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Cashmere Story - Part 1 Made in Scotland
Many moons ago we wrote an article all about Cashmere and just why cashmere made in Scotland is so special. We explained how the quality that merits the Cashmere made in ScotlandTM label is achieved.
All cashmere fibre comes from the finest underhair of the Cashmere goats in Mongolia and China. This underhair is found beneath the thick exterior coat. One reason why cashmere is so expensive is that Kaschmir goats only produce around 113g of cashmere fibre annually and it takes about 2 goats each year to produce enough fibre to make a single jumper.
It is all about the fibre. Items carrying the Cashmere Made In ScotlandTM label are made purely from yarn spun with fibres that are a minimum of 34mm in length and a maximum thickness of 16.5 micron. This is only a small fraction of the harvested raw fibre. Cheap cashmere is made using yarn spun from fibre that falls short of these specifications. This makes it weaker and results in pilling and garments tend to lose their shape quickly. So spend a little extra and you have a the guarantee of quality that means your cashmere will last and look good for a long time. Cashmere is proven to be up to 8 times warmer than sheep's wool and if you wear Grade A cashmere it is the very best also the thinnest option, making it even more lovely and light to wear.
Cashmere lesson over we have some treats in store for you this autumn with our new Women's Cable Knit sweaters in the beautiful Snow, Antique Pink and Woad. What on earth is Woad I hear you cry? Well, woad, or Isatis tinctoria as it is more formally known, is a yellow-flowered plant of the cabbage family widely grown in Britain in times gone by as a source of blue dye. After you dry, powder and ferment the leaves of this cabbage you get the gorgeous blue of our favourite jumper.
And of course it is not all about the ladies we do have a "for him" version of the Cable Knit sweater too in two classic colours. No excuse not to be cosy this Autumn! Cable knit is very simply crossing one group of stitches over another and knitting stitches out of order to give that lovely twisted texture. There are lots of ways to do it and the number of stitches and whether you hold them to the front or back defines which way your cable twists to either the right or the left. Our sweaters are machine rather than hand knitted and although I haven't actually attempted it myself I am told that simple cables are very easy to knit. You do need lots more yarn to knit cable rather than plain which accounts for the higher price point on this style.
Next week we will be discussing ply and just what this means when you are buying a cashmere sweater or accessory such as gloves or socks. All will be revealed shortly, but meantime if you have any questions about Cashmere made in Scotland you know where to come!
