Everyone has that one sweater in their closet that they can’t part with. It’s cute and stylish, but you never wear it.

Why? Because spending five minutes in it is like covering yourself with itch powder. You think about it, put it on and almost immediately take it off in another failed attempt to incorporate it into your wardrobe.

You are not alone in your struggle. I bought the most beautiful pink pullover sweater this year. It’s 100% goat mohair, a soft, fine fiber that comes from the bellies of baby Angora goats under the age of two.

So I guess that’s long form for “softest sweater ever.” However, it’s like wearing a cactus. I know these kids are soft, so what’s up?

A little heartbroken, I considered the possibility of donating my sweater. I wouldn’t even feel good about it because I would just be passing by The Itch to someone else. It just didn’t sit well with me. I had to find an alternative.

Thus began my exploration of sweater softening. And the final solution is not at all what I expected. In fact, it’s getting weirder.

A trick to soften an itchy sweater

The first step to getting rid of The Itch was to turn the sweater inside out so as not to damage the outer fibers. I filled a small tub with cold water and added a few tablespoons of distilled white vinegar.

I completely submerged the sweater and let it sit for 15 minutes. Sounds easy enough, right? After removing him from the vinegar bath, I very gently squeezed out some water, laid a towel on the kitchen table, and placed a damp sweater on top.

Here’s where it starts to get interesting. I took a dollop of hair conditioner and massaged it into my sweater, which I found strangely relaxing. The thought process here is that the conditioner should soften the fibers the same way it does for our hair.

I left the conditioner on for about 30 minutes before rinsing the sweater in cold water. I laid it on a new towel to dry completely.

If you’re still here, this last and final step is really bizarre. When the sweater was completely dry, I put it in the refrigerator overnight.

Yes, a refrigerator.

My research told me that you could also put it in the freezer, but somehow the fridge seemed like the less weird of the two options. If you plan to try this in the future, I would recommend folding and placing the sweater in a large ziplock bag first.

The science behind freezing overnight is that the cold locks the fibers in place so they don’t stick out all over the place, contributing to itching.

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Did it work?

I can safely say that putting the sweater on for a literal spa day actually made it a little softer. I managed to rescue my sweater from the donation bin or worse – from someone else who inherited the Itch.

Now that I’ve tried this method, I’m looking forward to trying it on different fibers. Would this work on synthetic fibers? Is it safe for other natural fibers? I hope to find out.