A client recently revealed the inside of her hall cupboard for me to see. It was overflowing with her collection of knitwear.

She wasn’t a wool addict, or a mad fetishist, her only mistake was hanging out with the wrong type. The wrong type of knit that is. The “pilling” type.

She explained to me that she hated pilling. So as soon as those little balls of fluff started appearing on the arms and looked set to creep across the entire garment, it was relegated to the hall cupboard.

The problem was the hallway closet could no longer be opened without half its contents spilling out onto the floor! As her stylist I explained that her problem was that she was buying too much of the wrong kind of knitwear. We worked out the value of each knit and totaled $4700, an incredible amount as most of it was now un-wearable.

It’s understandable with so many retailers selling poor quality knitwear that doesn’t last a wear (let alone a season), that you may find it difficult to find a good quality knit that can be worn over and over again.

However, there are two steps you can take to ensure you don’t make the same mistake and end up with a bottomless pit of knitwear.

Step One: Check the fabrication

You only want to purchase knits made from pure cashmere, wool, cotton, silk and linen. You may want a bit of stretch in which case a tiny amount of Lycra blended through is okay.

In Melbourne recently, I found beautiful quality at 8 inkerman - the range is second to none.

Step Two: Take care of your knitwear

1. Hand-wash: In today’s busy world the art of hand washing has been all but lost. But by hand washing your knitwear in cool water with a cheap shampoo, your knits will keep its shape and resist piling infinitely longer.

2. Fold them: Keep your knitwear folded in a draw as apposed to hanging. Knitwear remembers and you don’t want to be walking around with the ghosts of coat hangers shaped into your shoulder.

So what happened to my client? We kept in mind the five grand she had previously spent on the wrong knitwear and spent $500 on three fabulous knits that will last her forever. We purchased a Jacquie O cardi from House of Cashmere and two basic knits from Country Road. The quality was fabulous and the product will see her through a season at least.

I’m sure when the day comes to retire them, they won’t see the inside of that dreaded hall closet but instead become treasured nanna knits to be worn in front of the fire on a cold winters evening.

If you’ve got some knit tips, share them here.

(Image Credits: Top Left Image Twitchett & Tonge Autumn Winter 07 Collection. Top right and bottom right photos by by Bronwyn Kidd, Coco Productions courtesy of 8 Inkerman)