In this work plasma polymerized coatings for anti-pilling purposes were deposited on knitted wool fabrics by means of a capacitively coupled RF discharge reactor using hexamethyldisiloxane as precursor. Their resistance to dry and wet cleaning was investigated and compared to that of a wet chemically deposited coating. Different gas mixtures and pre-treatment steps were tested to adjust the plasma process and to improve the film adhesion. An evaluation of the silica-like coatings behaviour to the washing stresses was performed by means of Fourier transform infrared and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Anti-pilling performances of untreated, plasma-treated, and wet chemically treated wool fabrics were assessed. •Plasma deposited coatings for wool anti-pilling purposes are proposed•Resistance of coatings to washing and dry cleaning stresses was studied•A single step using a HMDSO/Ar/O2 mixture showed the best performance•Anti-pilling properties of wool treated fabrics were significantly improved