How to Care for Cashmere Gloves | Keep Them Soft For Years

Cashmere gloves need gentle hand washing in cool water with a wool-safe detergent, then flat drying away from heat.

Cashmere is a delicate natural fiber that gets soft and warm from a goat’s undercoat, but the same softness makes it fragile. Washing your cashmere gloves the wrong way once can shrink, stretch, or felt them into a stiff shape you can’t wear. The care process is simple: cool water, a specialist detergent, gentle handling, and patience while they dry. Here’s the exact routine that keeps them looking new season after season.

How Often Should You Wash Cashmere Gloves?

Less often than you think. Cashmere doesn’t absorb body oils the way cotton or synthetic knits do, so airing between wears handles the normal routine. The White Company’s care guide notes that simply airing cashmere after each use is usually enough, and washing just a few times per season keeps it fresh. Spot-clean small stains right away so they don’t set in — blot the mark with plain soda water, then use a gentle detergent or baby shampoo if the stain lingers.

You only reach for a full wash when you can smell them, they’ve picked up visible dirt, or you stored them for months. Over-washing actually does more damage than under-washing, because each wash churns the delicate fibers.

Step-By-Step: Hand Washing Cashmere Gloves

Hand washing is the safest method for any cashmere knit, and most brands — including COS — recommend it over machine washing. The whole process takes about fifteen minutes of active time, plus a full drying day.

1. Fill a basin with cool or lukewarm water at or below 30°C. Hot water is the fastest way to shrink cashmere.
2. Add a cashmere-safe detergent made for wool or cashmere and swirl it in. Never use biological or enzyme detergents, bleach, or fabric softener — they break down the protein fibers.
3. Turn the gloves inside out and submerge them, pressing them under the water with your palms.
4. Agitate very gently for a few minutes — squeeze and release the fabric, but never scrub, twist, or wring it. Rubbing mattes the fibers together into felt.
5. Drain the basin and rinse with fresh cool water until no soap bubbles remain. You can do a second gentle rinse to be thorough.
6. Press out excess water by rolling the gloves inside a clean towel and pressing down. The towel soaks up the moisture without pulling the knit out of shape.
7. Reshape and lay flat on a fresh dry towel. Gently smooth the fingers and cuff back into their original shape, since wet cashmere is very stretchy.

When the gloves are dry, they should look exactly the way they did before washing — no puckering, no shrunk fingers, no fuzzy matted texture. If they come out of the water feeling rough or misshapen, you washed them too aggressively.

Can You Machine Wash Cashmere Gloves?

Machine washing is possible but risky, and the sources disagree. Some care guides allow a delicate cycle with cold water, a mesh bag, and specialist detergent; others — like Cornelia James — recommend hand washing only. The safe middle ground: machine wash only if your pair’s care label permits it, and accept that the tumbling action can still felt the fibers over time.

If you machine wash, put the gloves in a mesh laundry bag on a cold, delicate cycle with a wool-safe detergent and skip the spin cycle. Take them out immediately, reshape them, and dry them flat.

The same drying rules apply either way: never hang wet cashmere (the weight stretches the knit), never tumble dry, and never lay it near a radiator, fireplace, or direct sun. Heat is the other main destroyer besides agitation.

One caution: leather or suede gloves lined with cashmere are a different animal. Pure cashmere knit techniques don’t apply — the outer material needs specialist leather care, and getting the shell wet can stiffen or stain it. Treat mixed-material gloves according to the outer fabric, or take them to a professional cleaner.

Cashmere Glove Care Quick Reference

Repairing Pills and Stains

Pilling — those little fuzz balls that form where fabric rubs — is normal on cashmere and not a defect. A cashmere comb or a fabric shaver removes them in a minute, but go gently and use short strokes to avoid pulling the yarn. Do this on dry, clean gloves before washing, not after.

For stains, freshness is the whole game. Blot the mark with a clean cloth and plain soda water as soon as you notice it, working from the outside edge toward the center so it doesn’t spread. Cornelia James’s guide suggests a gentle detergent or baby shampoo for tougher marks.

If you shop for a new pair instead of repairing the old one, our roundup of the best cashmere gloves for women weighs warmth, knit density, and fit against price so you don’t overpay for a pair that won’t survive a season.