ABSTRACT
Wool, and particularly woollen knitwear, features heavily in examples of garments that have never been laundered, an observation that probably tallies with many of our own experiences of laundry and the pieces that are washed more and less frequently. In some of never washed stories, wool's properties in physical realm are augmented as holders of meaning and memories, and together fibre and sentiment influence the practices of use. Laundering is high impact and yet not laundering is socially unacceptable. But some pieces defy social pressure and are never washed, often motivated by the fear that laundering causes something precious to be lost: a scent, a memory, the particular way a garment fits, its colour, the quality of handwork, and even a political stance. The nuanced relationship between design, fibre, fabric and garment and fashion use practices that follow is further teased apart through stories that say something about relationship between how we use fashion, and ideas or values of community.
