What is cashmere made from and how is it made?

Answer 1

Cashmere is a luxuriant wool that many a fashion-conscious woman has dreamed of wearing against her skin. Its silken feel, feather-light weight, and appreciable status make it highly desirable.

Despite the glamour associated with cashmere, it hails from humble beginnings. Cashmere is the wool or fur of the Kashmir goat. Kashmir goats are primarily raised in Mongolia, but many are bred in Iran, Tibet, India and China. American herders have also joined the international cashmere production market in recent years.

Cashmere is harvested from the goats during their annual molting season through the shedding or the shearing of their down. In the frigid high desert climates where most of the goats are raised, the dense inner coat guards against harsh winter weather, but once seasons change, goats begin to lose the protective layer of down.

The finest cashmere comes from the underbelly and throat of the goats, but a lesser grade is also taken from the goats' legs and backs. Longer fibers from the belly and throat area make the wool especially soft and cause less "pilling" when the fibers are woven into garments such as sweaters, shawls, capes, dresses, and coats for both men and women. The shorter fibers from the backs and legs are heavier and less expensive, making it easier to afford a luxury garment. Cashmere comes naturally in white, gray and brown, but the wool is easily dyed.

Garments made of cashmere were once only available to royalty because the rarity of the wool increased its value. Napoleon is said to have popularized the use of cashmere as shawls or wraps when he gave his second wife, Empress Eugenie, seventeen of them.

In more recent years, Old-Hollywood glamour girls graced the silver screen, bringing cashmere to the hearts of people everywhere. The "original sweater girl," Lana Turner, created a phenomenon when she wore a tight cashmere sweater in a 1937 film called, They Won't Forget. Cashmere sweaters of all description soon became haute coutre; evening sweaters with heavily encrusted jewels and embroidery became popular during the 1940s, and the famed sweater set of best-dressed college coeds ruled the 50s. Avid collectors are now frantic to snatch up those fine examples of vintage cashmere sweaters.

Woven garments made of cashmere must be dry cleaned, but knitted articles may be hand washed. Home weavers and knitters cherish cashmere for its soft hand and practical warmth; cashmere wool is available for home projects at yarn shops or online via Internet craft and knitting sites.

The quality and feel of cashmere will leave you longing for more. Owning a garment made of cashmere is a fashion treat to be truly treasured--after all, it takes one little goat four years to produce enough wool to make just one cashmere sweater.

Answer 2

Since everyone had pretty much summed up what cashmere is made from, let me just share about a store where you can purchase quality cashmere scarf and other cashmere related products when in Australia. Visit Olivia Graham Cashmere both online at http://oliviagrahamcashmere.com/ or through any of their market locations.

Answer 3

Specialty animal hair fibers including cashmere are collected during the spring molting season when the animals naturally shed their winter coat. Depending on the weather and the region, the goats (in the Northern Hemisphere) molt over a period beginning as early as March and as late as May.

In China and Mongolia, the commingled mass of down and coarse hair is removed by hand with a coarse comb that pulls tufts of fiber from the animal as the comb is raked through the fleece.

The long, coarse guard hair is then typically clipped from the animal and is often used for brushes, interlinings as well as other non-apparel uses. As a result of this combing process, the collected fiber has a higher yield of pure cashmere after the fiber has been washed and dehaired.

Animals in Iran, Afghanistan, New Zealand and Australia are typically shorn of their fleece resulting in a higher coarse hair content and lower pure cashmere yield.

Answer 4

It is made from the inner wool of cashmere goats. The best cashmere comes from Inner Mongolia, China.

Answer 5

Cashmere comes from Cashmere goat. It is obtained during the molting season when the goat shed. It is gathered with a special comb. There is much more at the Web sites listed below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cashmere_wool#Gathering_process

http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/goats/cashmere/

Answer 6

Cashmere is a type of wool that comes from the Cashmere goat. I would assume that its production process is similar to that of other types of wool.

Answer 7

Chasmere is made from goats, believe it or not, which is made from the soft down like underfur. No matter what anyone says, you can get chasmere from any goat who produces down-like underfur, so there is no one "cashmere" type. Check out more at this website listed below. Lots of cool info there.

postscript. you alos get mohair from a goat.