Care Guide

Treat a Sir W. shirt the way you'd treat a good leather jacket — with a little attention, it lasts a decade. Treat it like a $15 cotton tee, and you'll shrink it in a month. We can walk you through everything.

The short version is at the top. The detail is below it. Read whichever you need.

The Short Version

Wash cold, on a wool or delicate cycle, no more than every 5–10 wears
Use a gentle detergent or wool wash (no enzymes, no bleach)
Lay flat to dry — never tumble dry
Refresh between washes by hanging in fresh air or a steamy bathroom overnight
Store with cedar blocks in your closet; never in a plastic bag

That's it. Everything else is detail.

How Often to Wash

The most important thing to know about merino is that it doesn't need to be washed after every wear. The fibre is naturally antibacterial — the keratin proteins in wool bind to and neutralise the odour compounds that bacteria produce in your sweat.

Most owners wash a Sir W. shirt every 5 to 10 wears. Some go further. We've had customers wear a single Bruce across a two-week European trip and report it never reached "needs washing" by smell.

When the shirt does need a refresh between washes, hang it overnight in fresh outdoor air or a steamy bathroom. The wool releases trapped odour and wrinkles drop out. By morning, the shirt feels and smells fresh.

This isn't a trick. It's just what merino does.

How to Wash

When the shirt genuinely needs washing — visible stain, sweated-through workout, or just because you want to — here's the process.

1. Inside out

Turn the shirt inside out before washing. This protects the outer surface and any natural finish from rubbing during the cycle.

2. Cold water

Use cold water, always. Hot water causes wool fibres to bind to each other (this is how felt is made). One hot wash can shrink a wool shirt by a full size. Cold prevents this.

3. Wool or delicate cycle

Most modern washing machines have a wool or delicate setting. Use it. These cycles use slow agitation and short spin times, which protect the fibre. If your machine doesn't have a wool cycle, use the gentlest delicate cycle available.

4. Wool wash or mild detergent

Wool washes (sold under brands like The Laundress, Eucalan, or Soak) are specifically formulated for wool and contain no enzymes or harsh agents. If you don't have wool wash, use a small amount of a mild liquid detergent — never powder, never anything containing enzymes, bleach, or "brightening" agents.

5. No softener, no bleach

Fabric softener coats the wool fibre and reduces its natural moisture-wicking properties. Bleach destroys the fibre entirely. Avoid both.

6. Lay flat to dry

This is non-negotiable.

Never tumble dry a 100% merino shirt — the heat and tumbling action causes shrinkage and felting. Hang-drying a wool shirt on a hanger stretches the shoulders. The right method is flat drying:

Lay the shirt flat on a clean towel
Smooth out the shape — sleeves out, body even, collar flat
Let it air-dry away from direct sunlight and heat
Flip it after a few hours so both sides dry evenly

Most shirts dry overnight. If yours is taking longer, you have too thick a towel underneath — try a single-layer cotton sheet instead.

The Refresh Trick

The single greatest property of merino is that you can refresh it without washing.

Two methods:

Outdoor air refresh. Hang the shirt on a wooden or padded hanger in fresh outdoor air for two to four hours. UV light, oxygen, and airflow neutralise odour and lift surface wrinkles. Avoid direct sunlight if you can — long sun exposure can fade natural-dyed colours over time.

Steam refresh. Hang the shirt in your bathroom while you shower. The steam softens the fibres, drops wrinkles, and freshens the wool. Twenty minutes is enough. By the time you've dressed for the day, the shirt is ready to wear.

Either method takes minutes and extends your shirt's useful life by years.

Pilling — What's Normal

All natural fibres pill in the first few wears. Merino is no exception.

What pilling looks like: small, fuzzy balls of fibre form on areas of high friction — typically the sides under the arms, where the fabric rubs against itself, or wherever a bag strap or seatbelt sits across the shirt.

This is normal and not a defect.

The pills are loose fibres being pulled to the surface as the shirt settles. After 3–5 washes, pilling slows dramatically and eventually stops. The shirt is "broken in."

If you want to remove existing pills, the best tool is a wool comb or a fabric shaver. Both cost under $20 and last forever. Run gently across the affected area and the pills lift cleanly off.

What's NOT normal: large bald spots, fibres breaking off in clumps, or pilling that worsens after 10+ washes. If you see any of those, email us — that's a fabric issue, not a wear pattern, and we'll replace the shirt.

Storage

Day-to-day

A wooden or padded hanger is fine for short-term storage. Avoid wire hangers — they distort the shoulders. Don't store shirts in plastic dry-cleaning bags, which trap moisture and lead to mildew.

Seasonal storage

If you're putting a merino shirt away for the season, three rules:

Wash and dry it first. Body oils and food residue attract moths. A clean shirt is a safe shirt.
Add a cedar block to the storage container. Cedar repels moths naturally and lasts years. Refresh the cedar every spring by sanding lightly.
Use a breathable container. A cotton garment bag is ideal. A cardboard box works. A sealed plastic bin traps moisture and risks mildew.

Moths

The single biggest threat to a wool wardrobe is the clothes moth. The larvae feed on keratin (the protein in wool). One unchecked infestation can ruin a season of clothing.

Prevention is simple: cedar in storage, regular airing, and washing shirts before long-term storage. We've never had a customer lose a Sir W. shirt to moths who followed this guidance.

If you do find moth damage on a returned shirt, we'll repair small holes free for the first year of ownership. After that, we'll quote you a fair repair cost — usually $15–40 depending on the damage.

Travel

Merino is the best travel fabric ever made, and you don't need to do anything special to travel with it.

A few tips that experienced merino travellers swear by:

Pack rolled, not folded. Roll a Sir W. shirt loosely along its length and it'll come out of your bag essentially wrinkle-free.
Hang it on arrival. Steam from the hotel bathroom (run the hot shower for 5 minutes with the door closed) drops any remaining wrinkles. By the time you've showered, the shirt looks pressed.
Wear it 3+ days before considering a wash. Air it overnight between wears. Most owners get a full week from one shirt on a trip.
If you must wash on the road: a sink wash with hotel hand soap works. Wring gently — don't twist — and roll in a hotel towel to absorb water. Lay flat on the towel to dry overnight. The shirt will be wearable by morning.

Stains

For most stains, the merino fibre's natural lanolin gives you a head start — wine, oil, and food often bead up before fully absorbing.

Fresh stain:

Blot with a clean cloth (don't rub — rubbing pushes the stain deeper)
Cold water, plain
Dab gently with a drop of wool wash or mild detergent
Rinse cold

Dried or set-in stain:

Cold soak for 30 minutes in cold water with a tablespoon of wool wash
Then a normal cold wool-cycle wash

Never use bleach, hot water, or enzyme stain remover (OxiClean and similar) on wool. They destroy the fibre.

If a stain won't come out, take it to a dry cleaner that specifically handles wool. Tell them it's 100% Australian merino, no synthetic blend.

Repairs

Small holes, snags, and pulled threads are easy to fix on wool — easier than on cotton or polyester, in fact, because the natural fibre is friendly to needle and thread.

For small holes (smaller than a dime): a basic darn with matching wool thread. YouTube has dozens of tutorials. Or take it to a tailor — most can fix it for under $20.

For pulled threads (a thread loop sticking out from the surface): use a fine needle to gently pull the loose thread back through to the inside of the shirt. Don't cut it.

For larger damage or anything you don't want to handle yourself: send it back to us. We'll repair or replace based on the damage. Email hello@sirwmerino.com for instructions.

What Will Eventually Happen

Even with perfect care, a well-loved shirt eventually shows wear. Cuffs fray. Buttons loosen. Colour softens at the hem from years of sitting against jeans.

This is what good wool looks like as it ages. A five-year-old Sir W. shirt with character will be your favourite shirt in the closet — not because it's new, but because it's been with you. Lean into the patina.

When a shirt has truly reached the end of its life, don't throw it away. Wool is fully biodegradable. Cut off the buttons (we'll take them back if you want to send them — we re-use them), then compost the rest. A buried wool shirt decomposes completely within twelve months in healthy soil. The garment you bought becomes garden compost.

It's the only honest way to end the life of a piece of clothing.