Take care of your lovely cashmere
Take care of your lovely cashmere
Cashmere is a great classic item to have in your wardrobe that gives you style and elegance and a great image. It is regarded as a luxury and originally only worn by royalty, but it is said that it became more popular in France when Napoleon purchased several items for his second wife Empress Eugenie. The “original sweater girl,” Lana Turner, created a trend when she wore a tight cashmere sweater in a 1937 film called, They Won’t Forget.
Cashmere was originally the wool of the Kashmir goat and now comes from other goats. Over the last few years it has become very accessible to purchase cashmere knitwear from many High Street stores and online companies. Cashmere knitwear is made in several countries and Italy, Scotland, England and Japan have been known as market leaders, whilst China is the largest producers.
Choosing Cashmere
The poorer quality cashmere tends to be lighter in weight and more loosely woven than the best fabric. Look out for densely knitted pieces that have sturdy ribbing on the waist – cheaper pieces tend to have wavy ribbing.
Bobbling
The better the quality, the less your cashmere will bobble. Bobbling generally appears around the sleeves and underarms, but can be pulled away with machines, such as the Clothes Shaver from places such as John Lewis or Bettaware, but care as constant use will eventually wear away the wool.
Cleaning Your Cashmere
As all luxury cashmere it needs a bit of TLC, but cashmere lasts years providing you take care of it and store it well. It is easy to wash, providing you follow instructions and use the correct washing detergent. Washing is much better than dry cleaning as the chemicals can affect the soft feeling, although what is good, moths do not like the dry cleaning chemicals used. Repeated washing can improve the texture over a period of time.
Freezing your cashmere:
If some reason you do not want to wash your cashmere clothing regularly then I suggest you fold it up and put it into a plastic bag and put it in the freezer overnight. This will kill moth larvae, which may be lurking in the cashmere. It will also fluff up the wool.