The most common mistake with cashmere

The most common mistake with cashmere is associating fuzzy, soft cashmere with high quality. High quality cashmere is made from yarn with long filaments, so it’s smoother and looks more sleek. It’s probably not fuzzy. Even if it’s soft, you don’t get that cozy, cloudy look.

Raw cashmere is graded according to its length, radius, and color. Longer, thinner, whiter strands are more rare and command higher prices. They produce smoother yarns that take to dye beautifully. 

While we’ve been educated to prefer red sweaters that are more richly, truly red, most of us have not been taught that fuzziness is usually the result of shorter, lower quality cashmere filaments. 

Shorter filaments are more likely to pill, while longer ones will retain their smooth texture and will also hold on to the garment’s shape through years of wear. 

Do you need top cashmere for all your garments? That answer will depend on your preferences. But I find it useful to know what cashmere producers consider top quality.