Cashmere

Precious wool fiber obtained from the Kel goat, which lives in the mountains of Kashmir. Under the animal’s long and thick external hair is the duvet, or down, from which is extracted one of the noblest and most precious fibers in nature. It is worked with very hard combs, and then the duvet is separated from the thick external hair, in order to obtain very thin and soft fibers which are exceptionally warm. Since the time of Caesar, cashmere has been a symbol of refinement. But its distribution in the West occured later, perhaps in the time of Marco Polo and the Silk Road. The Kel goat is bred in small herds. Each goat supplies a small quantity of fiber; a medium jacket consumes the annual production of 20 goats. In Spring, they lose their hair, which shepherds patiently separate from the duvet. Today, the most valuable cashmere doesn’t come from Kashmir, but from Mongolia. The yarn is made more valuable by the twisting of two thin yarns, the “two ply,” which is possible only with the highest quality. Cashmere is a short carded fiber.