Cashmere Features. A Full Guide on the Qualities of Cashmere
Table of contents
- Is cashmere soft?
- Is cashmere delicate?
- Is cashmere itchy?
- Is cashmere breathable?
- Is cashmere durable? How long does cashmere last?
- Can you wear cashmere all year round?
- Is cashmere warm?
- Do cashmere scarves wrinkle?
- Does cashmere smell?
In a different article, we talked about cashmere, when compared to different fabrics. But here, we’d like to discuss cashmere itself. There are many questions regarding the qualities and features of cashmere. So let’s answer them here, once and for all.
If you’d like to know a bit more about cashmere and where it comes from, we have prepared an article on that as well. And now, without further ado, let’s talk about the many benefits of cashmere!
Cashmere is Soft
Cashmere is an unbelievably soft material, sourced from the undercoat of cashmere goats. The delicate cashmere fabric has a softness that’s met only by an extremely small amount of other materials, such as alpaca wool. One of the common comparisons to cashmere softness is silk. But silk has a completely different finish to it.
Cashmere is Delicate
Just because it doesn’t have the silky smooth feeling of silk, doesn’t mean cashmere isn’t delicate. Cuddling yourself up in cashmere has a heavenly feeling of being embraced by the softest clouds.
Good Cashmere Doesn’t Itch
High-quality cashmere is in fact so soft and delicate that it’s the perfect material for skin contact. However, some types of cashmere aren’t as heavenly as others. If your cashmere clothes cause you skin irritation it may be the case that they’re made of not authentic cashmere material. Or they could be made from a material blend, or from a lower grade of cashmere.
But even great quality cashmere can get itchy after prolonged use. How to make cashmere less itchy then? By properly caring for it. Sometimes all you need is to remove the pilling from your cashmere garment, at other times you need to go through the entire cashmere washing cycle. Check out our guide on how to care for cashmere if you need more information.
Cashmere is Very Breathable
One of the best features of cashmere is its breathability. Cashmere is a hygroscopic fabric, just like silk. This means that during summer, cashmere helps you stay cool while reducing sweating, as the fabric wicks off excessive moisture. In the winter, on the other hand, cashmere helps you remain warm much better than sheep wool ever could.
Cashmere is Durable and Could Last You a Lifetime
Despite its softness and delicacy, cashmere has a very long lifespan. And exercising proper care can prolong it for many, many years. So many in fact, that cashmere clothes can even outlast entire generations.
Cashmere also boasts stain resistance. So there aren’t many situations in which you should panic because you stained it. But you need to remember that cashmere is not made to survive rough handling. So don’t try to pull on it or it may easily tear. And when removing any stains, or just washing cashmere, avoid hot water at all costs, use only cashmere-specific detergents, and don’t rub with force.
Yes, You Can Wear Cashmere All Year Round
Cashmere clothes have this wonderful quality of being fantastic pieces for every season. During the warmer months, you can wear fashionable, lightweight cashmere scarves, that are perfect even for the beach. Meanwhile, whenever cold embraces the world, just cozy up in your cashmere sweater, or put on a cashmere hat, and a thick cashmere scarf, when you go out.
Cashmere is Very Warm
But how warm is cashmere? Cashmere is in fact about eight times warmer than sheep wool. And we all know how warm wool garments can get. But thanks to the breathability of cashmere it also keeps you fresh, reducing your sweating. Because of that, cashmere helps your body stay warm, not hot and steamy.
Cashmere is Wrinkle Resistant
Cashmere naturally doesn’t wrinkle, but it does not mean that this fabric is completely immune to wrinkling. Some factors such as being exposed to warm water can cause it to shrink and wrinkle. But even when it happens, cashmere can be saved. There are easy ways to unshrink cashmere and remove wrinkles from cashmere as well.
Cashmere is Odor Resistant
This is another benefit of cashmere that stems from its very high breathability. Cashmere doesn’t stink naturally, and it takes a long time, or a particularly nasty stain, to make it exude irritant smells. And when that happens, a good wash gets rid of all the nastiness really quickly. So don’t worry about your cashmere smelling funny.
And with that, you now know about all the intricacies of cashmere. Cashmere has many benefits and quality features that make it a highly dependable material. Cashmere clothes are truly amazing and definitely worth their price!