If you’re like me, and I’ll bet many of you are, you have closets, dressers and chests full of finished items. But is that the best way to store them? What about displaying them or keeping them in handy reach during the cold season?
I’m going to share what I do for these situations and some things in the past that haven’t worked. The majority of these items are wool or wool blends or other protein fibers. Cotton and other plant fibers as well as synthetics might be safe just sitting out.
Off season storage is large plastic bins from the hardware store. Choose ones with tight fitting lids, that’s why I get them from the hardware store. These will not only keep out moths but also protect against dust if they are to be stored in a garage or shed.
In the laundry section of most stores you can get round wooden cedar discs. These have a hole in the middle for putting over a hanger. I have tried throwing these in with bags of wool at various stages of processing, washed to commercially bought skeins and still have a moth issue. From what I understand the cedar part that is bad for the moths has to be contained very well and there be A LOT of it in the container. Think cedar chest, those are effective!
While keeping things for the colder season for most of you is going to mean that it is so cold the moths are dormant, that isn’t the case for everyone. Now that I am living in southern New Mexico, I have learned that some things don’t go dormant, there are just less of them. Keeping woollies handy during cold weather is easy to do because they require little care. Having the ability to hang wet woollies somewhere will decrease the chances of mold and increase time that they can be worn.
I keep my woollies in a closet by the front door to grab on my way out.
I have a fun easy to make sock display/storage that I keep full all winter long. My husband screwed some clothes pins to a board and then hung the board on the wall.
Below that is a peg rack that I keep shawls on for the days that just cool, not cold.
Off season most of my woollies live in this sweater cabinet that my grandmother had since before I was born and blankets go in a tight lidded tote. I do display some of my shawls year-around in the office. Shaking and moving weekly to deter moth infestation.
I have displayed some wool decorative items in my home before and in my experience they always get moths. This could be for a number of reasons that are exceptional to my home, but if I decide to display something made of wool or have wool yarn or fiber in a basket or something that is not a tightly closed tote, I move and shake that item on a weekly basis. It will also have at least one moth ball packet in the basket or pinned to it. This has worked for me.
I also keep moth traps in each room that has wool, just to be safe. Most of the time I have to change them because there is more dust than sticky and there might be half a dozen moths. This is about every 6-9 months.
Moth packets that I use are from a company called Enoz. I get the lavender scented ones. They work, smell better than plain moth balls and are made in the USA!
Moth traps I use are also from Enoz, in their BioCare line. Also made in the USA. I checked the box and instructions say to replace every 3 months, so I should probably do that. It follows with when no moths have been seen for 6-9 months you can stop using them. The reason I won’t stop using them or the packets is because new yarn comes in and I don’t take any chances. I no longer have the freezer space I did to prevent the moths in new yarn properly, so I am proactive this way instead. Be sure that the traps are for clothes moths. There are other moths out there that they make traps for, you may want some of those as well.
If you have any storage tips, please share them!
Happy Making!
Azariahs Fibre Arts 