Ideas for Sweater Storage? - YouLookFab Forum

I could really use help with out-of-the-box thinking!

My sweaters are unworn for 7-8 months of the year. I don't hang them, so they sit in their bins, neatly folded, and acquiring some fairly impressive fold lines, all those months. When I pull one out, unless it's really heavy it's thoroughly wrinkled with fold lines, including the sleeves. Sometimes when desperate I'll spritz one with water and throw it in the dryer for 10 minutes; but that hasn't worked as well in my dryer as it used to in my parents'.

I'm good at ironing and resigned to ironing cotton blouses and poplin dresses; but I'm going to draw the line at sweaters. About the only way to keep them wearable is to "store" by throwing them flat on the floor or draped over something. I also have a couple of sweater dresses. I love them and can't stand the thought of bundling them into small bins; but no other solution occurs.

Any ideas? It's fully sweater season here, and I've only worn 2 out of a collection of 12 or more. I would love a low-maintenance solution.

8 years ago

unfrumped

Veteran

A very simplistic solution I use is to use larger flatter plastic containers so that my sweaters are essentially laid out on top of each other without folding. The sleeves may require " folding" back alongside the body, but not folded in half.
This does require having a larger shelf or under bed or such area compared to compact bins that fit on a typical closet shelf.

Mellllls

unfrunped i am going to try that. sorry… i have the same problem with sweaters….

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Whenever I take out sweaters from storage at the beginning of the
season, I wash them before wearing. I figure they've probably gotten a
bit dusty anyway, and that gets rid of any accumulated fold lines. Then I just have to worry about the bit of creasing I get between wears.

Could you roll them rather than fold? There's also the trick that you can drape them over a hanger, with the body of the sweater on one side of the hanger and the sleeves on the other. Might not work for heavier sweaters, although if you use the flocked hangers it might be fine.

I hang my sweater dresses during the winter season, I admit; otherwise I won't remember to wear them since all my other dresses are hung.

i worry that rolling wouldn't resolve creases in the sleeves because you would fold them in first, wouldn't you?

Peri

I just bought it, so this won't be a detailed review, but I'm currently in love with this little hand held steamer I bought, called of course, My Little Steamer! So cute.

I've used it once so far, on a sweater that was near the bottom of the stack and so had those fold lines even though technically out of storage. Well the thing was spitting steam in about 15 seconds and one pass over each crease line and they were gone. Poof, gone. Way easier than hauling out the ironing board.

I know a better solution would be avoiding the creases in the first place but I'm really not sure that's possible. I don't even like to hang sweaters in season, much less for months of storage. But I will be following this closely to see what I can learn. Thanks for asking this question.

kkards

so.....what's wrong with fold lines? after wearing them for an hour or so, I find the fold lines are gone.
but if you are really uncomfortable with them, I agree with Peri, a quick steam should solve the problem

Ginger

Some good ideas, thank you! unfrumped, larger containers sound really good for the dresses in particular. The ones I'm particularly concerned about are thin but heavy (nice full skirts - see Finds), and I can feel them sagging just when I pick them up on the drycleaner hangers.

Laura, washing them first is a really smart idea. I couldn't set a date for when to do it - my weather seesaws for several months and is never the same from year to year - but after the first real cold front would work. I'm leery of rolling, like Mellllls; I used to roll t-shirts and they were horribly wrinkled in the center. But I'll bet a lot of mine could be draped over the the hanger without damage.

A steamer is a good idea, Peri. I probably need to get one anyway, and it would help with stubborn wrinkles.

kkards, you make a good point. For me, the long-term fold lines don't disappear with wear, even all day. I've had sleeves that looked shriveled (must have been a sloppy fold job) and were still pretty weird looking 12 hours later. I'm not super picky about minor creases from wearing, or lint, or other things like that. Really big/weird fold lines that don't disappear are another matter. Especially because the horizontal front fold usually hits in a really awkward place when worn.

Kohl's

Dana Buchman Cowlneck Fit & Flare Sweaterdress - Women's

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Dana Buchman Fit & Flare Sweaterdress - Women's

got it....i'd try folding with tissue paper.

Elizabeth P

I'm not sure how easy it would be, but one of the benefits of folding tees the Kon Marie way is that wrinkles supposedly don't get as "pressed" in. I wonder if you could do this with dresses and sweaters, in bins? Basically putting them on end instead of in piles, so they don't get crushed with the weight of the ones on top. Might need help getting them in, but might work. Or make sure your heavy sweaters are on the bottom... Funny, I've never really had an issue with this, and I store all my sweaters in bins off season.

MsMary

Maybe you're storing too many sweaters in each bin. How about giving them a little breathing room?

Joy

Ms Mary said it for me. I 've never had a problem with fold lines and I store in zip loc bags then in plastic bins. I love spray on wrinkle releaser, Dove I think. Wrinkles just relax and disappear. Don't fold in half. Fold in thirds after forming a rectangle by folding the sleeves in neatly.

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