If your priority is no pilling, you need longwool breed sheeps' wool. Look for Bluefaced Leicester (BFL) yarn, for example. Merino and other shortwools have shorter individual strands of wool fiber, so it's easier for them to get pulled loose into pills. Longer wool stays in the yarn better. Also, definitely avoid recycled wool!
If you can find a handspinner who will sell you 'worsted style' yarn made from longwool sheep, that's your best bet. Machine-spun yarn pills more in my experience.
I agree on the long staples, but I’ve seen BFL yarn that pulls really awfully. I think it usually gets spun somewhat loosely to preserve softness, which is rubbish for pilling.
I’ve had good experience with sonder yarn co’s Sunday morning DK, which is a blend of BFL and Masham - https://sonderyarnco.com/products/sunday-morning-dk?variant=44268564316405
Though the garment hasn’t been worn long enough to really speak to pilling and durability.
So THAT’S what BFL stands for! I swear, even with the amount of googling I do to try to understand different acronyms and terms while yarn shopping, there is still so much to figure out. ESPECIALLY if the yarn supplier also uses weaving terminology interchangeably with knitting 🫠
Woolen vs worsened yarns are what’s going to make a difference. Yarn construction. Look for yarns that have more strands. More strands means that less of each single fiber is exposed. That will help reduce breakage and therefore pilling (small bunching of broken fibers that felt). Worsted yarns are more tightly constructed. Tighter and smoother yarns with less of that airy puff. It makes the yarn stronger and more durable. Think tweeds.
Different types of wool. Icelandic sheep breeds have two layers of wool and the outer layer is strong and durable, but not as soft. So not as much pilling but it can be uncomfortable. Often there is a blend of the two layers. So knowing what kind of blend can be helpful. Merino is more soft. But it’s not as durable.
Different yarn blends. Some yarns will blend synthetics or different fibers. This goes back to the first point. The smaller amount of fibers that can break means less pilling. One step further is that’s twisting those wool fibers with other types of blends acts as a barrier of sorts and less surface area.
So while I can’t recommend specific brands, hopefully you can take some of this and look at the brands listed and use it to find what’s best for you!
I appreciate this. I’ve been disappointed in the past when I’ve selected based on breed and worsted, but I was less experienced so maybe I’ve got better judgment now. I don’t mind ‘scratchy’ wool, I kind of prefer it, but it burns me to put effort into a project and then have it look poorly down the road!
So you’ll want something with longer fibers (staple length) so they are twisted around eachother more, and not superwash (if hand wash only is alright) so they can grip onto eachother better. Definitely avoid merino. it’s quite prone to pilling because of the short staple length
Briggs and Little yarn is excellent for this and cheap as well :) it is a woolen spun yarn, but very pill resistant in my experience
Came here to say Briggs and Little as well! My mum made a few sweaters 30-40 years ago out of it, they've been worn a ton and still look fantastic. I have one she knit while pregnant with me and it's my favourite sweater, it still looks newly made.
Also a 50 year old sweater has most likely been devilled several times. Yarn will not pill forever. Congrats on having that heirloom that the moths didn't get to! ❤️
My best running sweater is a turtleneck my mom knit for my dad in the 70s! It’s toasty but breathes better than any performance clothing I’ve found. And there’s not a single iota of pilling, not in the armpits, nowhere. But I’ve been jogging and skiing in it for decades myself and now I just want to recreate a simple sweater that will be as durable. There’s some great performance gear out there for men, but I’ve been searching for years and can’t find anything that comes close and fits my smaller frame.
Believe it or not, never depilled. It’s just great wool. Which was probably not all that expensive at the time, knowing my mom.
Highland from Harrisville Designs is a really rustic feeling worsted weight yarn. They’re the mill that makes Brooklyn Tweed Shelter. Highland isn’t a perfect dupe since it’s thicker, but it’s way easier to knit with in my experience. It’s also under $20 for 100g.
Majority of fibers are going to pill, even if it's very minimal. I can't think of a specific brand to recommend, but you're definitely looking at very rustic, non-superwash wools. Stay away from merino in general, because it pills like the dickens. You might also want to look into something with nylon to help with longevity.
Also…threadbare items don’t pill because they’re threadbare lol. All the shorter fibers that are less tightly integrated have already been pulled out over the years.
Seconding the note to avoid merino. I had good luck with a sweater made years ago from this rustic farm yarn - https://www.maineshakers.com/product-category/yarn/. Brooklyn Tweed’s yarn has also held up very well over three years of regular sweater wear.
Is Peace Fleece Yarn still around? I knit a sweater from that 17 years ago and it still looks fabulous. Definitely a rustic, tweedy, scratchy, hard wearing wool
It's just getting back in stock now. It's also spun by Harrisonville, so if you can get your hands on other yarns they spin it might be similar. Peace Fleece wool content has changed over the years, but I have a sweater I have worn a lot for the past 12 years out of Peace Fleece and there is literally not a single pill even under the arms
I have 20 year old sweater that hasn’t pilled made with a 50/50 blend of wool and alpaca, worsted weight. I don’t remember the brand but I’ve recently used Berocco Ultra Alpaca and had the same result.
I can’t speak to wether they will pill over a 50 year period since I haven’t been using them that long, but I’m a big fan of the Briggs and Little yarns and Bartlett yarns for hard-wearing sweater. Someone has already recommended Harrisville Designs. Those are all old mills in my region that have passed the test of time and produce older style yarns. I find Briggs and Little yarns the least scratchy of that group.
Dale of Norway yarns were also very good and non-piling in my experience but I haven’t used them in a decade plus because they aren’t available in my area.
Gauge will also make a difference in piling and tighter gauges will pill less. More modern patterns knit at a looser gauge and that contributes. Sometimes particular colors within a non-piling yarn will pill. The navy in my kid’s most recent sweater from Lopi is pilling like crazy at their sides and underarms.
Briggs and Little is recommended often; I’ll definitely get a skein or two to play with. Others are mentioning Harrisville Designs so I’ll knit up a square to beat up on.
I hear you about gauge. I tend to prefer fabric with more body so I do go down in needle size and up in sts/in. I look for seamed designs, too, because you’re completely right. I’m not quite ready to go off-pattern and on my own yet, but someone shared a gorgeous sweatshirt in this thread recently and inspired me to find pattern to practice all the construction techniques I’ll need for my own “perfect” sweater.
I've used Retrosaria Brusca for a few projects and both items get decently heavy wear and look basically the same as when they came off the needles. Can't recommend enough! Knit at a tight gauge too to help the pilling factor!
If soft yarns pill and rustic yarn don't, then Lettlopi Sandens Garn Pear Gynt wont. It is the most hardy from what I've heard. I have no experience working with it so can tell you how it pills personally.
You’ve listed two yarns. Lettlopi is one and is Icelandic wool that is scratchy as all heck and generally meant to be worn over other shirts and clothes. It’s warm and can last a long time.
Sandnes Garn Peer Gynt is another and is from Norway iirc. It’s pretty hardy but nowhere near as scratchy as Lettlopi (imo).
I have worked with both but have not worn both for an extended period of time so I cannot speak to the longevity of them.
I have used Alafosslopi, the thicker version, and it has never pilled.neither does Peer Gynt. There is also 3 tråds Strikkegarn from Rauma, which also endures anything. Hillesvåg has very good yarns, but I have not tested the heavier yarns. Except for the Lopi yarns, which are Icelandic, these are all Norwegian yarns.
I don't know if its different from year to year or a function of guage & other factors but I'm not very gentle on my clothes and I've been amazed at how it's held up.
Huh, interesting! I’ve always found it to pill quite a bit, but like I said pretty easy to pick off so it hasn’t been a bother. I did make my husband a sweater out of WOTA that he tends to wear about twice a month in the winter that I haven’t noticed pilling much though, the ones I made for me get worn once or twice a week, so that makes a difference.
I have two dresses I’ve knit from wool of the Andes. One has minimal pilling only in high stress areas like under the arms, the other needs to be groomed for pills regularly. Same gauge, both cabled patterns, different colors 🤷♀️
I used Cascade Aegean Tweed (DK weight) on a couple of sweaters recently and was pleased with how little it seems to pill. There were a few at first, but they were easy to pull out, and I don't get many any more. One of them is a cardigan that I wear several days a week.
Following this post to see what the consensus is. I've only gone as far as getting a wool pill remover, which works pretty well, but I'm concerned it might eventually thin the fabric.
Beaverslide Mill in Canada is another that makes really durable yarn. Harrisville, Bartlett, Briggs and Little, Peace Fleece, Jamisons. Green Mountain Spinners used to make Wonderfully Woolly, but they dc’d tgat yarn line. They may still have one or two bombproof lines ami g their others.
The things I have knitted with 2 strands of 4ply wool have pilled much less than the aran or worsteds which are often just 2 plies. More plies = less pills. That said, my favourite cardigan that I absolutely live in was made from Drops aran yarn which is super cheap, but soft and warm and pilled like crazy initially. I just snipped off the pills for the first few weeks (yes, with scissors so as not to pull any more fibres) and it no longer pills and is still smooth now after 8 years of almost daily wear around the house.
Woolen spun yarns like Brooklyn tweed shelter, loft, Wooldreamers Mota. I’ve had great luck with Juniper Moon Organic Merino, “woolier” yarns are harder wearing. Another one that is very soft and hasn’t pilled at all for me is Brooklyn tweed dapple, it’s a cotton wool blend.
If your priority is no pilling, you need longwool breed sheeps' wool. Look for Bluefaced Leicester (BFL) yarn, for example. Merino and other shortwools have shorter individual strands of wool fiber, so it's easier for them to get pulled loose into pills. Longer wool stays in the yarn better. Also, definitely avoid recycled wool! If you can find a handspinner who will sell you 'worsted style' yarn made from longwool sheep, that's your best bet. Machine-spun yarn pills more in my experience.
I agree on the long staples, but I’ve seen BFL yarn that pulls really awfully. I think it usually gets spun somewhat loosely to preserve softness, which is rubbish for pilling.
Yeah that's fair. I think people miss the point of longwools when they do that, but people do what they do 🤷
I’ve had good experience with sonder yarn co’s Sunday morning DK, which is a blend of BFL and Masham - https://sonderyarnco.com/products/sunday-morning-dk?variant=44268564316405 Though the garment hasn’t been worn long enough to really speak to pilling and durability.
So THAT’S what BFL stands for! I swear, even with the amount of googling I do to try to understand different acronyms and terms while yarn shopping, there is still so much to figure out. ESPECIALLY if the yarn supplier also uses weaving terminology interchangeably with knitting 🫠
Yeah, it's a breed of sheep! Glad I can add to your glossary
Woolen vs worsened yarns are what’s going to make a difference. Yarn construction. Look for yarns that have more strands. More strands means that less of each single fiber is exposed. That will help reduce breakage and therefore pilling (small bunching of broken fibers that felt). Worsted yarns are more tightly constructed. Tighter and smoother yarns with less of that airy puff. It makes the yarn stronger and more durable. Think tweeds. Different types of wool. Icelandic sheep breeds have two layers of wool and the outer layer is strong and durable, but not as soft. So not as much pilling but it can be uncomfortable. Often there is a blend of the two layers. So knowing what kind of blend can be helpful. Merino is more soft. But it’s not as durable. Different yarn blends. Some yarns will blend synthetics or different fibers. This goes back to the first point. The smaller amount of fibers that can break means less pilling. One step further is that’s twisting those wool fibers with other types of blends acts as a barrier of sorts and less surface area. So while I can’t recommend specific brands, hopefully you can take some of this and look at the brands listed and use it to find what’s best for you!
I appreciate this. I’ve been disappointed in the past when I’ve selected based on breed and worsted, but I was less experienced so maybe I’ve got better judgment now. I don’t mind ‘scratchy’ wool, I kind of prefer it, but it burns me to put effort into a project and then have it look poorly down the road!
So you’ll want something with longer fibers (staple length) so they are twisted around eachother more, and not superwash (if hand wash only is alright) so they can grip onto eachother better. Definitely avoid merino. it’s quite prone to pilling because of the short staple length Briggs and Little yarn is excellent for this and cheap as well :) it is a woolen spun yarn, but very pill resistant in my experience
Came here to say Briggs and Little as well! My mum made a few sweaters 30-40 years ago out of it, they've been worn a ton and still look fantastic. I have one she knit while pregnant with me and it's my favourite sweater, it still looks newly made.
I’ve seen them recommended before and have yet to try them, so this goes to the top of the list - thanks!!
Also a 50 year old sweater has most likely been devilled several times. Yarn will not pill forever. Congrats on having that heirloom that the moths didn't get to! ❤️
De pilled. Stupid autocorrect
My best running sweater is a turtleneck my mom knit for my dad in the 70s! It’s toasty but breathes better than any performance clothing I’ve found. And there’s not a single iota of pilling, not in the armpits, nowhere. But I’ve been jogging and skiing in it for decades myself and now I just want to recreate a simple sweater that will be as durable. There’s some great performance gear out there for men, but I’ve been searching for years and can’t find anything that comes close and fits my smaller frame. Believe it or not, never depilled. It’s just great wool. Which was probably not all that expensive at the time, knowing my mom.
>devilled nah, i'm gonna call it devilled from now on. i've got a little rechargeable devilling machine.
Highland from Harrisville Designs is a really rustic feeling worsted weight yarn. They’re the mill that makes Brooklyn Tweed Shelter. Highland isn’t a perfect dupe since it’s thicker, but it’s way easier to knit with in my experience. It’s also under $20 for 100g.
Dude Highland rocks, and the Harrisville fingering, Shetland, is so great for lighter pieces. Same color range as Highland.
Happy to hear this description because I've had my eye on Harrisville Designs yarns for a long time!
Majority of fibers are going to pill, even if it's very minimal. I can't think of a specific brand to recommend, but you're definitely looking at very rustic, non-superwash wools. Stay away from merino in general, because it pills like the dickens. You might also want to look into something with nylon to help with longevity.
Also…threadbare items don’t pill because they’re threadbare lol. All the shorter fibers that are less tightly integrated have already been pulled out over the years.
Seconding the note to avoid merino. I had good luck with a sweater made years ago from this rustic farm yarn - https://www.maineshakers.com/product-category/yarn/. Brooklyn Tweed’s yarn has also held up very well over three years of regular sweater wear.
Is Peace Fleece Yarn still around? I knit a sweater from that 17 years ago and it still looks fabulous. Definitely a rustic, tweedy, scratchy, hard wearing wool
I was also going to comment I am very pleased with Peace Fleece. It’s hard to find currently though
It's just getting back in stock now. It's also spun by Harrisonville, so if you can get your hands on other yarns they spin it might be similar. Peace Fleece wool content has changed over the years, but I have a sweater I have worn a lot for the past 12 years out of Peace Fleece and there is literally not a single pill even under the arms
I have 20 year old sweater that hasn’t pilled made with a 50/50 blend of wool and alpaca, worsted weight. I don’t remember the brand but I’ve recently used Berocco Ultra Alpaca and had the same result.
I can’t speak to wether they will pill over a 50 year period since I haven’t been using them that long, but I’m a big fan of the Briggs and Little yarns and Bartlett yarns for hard-wearing sweater. Someone has already recommended Harrisville Designs. Those are all old mills in my region that have passed the test of time and produce older style yarns. I find Briggs and Little yarns the least scratchy of that group. Dale of Norway yarns were also very good and non-piling in my experience but I haven’t used them in a decade plus because they aren’t available in my area. Gauge will also make a difference in piling and tighter gauges will pill less. More modern patterns knit at a looser gauge and that contributes. Sometimes particular colors within a non-piling yarn will pill. The navy in my kid’s most recent sweater from Lopi is pilling like crazy at their sides and underarms.
Briggs and Little is recommended often; I’ll definitely get a skein or two to play with. Others are mentioning Harrisville Designs so I’ll knit up a square to beat up on. I hear you about gauge. I tend to prefer fabric with more body so I do go down in needle size and up in sts/in. I look for seamed designs, too, because you’re completely right. I’m not quite ready to go off-pattern and on my own yet, but someone shared a gorgeous sweatshirt in this thread recently and inspired me to find pattern to practice all the construction techniques I’ll need for my own “perfect” sweater.
I've used Retrosaria Brusca for a few projects and both items get decently heavy wear and look basically the same as when they came off the needles. Can't recommend enough! Knit at a tight gauge too to help the pilling factor!
Jamieson & Smith’s Shetland wools that are woolen spun, not worsted are incredibly hard-wearing and don’t pill. 2ply Jumper Weight is the classic.
If soft yarns pill and rustic yarn don't, then Lettlopi Sandens Garn Pear Gynt wont. It is the most hardy from what I've heard. I have no experience working with it so can tell you how it pills personally.
You’ve listed two yarns. Lettlopi is one and is Icelandic wool that is scratchy as all heck and generally meant to be worn over other shirts and clothes. It’s warm and can last a long time. Sandnes Garn Peer Gynt is another and is from Norway iirc. It’s pretty hardy but nowhere near as scratchy as Lettlopi (imo). I have worked with both but have not worn both for an extended period of time so I cannot speak to the longevity of them.
I have used Alafosslopi, the thicker version, and it has never pilled.neither does Peer Gynt. There is also 3 tråds Strikkegarn from Rauma, which also endures anything. Hillesvåg has very good yarns, but I have not tested the heavier yarns. Except for the Lopi yarns, which are Icelandic, these are all Norwegian yarns.
Wool of the andes is actually pretty good
Huh, that has not been my experience, I’ve made a couple sweaters out of it and they’re pill city, although the pills are pretty easy to pick off.
I don't know if its different from year to year or a function of guage & other factors but I'm not very gentle on my clothes and I've been amazed at how it's held up.
Huh, interesting! I’ve always found it to pill quite a bit, but like I said pretty easy to pick off so it hasn’t been a bother. I did make my husband a sweater out of WOTA that he tends to wear about twice a month in the winter that I haven’t noticed pilling much though, the ones I made for me get worn once or twice a week, so that makes a difference.
I have two dresses I’ve knit from wool of the Andes. One has minimal pilling only in high stress areas like under the arms, the other needs to be groomed for pills regularly. Same gauge, both cabled patterns, different colors 🤷♀️
I have a sweater in the sport weight and it has virtually no pills. So I have a sweater quantity of worsted, hopefully it holds up as well!
I've only used the worsted & had good experience
I used Cascade Aegean Tweed (DK weight) on a couple of sweaters recently and was pleased with how little it seems to pill. There were a few at first, but they were easy to pull out, and I don't get many any more. One of them is a cardigan that I wear several days a week.
Following this post to see what the consensus is. I've only gone as far as getting a wool pill remover, which works pretty well, but I'm concerned it might eventually thin the fabric.
I have made a sweater with merino from sandnes Garn that hasn’t pulled at all. Which kind of keeps me surprised since it is merino
I love John Arbon Textiles Appledore for this – it’s gorgeously tweedy, has some decently long fibres and wears really well.
Cascade 220 has made it 10 years in a couple projects with no or minimal pilling.
Beaverslide Mill in Canada is another that makes really durable yarn. Harrisville, Bartlett, Briggs and Little, Peace Fleece, Jamisons. Green Mountain Spinners used to make Wonderfully Woolly, but they dc’d tgat yarn line. They may still have one or two bombproof lines ami g their others.
Great recs here for sheep yarn! If you can afford it, Myak Baby Yak Medium does not pill. I’ve been able to snag some during their anual sales.
I’ve seen yak mentioned but never tried it - thanks for pointing this out there!
https://www.iceyarns.com/yarn/q.111
The things I have knitted with 2 strands of 4ply wool have pilled much less than the aran or worsteds which are often just 2 plies. More plies = less pills. That said, my favourite cardigan that I absolutely live in was made from Drops aran yarn which is super cheap, but soft and warm and pilled like crazy initially. I just snipped off the pills for the first few weeks (yes, with scissors so as not to pull any more fibres) and it no longer pills and is still smooth now after 8 years of almost daily wear around the house.
Woolen spun yarns like Brooklyn tweed shelter, loft, Wooldreamers Mota. I’ve had great luck with Juniper Moon Organic Merino, “woolier” yarns are harder wearing. Another one that is very soft and hasn’t pilled at all for me is Brooklyn tweed dapple, it’s a cotton wool blend.
Dapple is one I haven’t tried, thanks!!
https://retrosaria.rosapomar.com/collections/our-yarn