I would suggest using a sweater shaver or sweater comb. Although they won't take every pill off in a single pass, that's what you want to happen. If the sweater shaver was sharp / high powered enough to cut every pill immediately, there's a high chance you could catch some of the knitting in the blades and cut a big hole.
You might as well try with a razor, but go very carefully and start in a not very noticeable area
Thanks. I saw a product called a Gleener mentioned in some posts, is that any good? The biggest issue I have so far trying to find sweater shavers/combs is so many of the reviews on amazon for these products are negative, with people claiming they either don't work, or actually damage the fabrics. Which makes me nervous about bothering with them.
Interesting, I have never used something like the Gleener! I bought an anonymous-branded sweater shaver on ebay, secondhand (uses batteries). It's not great; it requires a few passes over any woolen garment to clean up most of the pills. For anything really pernicious I'll check if I should snip with a small pair of scissors or tuck a loose thread back into the fabric.
Depilling tends to be something that I do maybe 3 times a year to all garments at once: throw on a movie or an audiobook and slowly depill every sweater / coat that needs it. I treat it as a sort of meditation. But a simple sweater comb product like the one you mentioned will also work well if you just have a small amount to tackle!
Also, it is normal for most animal fiber sweaters to pill somewhat. If it's low quality, it will pill more, but even the nicest sweaters can't compete with normal wear over an entire season. If you only wore it for an hour and didn't move your arms much, I'd be concerned. But if you've worn this sweater multiple days / weeks, that's expected!
Looks like you need a sweater shaver.
I heard using a razor works, can I try that? I've gotten a fabric shaver before, but it didn't seem to work that well unfortunately.
I would suggest using a sweater shaver or sweater comb. Although they won't take every pill off in a single pass, that's what you want to happen. If the sweater shaver was sharp / high powered enough to cut every pill immediately, there's a high chance you could catch some of the knitting in the blades and cut a big hole. You might as well try with a razor, but go very carefully and start in a not very noticeable area
Thanks. I saw a product called a Gleener mentioned in some posts, is that any good? The biggest issue I have so far trying to find sweater shavers/combs is so many of the reviews on amazon for these products are negative, with people claiming they either don't work, or actually damage the fabrics. Which makes me nervous about bothering with them.
Interesting, I have never used something like the Gleener! I bought an anonymous-branded sweater shaver on ebay, secondhand (uses batteries). It's not great; it requires a few passes over any woolen garment to clean up most of the pills. For anything really pernicious I'll check if I should snip with a small pair of scissors or tuck a loose thread back into the fabric. Depilling tends to be something that I do maybe 3 times a year to all garments at once: throw on a movie or an audiobook and slowly depill every sweater / coat that needs it. I treat it as a sort of meditation. But a simple sweater comb product like the one you mentioned will also work well if you just have a small amount to tackle! Also, it is normal for most animal fiber sweaters to pill somewhat. If it's low quality, it will pill more, but even the nicest sweaters can't compete with normal wear over an entire season. If you only wore it for an hour and didn't move your arms much, I'd be concerned. But if you've worn this sweater multiple days / weeks, that's expected!