Fashion Fine Points: Materials - Cashmere

The highest quality and softest cashmere fibers are gathered from the saddle of the Cashmere goat and white in color. The fiber is shed during molting. Non-white cashmere fibers must be bleached to a neutral color prior to adding color to the fiber. White cashmere can skip this bleaching stage and thus preserve all of its softness. Cashmere is a luxuriously soft fiber under 18.5 micrometers in diameter and at least 3.175 cm long found on cashmere goats residing predominantly in the high plateaus of Tibet. In addition to its softness, cashmere is also known for providing a natural, light-weight insulation without bulk. Appropriate for all climates, high moisture content allows insulation properties to change with the relative humidity in the air.

Cashmere Quality: There are significant differences in the quality and therefore the price of the fiber that can be used in a cashmere garment. When Manufacturers are pressed to make a less expensive garment they do two things. They use cheaper cashmere and they use less of it in the garment. This is a disastrous recipe.

• There are variations in the fineness of the cashmere from various origins. Finer Cashmere is softer and consequently more expensive than coarser cashmere.
• Natural color of cashmere fiber upon shedding also plays a role. White cashmere can go directly to the dyeing stag and can be dyed to any color. Non-white cashmere must be bleached first before it can be dyed to a more limited color palette. Bleaching diminishes the softness of the cashmere.
• Cashmere fiber is also priced by length. Longer fiber is more expensive because it makes a stronger yarn that pills less. This factor cannot be deduced by examining a garment. It only becomes obvious after wearing. Garments made from longer fiber will pill less and last longer. So fiber fineness, color, and length each play a role in the cost variation between seemingly similar garments.
• A good, tightly knit fabric will have resilience, density. When you pull the sides of the garment apart and let them go the garment will snap back to shape. A manufacturer pressed to reduce his price will often just make the garment lighter. The less cashmere used, the lower the price of the garment. The most common way to do this is to loosen the tension on the knitting machine. This will make the fabric of the garment looser, more porous and limp. Cheap cashmere sweaters often contain the combination of shorter fiber and loose knitting. This is a disastrous recipe that will yield a sweater sure to pill.