How to Prevent Pilling on Knitwear

You might worry about “pills” when wearing knits and find caring for them troublesome.

Therefore, we recommend using threads that have been processed to reduce pilling and feature “anti-pill treatment”.

Why Do You Have Pills in the　First Place?

Pilling is formed by rubbing the fibers against each other and entwining the surface of the fibers with fluff.

In particular, the yarn used for winter knit items is required to be soft and bulge, so there are many sweet-twisted yarns, and the density of the knitted fabric is sweeter than that of woven fabrics, so it is said that pills are more likely to occur.

In addition, the scales on the surface of wool and animal hair fibers have a great influence on the cause of easy entanglement.

What is Fiber Scaleｓ ?

The fiber scales (or cuticles) are similar to the cuticles of human hair. (The photo above shows the scales of the fiber.) These scales can catch and entangle, forming pills. Larger scales are more likely to entangle and create pills.

Processing to Reduce Pilling

As explained earlier, pills can form when fiber scales become entangled. Processing to prevent these scales from catching and forming pills is known as “anti-pill treatment.” Here are some common anti-pill treatments:

Resin Processing

This involves coating the surface of the thread with resin to prevent the scales from rising. Although resin coating can make the texture stiffer, developments in softer resins are underway.

Off-Scale Processing

This generally involves using chemicals to dissolve the scales. Chlorine-based chemicals are commonly used. Other methods include Kroy processing (shrink-proof) and Basolan processing (semi-shrink-proof).

Gas Baking Process

This method smooths the surface by burning off the fluff with a gas flame. The thread is passed through the flame at high speed to burn off the surface fuzz.

Summary

The process of suppressing pills also has a shrink-proof effect because it removes the scales that contribute to knit shrinkage, allowing some items to be washed.

However, this process may sometimes alter the original texture of the thread. Therefore, you should choose between prioritizing the anti-pill function or preserving the original texture.