At the fingertips of the inquisitive shopper, you’ve seen cashmere in his luxury fashion boutiques and luxury gift shops. But what is cashmere? This fabric is considered luxurious for several reasons. A soft and insulating material, it is one of the most valuable natural materials used in the fashion industry today. It features a soft finish and is also silky to the touch. It does not itch like wool and has excellent heat retention. This is why cashmere is a coveted fabric.
What is cashmere made of?
Cashmere is made from the soft, fluffy underlayer of goat skin. Its growth is encouraged by cool air and thrives in winter. The colder it gets, the more it will grow. It is designed to insulate and protect goats from harsh climates. As temperatures rise, goats naturally shed their hair. Cashmere producers comb the precious product, then spin it and usually dye it.
There is a cashmere goat breed that tends to produce soft fibers. However, it can be harvested from any herd as long as the hair can be cut fine enough. This is less than 19 microns. For comparison, human hair is 50-70 microns. These goats are commonly found in nomadic herds around the world, including in Mongolia, China, and Iran. Due to the large fluctuations in temperature, the environment is suitable for growing cashmere. In Mongolia, between 1990 and 2009, the goat population increased from 5 million to 20 million due to increased demand for cashmere.
Types of cashmere
The types of cashmere vary greatly. It depends on the environmental factors surrounding the animal it is coming from. In the Himalayas, goats have very fine hair to keep them warm in the cold winter. This fine hair is suitable for making very soft cashmere. The finest cashmere wool comes from this region known for its long, smooth, and straight fibers. Not only the thickness but also the length of the bristles makes a difference in the quality of the fabric. The longer each bristle, the better the fabric in terms of less pilling and achieving that fluffy quality we love.
Why is it so expensive?
Cashmere is undoubtedly one of the most expensive materials for fashion making. The price is on the steeper side mainly due to two issues. The primary reason is the complexity of the manufacturing process and secondly the scarcity of raw materials. Surprisingly, one goat yields only 200g of cashmere, which is less than the amount of a sweater. Considering that it takes the skins of about two to three goats a year to make one cashmere garment, it’s no wonder the price has skyrocketed. Unfortunately, cashmere is only available in limited quantities in the world.
Cashmere products
Cashmere is not just winter wear but also can be used in summer as light jackets or scarves. Especially during the monsoons when the temperature dips in the night you can perfectly carry a cashmere shawl or scarf with your outfit. It will keep you warm as well as snug in the weather. Apart from cashmere cardigans, scarves, and shawls cashmere is highly used for making blankets too. The luxury cashmere blankets are pretty high in demand these days as they are very comfortable for the winter season and also when you are using the air conditioner during the summer season. They are lightweight and you can carry them around too on your vacations if you want to.
How to Recognize High-Quality Cashmere
In general, a cashmere garment’s quality will increase with the amount of cashmere percentage it contains. To maintain the fabric’s opulent silky softness without being prone to excessive pilling, silk is frequently used in the spinning process. Clothing made entirely of cashmere is subject to pilling. Another technique to be sure you’re buying quality merchandise is to seek tightly woven products. Two-ply yarn typically produces a tighter knit. This indicates that the product was made by twisting together two pieces of yarn. If your cashmere product is bright in color that means that the cashmere used from scratch was extremely clean.