Olympic diver and knitting enthusiast Tom Daley has shared the best way to store your knitwear without risking them stretching or misshapen when you hang them in your wardrobe – and people are impressed
Former Olympic diver Tom Daley has become known for taking his knitting hobby with him to competitions. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Daley was often seen knitting or crocheting when he was sitting on the stands, waiting for his turn.
Speaking on the Kelly Clarkson show about where he got the idea to try knitting and crocheting, Tom revealed it had been his husband, director Dustin Lance Black’s idea. He revealed: “My coach said to me that I’m so bad at just sitting still and resting and recovering on the weekend. So it was my husband who said, ‘some people on film sets just knit or crochet to pass the time’ and I was like, ‘I’ll try that’.”
Since first been seen knitting in March 2020, Tom was often seen working on a new crochet or knitting project when he attends competitions, even when he competed in the Olympics.
And because of people’s interest in his knitting projects, the former diver decided to start his own knitwear clothing line as well as his yarn The Cottony One, which is made from a plant-powered cotton blend rather than a sheep’s wool.
Because of this, you could say that Tom has become somewhat of an expert in knitwear and everything that comes with it. And to share his knowledge, he took to social media to urge people to change the way they’re storing their knitted clothes.
“All these years, you’ve probably been hanging your knitwear wrong,” Tom said in his video. “I’m going to show you how to hang your knitwear, whether its handmade or not, so it doesn’t get misshapen.”
Holding up his infamous ‘don’t drink and dive’ jumper that he made himself, Tom went on to show what he claims is the best way to store your knitted jumpers between wears.
“First, you’re going to take your jumper, fold it in half so that the sleeves are touching,” he explained as he folded his jumper. “Then, you’re going to take your hanger, put it in the armpit like that. Then you’re going to fold one side over the other side over.”
As he said this, he showed how he but the hanger so that the hook was poking out by the ‘armpits’ of the jumper. He then folded the bottom part of the jumper to meet the neckline. Finally, he folded the sleeves over the rest of the jumper before lifting it up with the hanger.
“And then it hangs like that,” he said. “And you’ll never get your knits to be misshapen ever again.”
People soon took to the comments to share their thoughts on Tom’s hack, with many saying they were ‘too scared’ to hang their knitted clothes on hangers in case they stretch or get misshapen.
One person commented: “I just fold them and keep them on a shelf, too scared of the stitches stretching if I hang them in any sort of way lol.”
“Hanging clothing lets the air circulate better around it, keeps it fresher than folding,” another person said.
However, others were eager to try the folding method, as another viewer said: “I’ve been doing it right! yesssss!!!! I didn’t know you could do this with handmade knits though! thank you Tom!!”