You might not be wearing your best wool jumpers much at the moment, but you just never know with the Great British weather. And besides, summer is a great time to get your autumn wardrobe in order.
For me, that means the satisfying task of debobbling my jumpers. I am a big fan of this Philips Fabric Shaver, and I'm not alone, as two other members of the woman&home team are fans too. Oh, and just under 141,000 Amazon reviewers agree with us!
Not only does it shave off unwanted fabric to make your knitwear like new, but it's also incredibly satisfying and therapeutic to use.
Digital Editor Kerrie Hughes says: Last winter I bought a jumper from M&S. I love its cosiness and style so much I came close to living in it. But I was frustratingly forced to stop a little earlier than I would have liked due to excessive bobbling. It went from being a super chic, gorgeous knit that made me stand just that little bit taller when wearing it, to making me feel really self-conscious about just how bad it looked.
"To start, I was a little apprehensive to use the fabric shaver as I was worried it might rip or pull the pile if I pressed too hard, but I needn't have been. The more I used it, the more confident I became that it wouldn't happen, and actually found applying a bit more pressure helped pick up the smaller bits of fabric.
"My jumper was in a real state, and therefore took a good 45 minutes to an hour to really go over it thoroughly and get it looking like new again. And while I wouldn't say I often have a spare hour to simply debobble a jumper, I would do it again for the satisfaction and for how therapeutic I found it."
Managing Editor Ella Taylor tells me: "I bought my Philips Fabric Shaver three months ago, after Kerrie and Caroline's glowing praise, and I can’t deny that I too am addicted to this nifty debobbler!
"It's amazing, it’s revived so many jumpers – and even one T-shirt – that before I would have just hidden in my drawer or thrown out for looking too scruffy. It's more than paid for itself.
"I’ve just used it on a lightweight knit that I wanted to layer on in this changeable summer weather. This felt a little scarier to attempt (‘will it pull the fabric?’ I wondered), but I needn’t have worried, all was fine. The results were gentle but effective, giving yet another favourite jumper a fresh lease of life.”
The noise level is very inoffensive, much like white noise, which only adds to how relaxing the task is.
The fabric shaver takes two AA batteries. I've had mine for well over a year now, and still haven't needed to change the batteries yet.
The machine becomes noticeably slower when the little fabric collection pot fills, which is easily remedied by emptying it. That's just a simple case of sliding it down, emptying and clicking back into place.
It's such an affordable way to make knitwear look new again that we've recommended it to all our friends.
Other handy tools
As much as the fabric shaver collects the excess material, you might end up with a lot of fluff on you as a result - which is easily solved by these handy lint rollers. A pack of 5 for just over £5 is a really good deal.
This gadget combines both a fabric shaver and lint brush in one portable design. It comes highly rated on John Lewis, with one user saying: "This is a very useful tool. It is easy to use and comes with an extra attachment, which is very convenient as it can also be used on different fabrics."
With the best cashmere jumpers being so delicate (and expensive), you might want to go over it gently with a brush before going at it with a fabric shaver. This Lona Scott one includes its own little comb bag for safekeeping. "I’ve had other brushes beforehand, and this is hugely more effective. Jumpers I’d almost sent to the charity shop look almost new!" said one Amazon shopper.
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