About Cashmere Sweaters
Cashmere sweaters are made of a fine wool that is known for its softness and durability. Fine department stores and boutiques carry a range of cashmere sweater designs from vests to cardigans, V-necks to turtlenecks and stylish shrugs.
Cashmere is widely sought after by both fashion designers and discerning consumers who appreciate the lightweight warmth, luxurious feel, soft colors and attractive appearance of cashmere.
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Features
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Commercial cashmere wool is made from the soft underdown of the domestic cashmere goat. Raw (greasy) cashmere is either gathered during molting season, combed out or shorn from the goats. The raw fibers are sent to processing mills where it is sorted by quality and color (white, gray, cream and brown), then washed to clean out dirt, animal oils and other impurities. The next step is the de-hairing machine, which pulls the coarse outer guard hair away from the soft underdown that is used for cashmere clothing and accessories.
The processed, de-haired cashmere strands can then be sent to production facilities, where it can be dyed and spun into worsted yarn. Standard grade cashmere (0.5 % remaining coarse hair content) is woven into blankets, jackets, and scarves, while finer grade (0.2% or lower coarse content) is knit into sweaters, gloves, socks, and other clothing.
According to retail seller, Mount Cashmere, it takes one cashmere goat four years to develop enough hair for one sweater. This, as well as the particular climate and topography needed to support the goats, leads to the rarity and expense of high-quality cashmere items.
Geography
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The majority of raw cashmere comes from Cashmere goats in China, Mongolia, Iran and Afghanistan. Smaller amounts come from elsewhere in Soviet Asia, the Middle East, India, Australia and New Zealand. The cold temperatures, desert and mountain plateau landscapes and diet contribute to the goats' forming of a soft, silky and warm fleece underdown that is perfect for commercial sweaters and other products.
Finished cashmere products are primarily made in the U.S., Europe (mainly in Scotland and Italy), Japan, China and Mongolia. Cashmere sweaters and other items are purchased mostly by consumers in the U.S., Japan, and Europe.
Benefits
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Cashmere sweaters have a soft, finely woven texture that doesn't have the itchy, rough quality of other wool products. Cashmere doesn't wrinkle, wears well and is warm in winter and cool in the spring. Wear lightweight cashmere sweaters for stylish layering year round and graduate to heavier gauge sweaters in the winter for exceptional warmth. Fine-grade cashmere rarely pills and with proper care should last for many years.
Types
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Cashmere sweaters can vary by style, color, weight, gauge, weave and blend. Chinese cashmere is most desirable as it is made largely from pure white goats, whose snowy underdown is easily dyed into a range of true pastel colors. Finer gauge cashmere strands (14 to 15 microns diameter) with the least amount of coarse hair content (0.2% or lower), make the softest sweaters. Sweaters made from longer threads are stronger and pill less.
Two-ply cashmere yarn is the standard, as it balances the uneven shape of the single strands and makes a stronger finished product. Additional plies simply add weight and warmth, but are no more durable than the two-ply yarns.
The Cashmere and Camel Hair Manufacturer's Institute states that cashmere blended with silk has a finer sheen and drape than 100% cashmere sweaters, but is not as soft. Cotton/cashmere blended sweaters will be cooler, less expensive, and retain more softness than 100% cashmere.
Expert Insight
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Hand wash cashmere knits with gentle soap and water, block to dry, or dry clean. Store sweaters folded, clean, and protected from moths.
Before buying a cashmere sweater, examine it carefully for quality. Rub the fabric to check for pilling, a sign of low quality materials. Stretch the sweater to see how easily it bounces back. Tightly woven sweaters will hang better and wear longer, while looser weaves will bag out and lose their shape.
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- Photo Credit Photo c2008 by Valerie David.
