A knit has no internal structure. It holds its shape because the stitches sit in equilibrium, and anything that pulls on them for weeks at a time — a hanger, a tight stack, a hook — will win. Knowing how to store sweaters so they keep their shape comes down to one principle: support the weight of the knit along its whole length, never from two points at the top. Everything below follows from that.
Is it better to store sweaters hanging or folded?
Folded. A hanger carries the entire weight of the garment on two narrow points at the shoulder, and across a season the yarn around those points elongates permanently. The visible result is the small peak at each shoulder that never brushes out. Heavier knits show it first, but even a light acrylic like The Noelle Pullover will distort if it hangs all winter. The one exception is a very fine, very light knit on a broad wooden hanger for a few days between wears. That is short-term parking, not storage.
How to fold a knit so it stacks flat
Lay the sweater face down. Fold each sleeve straight back along the body line so the cuff sits near the opposite underarm — not across the chest, which creates a diagonal crease that shows through when worn. Then fold in half, hem to shoulder. The result should be a rectangle roughly the width of the shelf, which matters because a stack that overhangs will slump and crease at the fold. Keep stacks to four or five garments. Anything taller compresses the knit at the bottom, and you will be steaming The Bennett Pullover before you can wear it.
Half-zips and mock necks need one extra step: close the zip before folding. An open zip stored under weight leaves a dent in the collar that takes a steam to remove. That applies to The Willow Zip Knit and to any quarter-zip in the rotation.
How to store sweaters over the summer
Wash or thoroughly air everything before it goes away. This is the step most people skip and the one that matters most: moth larvae feed on the residue of skin, perspiration and food left on the fibre rather than on clean yarn, so a worn sweater packed away in April is an invitation. Once clean and completely dry, fold as above and store in a breathable cotton bag or a lidded box — not a sealed plastic bin, where trapped moisture will mark the fibre over three months. Keep it cool and dark. Heat accelerates yellowing on pale knits.
Keeping moths out without the smell
Cedar blocks and lavender sachets both work by deterrence rather than by killing anything, which means they need refreshing. Sand the cedar lightly once a season to reopen the pores, and replace lavender annually. Neither is a substitute for storing the knit clean. If you do find damage, the giveaway is small irregular holes through the body rather than along the seams. A seam that has come apart is a construction fault, not an insect.
Jackets and blazers are the exception
Everything above inverts for structured outerwear. A blazer or a jacket has a lining, a canvas or a shaped shoulder designed to hold its own form, and folding it creases exactly the panels meant to stay smooth. Hang The Monroe Blazer and The Solis Jacket on a broad hanger with room on either side, fastened closed so the front holds its line. The same is true across men's jackets and women's jackets.
If you are still choosing what to buy before you worry about storing it, how to tell if a sweater is good quality covers what to look for in the shop. Short answers to more questions like this live on Style Answers.