How To Buy Cashmere

By Brenda Reese

Cashmere is one of the hottest must-have fashion accessories for the stylish woman in the market today. Beautiful, soft, and infinitely luxurious, the cashmere is truly a worthwhile investment to your wardrobe. Cashmere is also used for draping, window treatments, grain bags, ropes, blankets and tent curtains. It is important then, to know just how to select and buy a cashmere. Thankfully, there are some handy tips to keep in mind when purchasing this lovely fabric.

Cashmere should feel smooth, soft and luxurious. If a cashmere sweater, for example, does not feel all that, then it’s not a good buy. A good cashmere sweater, or a pashmina should feel hefty and substantial, even if it’s not a heavy garment. There basically five main factors that distinguish a quality cashmere.

First is the density. A loosely knit cashmere, one that limps, is the mark of cheap cashmere. If you pull the sides of your cashmere sweater apart, it should easily snap back into its original form. Another factor is the texture. Fine cashmere is softer, so it is more expensive than the rougher cashmere. If you run your hands across the fiber, you should immediately sense the difference between a soft fiber and a coarse fiber.

The third factor is the color. The dyeing process usually harms the feel of the cashmere, so less dyeing is better for the cashmere. Lighter shades also feel softer to the touch as dark colors use stronger dyes which make the item not as soft. Still, once a knitted garment is washed, the garment tends to become softer and fuller as the strands get ‘opened.’

Fourth factor is the fiber length. Longer fibers usually mean stronger yarn, and stronger yarn means less pilling. Pillings are abrasions of short fibers into small balls on the fabric surface. Pilling usually occur in new cashmere sweaters. It shouldn’t persist in good garments after the first cleaning. Other manufacturers use shorter fibers because it is not as expensive.

Finally, the last factor is the plying. Plying relates to weight and has nothing to do with quality.

However, a two-ply yarn is better than a single ply because the ply twist avoids the torque inherent in a single yarn. Manufacturers and sweater makers use additional plies, but these usually don’t add extra quality.

It would also be a good idea to be vigilant about the product labels and customer satisfaction. Some sheep wool is blended with dehaired cashmere, and these fibers are being sold as 100% cashmere.

Because cashmere is also a rare and expensive commodity, and because of increased competition and demand for this luxurious fiber, there has also been an increase in product contamination. There are a lot of reasons for unscrupulous manufacturers to cheat on the amount of fibers in a garment. Check for loop labels and hang tags for cashmere percentage. A garment that lacks a statement of actual fiber percentages is a violation of the Wool Products Labeling Act of the United States. It’s also false advertising, which is also illegal.

About the Author: I’m not talented at anything that most people would call art. I work for a few fashion firms, including Pashmina International who have a great black pashmina.

Source: isnare.com

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