Monday's Mending Pile

September is a call back to routine (my nine week lay-off from work will end tomorrow at 8:00 a.m.--insert happy dance here) and a good-bye to those care-free days of summer (and hopefully allergy season as well). 

Summer 2015, Assiniboine Park.

This is also the end of a long weekend here in Canada. Happy Labour Day to those readers who are celebrating. Which brings me to this week's mending issue.   

I am once again labouring (I know bad pun--couldn't help myself) over this top. It ended up in my mending pile when it came out of the wash looking like this horrible mess.  

Yes, it pilled. And those horrible little bobbles of tight fuzz locked onto the fabric surface are enough to make me throw this in the donate pile.

But I can't because I like this top. This is the reason that I prefer natural fibre over the man-made stuff. Yes, I get that it is cheaper for manufacturers to produce and there will always be silly consumer (insert moi) who will know better but still pick it up. So here are some tips to prevent this miss from happening.  

1. Avoid fabrics that have blended natural and man-made fibres, especially if the fabric content lists three or more fibres.  
2. Wash knitted fabric on the gentle cycle on your washing machine. I have access to a machine that has a delicate cycle. It is a slower wash and there is less agitation during the cycle.  
3. Or better yet, hand wash your knits. 
4. Turn the item to the wrong side before washing. (Yes, I neglected to do this.) This will prevent the surface of the fabric to rub against other items in the wash that might cause rubbing against hard surfaces like zippers or buttons.  
5. Wash like-minded clothes together. Washing towels with knits will spell t-r-o-u-b-l-e because those lint producing towels will be attracted to any broken fibres on a polyester surface and form pills.  
6. Dry knits flat, avoiding the use of a dryer where it increases the chance of abrasion against other fabrics.  

If pilling occurs not all is lost.  

I couldn't have saved this top without this handy little tool. It's the Remington® Fuzz-Away Pro and can you believe all the fuzz that removed from that one top! Yikes.  

Happy Labour Day!