How to Store Cashmere Through Summer

Cashmere spends five months a year in a drawer. How it goes in decides whether it comes out the same shape, the same colour, and free of moth holes.

Before it goes away

Never store a piece unwashed. Body oils, skin cells and perfume residues are what moths are actually attracted to — a clean scarf in a clean drawer is most of the battle. Wash or dry clean everything at the end of the season, following the routine in our Size & Care Guide, and let it dry completely before folding. Even a trace of damp will smell by October.

Fold, do not hang

Hanging stretches a knit at the shoulders and leaves a crease where the hanger sits. Fold scarves into thirds, or roll the wider wraps, and stack them no more than three deep so the weight does not press permanent creases into the pile.

Breathable, not sealed

Cotton dust bags or a cotton pillowcase let the fibre breathe; sealed plastic traps moisture and can yellow pale cashmere over a summer. If you use a vacuum storage bag, do not compress it hard — the fibre recovers poorly from months under pressure.

Keep the moths out — properly

• Cedar blocks or lavender sachets in the drawer, refreshed each season; cedar loses potency as it dries out and can be lightly sanded to revive it.
• Check in June and September. Moths are active in warm weather and a single overlooked piece can seed a whole drawer.
• Freeze, don't spray. If you suspect eggs, seal the piece in a bag and freeze it for 48 hours, then air it. Mothballs leave a smell that is very hard to remove from cashmere.

Where not to store it

Avoid the loft, the garage and anywhere against an outside wall: temperature swings and damp are harder on cashmere than any single month of wear. A dry interior wardrobe, away from direct sun, is ideal — sunlight fades ivory and camel faster than most people expect.

Coming back out

Unfold a few days before you plan to wear it and let it hang in a steamy bathroom, or give it a light steam. A brief airing restores the loft that flattening removes. If you find a crease that will not drop out, a cool iron through a cotton cloth will lift it — never direct heat on the fibre.

Stored well, a cashmere scarf comes out of the drawer indistinguishable from March. Stored badly, it comes out smelling of cedar and shaped like a folded newspaper.

Everything here is the same routine we recommend for washing, in more detail: Size & Care Guide. And if a piece has pilled heavily over the season, a cashmere comb before storing will bring the surface back.

Written by the Lanvelle team. Questions about a specific piece? service@lanvelle.com.