Yes, this photo below is what a pair of my leggings used looked like. And I wore them. Alot. They’re maternity pants that were NOT cheap, but felt cheap after a couple wears. Pilling started almost immediately. But I continued to wear them … because well working from home every day, I’ve been known to wear a lot worse.
I told Joe, my husband, how frustrated I was that these expensive maternity pants were pilling after wearing them a handful of times and he laughed saying ‘I thought that was how they were supposed to look.’ #wardrobefail
Happy to tell you that I was able to find a solution that didn’t involve throwing good money down the drain. Yes, it’s possible to remove pilling on your own! But as I’m nearing the end of my pregnancy, I’m kicking myself for wearing these overpriced pilled ridden pants for so long without fixing them sooner. Especially considering the fix took me all of 5 minutes. #liveandlearn
Supplies
- Cheap razor (the cheaper the better …. like this one)
- Paper towel
- Lint roller
- Your pilled clothing!
Remove Pilling
The first thing I did was iron my pants. Although it’s not essential, I was a little nervous that shaving my pants would rip the fabric. Well, this ended up not being an issue at all, but I’m a ‘better safe than sorry’ type of gal.
Save your good razors for your legs. Seriously. Skip the fancy ones that have the moisture strips or soap bars on the side (it will actually cause more pilling than it will remove). A cheap no frills razor will be most effective. Just make sure it’s a sharp new one.
Pull the fabric taut with one hand and lightly shave one section at a time. This will prevent you from cutting through the garment.
As the razor gets full (and it will quickly!), wipe it off with a paper towel. This mound of pilling was just the beginning!
I found it easier to place my garmet on a hard surface whiling shaving it instead of carpet.
Now not all the pilling stuck onto the razor so I also rolled a lint roller over the paints to collect the remains.
Depending on how much pilling there is, it make take you a quick minute or a little longer to get your garmet back to it’s original state. Do as I say and not as I do …. don’t wait too long to tackle this project after you see pilling on your clothes!
Prevent Pilling
Even though this was a pretty simple little project, it’s always best to try to prevent pilling from starting in the first place:
- Turn your garments inside out before washing and drying.
- Liquid laundry detergent is more gentle on clothing, as is using the gentle cycle (duh)!
- When possible, hang dry your clothes instead of using the dryer. The dryer is the big pilling culperate.
- Make sure not to overload your washer. Cramming too many garmets in prevents the from moving around and causes damage to the surface.
May your expensive clothes continue to look EXPENSIVE and hopefully pilling never goes in style!
Nicoletta says
Good idea!!!!
Nicoletta
Lois says
In addition, to prevent pilling, don’t wash and dry the item together with cotton items that create a lot of lint, such as towels for an obvious example. The pills can be created from the other item’s lint, and stick to your garment. 🙂
Daniel says
That worked amazingly well! Yes it’s got to be a CHEAP RAZOR. I started with my fancy razor and did not work Thank you so much !!!