The Care Guide
How to wash, dry, and keep what you’ve chosen — for decades, not seasons.
If you’ve just opened the box, there’s nothing you need to do yet. Wear it, and let it rest between wears. Care begins later than you’d think, and it’s simpler than you’d expect.
Every piece we make is labeled dry clean — it’s our formal recommendation, and it’s always the safe choice.
Washing at home is a choice some owners make with their own hands. Where a fabric takes to it, this page shows how to do it with care — and the results, like the choice, are your own.
For any knit with a zip, we strongly recommend dry cleaning only.
Blends follow their leading fiber — care for a cashmere blend as cashmere, and a cotton blend as cotton. What each fiber is, and how to judge it, lives in the Fiber Guide. Where ours comes from lives in Our Standards.
Cashmere
Dry clean, and air between wears.
Cashmere, day to day
Cashmere asks for less than you’d expect. The fiber carries natural oils that resist odor and keep the yarn supple, so most days all it needs is twenty to thirty minutes of air on a rack after wear and a light steam — hover the steamer rather than pressing, so the knit relaxes without flattening. Smooth the ribs at the cuffs and hem with your hands, and brush away lint with a soft fabric brush rather than an adhesive roller. Wash only when it’s truly time; frequent washing tires the fiber faster than wear ever will. When the piece looks and feels restored, fold it — don’t hang it — and return it to the shelf.
Our recommendation: dry cleaning
When a piece is truly due for a clean, we recommend dry cleaning — for cashmere more than anything else we make. Unless you have real experience washing fine knits, let a professional take it: a good cleaner preserves the fit, the color, and the hand, and asks nothing of you but the drop-off.
That goes double for heavy stains or odor, for anything tailored, lined, or structured, for pieces with zips or other hardware, for deep or mixed colors you’re unsure about, and for oil-based marks.
If it has a zip, we strongly recommend dry cleaning only. A zip and the knit around it shrink at different rates — the zipper tape isn’t the same fiber as the garment — and once heat and water pull them out of step, the zip ripples and never sits quite right again. If a zip has already rippled, a careful steam through a damp cloth, pressed and gently stretched flat while damp, can relax it — and a tailor can replace one that won’t settle.
Tell your cleaner it’s a fine knit and ask them to skip the hard press. Request low heat, gentle solvents, and a light steam to finish, and ask them to block the sweater back to its original shape rather than pressing it flat. Point out rib trims, exposed seams, or contrast panels so they can protect them.
This goes for cashmere accessories too — hats, scarves, and gloves take the same care as the sweaters. Refresh them between wears with steam and air, and fold scarves rather than hanging them by the knit.
Washing cashmere at home
Every Pura label reads dry clean: it’s the one answer we can stand behind for every piece, and it’s never wrong. Washing at home is a choice owners make with their own hands — water, detergent, and touch are yours, not ours. If you’re confident, the steps below are how we’d do it. If you’re not, this is the piece to leave with your cleaner.
Go gently. Turn the sweater inside out and clear the area of anything that could snag. Fill a clean basin with cold water and a small amount of cashmere-safe detergent, fully dissolved before the knit goes in.
Submerge the sweater and move it slowly through the water for a couple of minutes — no scrubbing, twisting, or wringing — then let it rest briefly so the detergent can do its work.
Rinse in clean, cold water until it runs clear, supporting the garment with both hands so it never drags under its own weight. To remove excess water, lay the sweater flat on a towel, roll it, and press along the roll. Repeat with a dry towel if needed; the knit should feel damp, not wet.
Transfer it to a flat surface away from heat and direct sun. Align the shoulder seams, smooth the cuffs and hem, and square the sides so the silhouette matches its original shape. Leave it to dry flat, turning it once midway so it dries evenly, and finish with a light steam.
If something looks off as it dries, re-wet it briefly in cold water, reshape it with calm hands, and let it dry flat again. When in doubt, return to dry cleaning.
- Wash
- Dry clean; hand wash only with experienced hands. Zips: always dry clean.
- Dry
- Flat, away from heat and sun.
- Iron
- Steam only, hovered.
- Store
- Folded, never hung.
Pilling, plainly
Pilling is friction, not a flaw. As you move through the day, a few loose surface fibers tangle into small balls — most often under the arms, at the cuffs, or where a bag strap or seatbelt rides. New sweaters show it most in the first few wears as the shortest fibers release; after a touch-up or two, it tapers off and the surface settles.
To remove pills, lay the sweater flat and sweep a cashmere comb in one direction with light, even strokes, letting the tool lift the pills rather than pressing down. Work slowly around the high-friction areas and avoid dragging over seams. Finish with a light steam to relax the fibers, and the sweater keeps softening from there.
Why it happens at all is a question of staple length — the Fiber Guide explains it.
Cotton
We recommend dry cleaning.
Cotton, day to day
Nearly all of our cotton is Supima® — American-grown extra-long staple, its fibers running about 1.375 inches against roughly an inch for ordinary cotton, which is why it wears smooth and holds its color. It’s made to be worn often. Between wears, a shake-out and a little air are usually all a piece needs — cotton doesn’t hold odor the way synthetics do, so it rarely needs more than that. Washing less keeps the color deep and the hand smooth for longer, and when a piece is due for a clean, dry cleaning is the sure route — though Supima, washed with care, takes to home washing well.
Dry cleaning, the sure route
Dry cleaning protects the shape of the knit, the finish of the fabric, and any hardware a piece carries — and it takes the guesswork out entirely. The same briefing from the cashmere chapter works here: tell your cleaner it’s a fine knit, ask for low heat and no hard press, and have sweaters blocked back to shape rather than pressed flat.
Washing cotton at home
Every Pura label reads dry clean: it’s the one answer we can stand behind for every piece, and it’s never wrong. Washing at home is a choice owners make with their own hands — water, detergent, and touch are yours, not ours. If you’re confident, the steps below are how we’d do it. If you’re not, this is the piece to leave with your cleaner.
Wash it cold — by hand, or on a gentle cycle — turned inside out, with a mild detergent and like colors. Skip bleach and fabric softener, never wring it, and support a wet knit’s full weight.
If it has a zip, we strongly recommend dry cleaning only. A zip and the knit around it shrink at different rates — the zipper tape isn’t the same fiber as the garment — and once heat and water pull them out of step, the zip ripples and never sits quite right again. If a zip has already rippled, a careful steam through a damp cloth, pressed and gently stretched flat while damp, can relax it — and a tailor can replace one that won’t settle.
Drying and shape
Lay cotton knits flat to dry, easing the shoulders, cuffs, and hem back into line while the piece is still damp — this is what keeps a sweater’s shape year after year. Keep everything out of direct sun, which fades color. If you use the dryer, keep it low and take the piece out while it’s slightly damp — and if a piece needs smoothing, a warm iron inside out does it.
A note on cotton and pilling
Cotton knits can show a little surface fuzz where friction lives — the same physics as cashmere, at a smaller scale. The same answer works: lay the piece flat and take a comb or fabric shaver across it with light strokes. It tapers quickly, and a well-kept cotton knit only smooths with time.
“I hand wash and it comes out perfect every time.”
Carole N. · Verified Owner · Cotton Fisherman Crew
- Wash
- Dry clean; at home: cold and gentle, by hand or machine. Zips: dry clean only.
- Dry
- Flat; tumble low at most.
- Iron
- Warm, inside out.
- Store
- Folded.
Linen
The fiber that improves with every wash.
Linen, day to day
Our linen is Libeco — woven in Belgium by a family mill working flax since 1858. It’s the fiber that improves in your hands: every wash softens it, and it only gets better with wear. Between wears, hang the piece and let it breathe — linen releases moisture quickly and comes back fresh on its own more often than not.
Washing linen
Our label reads dry clean, and it’s always safe. Linen itself is famously washable — if you take it to water, go cool and gentle: cool water, a gentle cycle, a mild detergent, and room in the drum, because linen creases hardest when it’s crowded. Skip bleach even on light colors; it weakens the flax fiber over time. Linen will tolerate more than we ask of it — we keep the water cool because we’re caring for decades, not seasons.
Drying and finishing
Hang linen to dry or lay it flat, smoothing the seams while it’s damp, and skip the dryer where you can — heat, over the years, is hard on flax. If you like linen crisp, iron it while it’s still slightly damp on a medium setting, with steam — that’s when the fiber takes a press best. And if you don’t, that’s the other way to wear it: the soft rumple linen takes on through a day is part of the fabric’s language. It’s meant to look lived in.
Keeping linen
Hang woven linen pieces on a shaped hanger so the shoulders keep their line, with a little space between garments so the fabric can breathe. For longer storage, clean first and use a breathable cotton bag — never plastic, which traps moisture against a fiber that wants air.
- Wash
- Dry clean; at home: cool water, gentle cycle, mild detergent.
- Dry
- Hang or lay flat; skip the dryer.
- Iron
- Medium, with steam, slightly damp — or don’t.
- Store
- Hung, on a shaped hanger.
Denim
Washed seldom, worn often.
Denim, day to day
Denim is built for repetition. Wear it often and wash it seldom — an overnight hang and, when needed, a spot-clean with a damp cloth handle most days. The less denim is washed, the deeper its color stays and the better it molds to you.
Washing denim
Our label reads dry clean, and it’s always safe. If you choose to wash denim — as denim owners long have — do it cold: turned inside out, buttons and zips closed, on a gentle cycle with like colors and a mild detergent. Dark washes can release a little indigo at first — give new dark denim one wash on its own, cold, before its first wear, and keep it away from anything pale in the machine until it settles.
Drying, shape, and keeping
Hang denim to dry — or tumble low — and ease the seams straight while it’s damp; high heat is what fades and shrinks. A medium iron inside out smooths it if needed. Day to day, denim is easy to keep — fold it or hang it, and give it air between wears.
- Wash
- Dry clean; at home: cold, inside out, gentle cycle.
- Dry
- Hang, or tumble low.
- Iron
- Medium, inside out.
- Store
- Folded or hung, aired between wears.
Storage and the off-season
Every season
In season, the rule is simple: knits fold, wovens hang. Folding keeps a sweater’s shoulders and hem in line; hanging keeps a dress or shirt in shape. Give anything you’ve just worn twenty to thirty minutes on a rack before it goes back — a garment stored fully dry stays fresh far longer.
The off-season
Before storing anything for the off-season, clean it first — moths and time both find what a quick wear leaves behind. Fold each piece into a breathable cotton or canvas bag and keep it somewhere cool and dry, not a damp basement or a hot attic. Avoid long-term airtight plastic; if you use vacuum bags, add a desiccant and open them now and then to let the fibers air.
Moths, and what to do
Moths seek animal fibers, so cashmere and wool blends need the most protection: add cedar blocks or a lavender sachet to those bags, refresh the cedar seasonally, and replace sachets when the scent fades. Cotton, linen, and denim are far less tempting to moths, but the clean-before-storing rule still applies. If you ever notice activity, isolate the piece, seal it, and freeze it for forty-eight to seventy-two hours, then dry clean it and return it to a freshly cleaned storage space.
Travel, and the care shelf
For travel, roll knits loosely rather than folding them tight, and pack linen last so it rides on top. On arrival, hang or lay everything out, let it breathe, and pass a steamer over anything that needs its drape back. A small cashmere comb handles any surface fuzz from the suitcase.
A short shelf covers everything on this page. Keep it together and every touch-up stays a five-minute job.
- A cashmere comb
- A wool-safe detergent, for the cashmere
- A mild everyday detergent, for the cottons, linens, and denim
- Two clean towels
- A handheld steamer
- Breathable storage bags, with cedar or lavender
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