threw one in the washer, bidding it adieu in a "perhaps we'll meet again in the next life" type fashion. But, guys—listen up: it doesn't have to be this way! After reading what bunches of helpful people on the internet have to say, we've put together a comprehensive guide for how to wash a sweater. And—spoiler alert—have discovered that you *don't* need to bring your sweater to the dry cleaner even if the little tag tells you to do so. Happy early birthday!

Read on for instructions on 1. hand washing your sweater 2. machine washing your sweater and 3. drying your sweater. We even have a section on some ways you can shrink or stretch a sweater (because I can't be the only one who has longed for this info). And before you leave, make sure you check out the hundreds of sweaters for sale on our vintage sweaters page!

Route 1: Hand Washing

If in doubt, hand wash! It's easier than you'd think