Cashmere is one of nature’s most extraordinary gifts, for you who gets to feel the bliss of knitting with cashmere yarn, as well as for the lucky person who receives the hand-knit cashmere scarf you made! Cashmere yarn really is that mind-blowingly soft and breathtakingly beautiful… But what exactly makes it this way? Find out with our Ultimate Guide To Cashmere Yarn, then explore and shop our collection of cashmere yarns and cast on with joy!

The Ultimate Guide To Cashmere Yarn | Purl Soho

What Is Cashmere And Where Does It Come From?

Cashmere is a rare, natural fiber grown by a special class of goats. About 90% of the world’s cashmere yarn comes from goats living in the wind-swept highlands of Inner Mongolia and Mongolia. To ensure that they are comfortable and unharmed, farmers wait until spring when the goats are naturally shedding to gently comb away the downy, insulating undercoat the animals grew to survive the harsh winter of their mountain homes. This is why cashmere is so toasty warm and also why it has been used to make yarns, textiles, and garments for centuries.

The Ultimate Guide To Cashmere Yarn | Purl Soho

Nigh DK, our 100% Mongolian cashmere, light worsted/DK-weight yarn

How Soft Is Cashmere?

To ensure cashmere yarn’s famous softness, the fine fibers from the goats’ undercoats are carefully separated from their coarser guard hairs, first in the combing process and then later in a sorting facility. The fineness of fiber determines its softness, and knitters measure this fineness in microns. The lower the micron count, the finer (and softer!) the fiber. For example, baby alpaca has a micron count of about 19-21; fine merino is 18-19.5 microns; and high-quality cashmere ranges from 14-17 microns. Extremely soft, and this is immediately apparent the moment you hold a skein of cashmere yarn. It’s a whole other level of softness… Think puffy-cloud soft, baby-bunny soft, heart-breaking soft!

The Ultimate Guide To Cashmere Yarn | Purl Soho

Our Echo Cashmere yarn, 95% recycled cashmere and 5% other fibers in a fingering to sport weight

Properties Of Cashmere Yarn

Lightweight + Insulating

Besides being marvelously soft, cashmere yarn is also remarkable for being lightweight and naturally insulating. The fineness of the fiber contributes to the nearly weightless feeling of cashmere and so does the fact that its fibers are partially hollow with little air pockets, lightening the load even more while also providing excellent insulation. In addition, cashmere fibers are naturally thermoregulatory, doing the same for you that they do for goats: keep you warm in the cold and comfortable in the heat. It’s totally amazing to experience the feather-lightness of a hand-knit cashmere scarf or sweater, how gently it weighs on you, while also feeling completely protected from whatever icy chill comes your way!

Relaxed + Supple

Unlike wool yarn, which has a bounce in its step, cashmere yarn and knits have a more yielding and relaxed response. This goes back, again, to the structure of cashmere’s fibers, which are quite straight. Unlike wool fibers, which have a natural crimp that makes them spring back into shape, cashmere tends to be less elastic. While it may drape, grow, and stretch without returning to its original form, cashmere’s beauty is in its gentle suppleness and fluidity, which you feel vividly as the yarn slides through your fingers with every stitch.

Halo + Bloom

Another real pleasure of knitting with cashmere yarn is its tendency to halo and bloom. Because cashmere often has a shorter staple length (that’s fancy fiber-talk for the fibers being on the short side!) than, say, merino wool, its ends tend to free themselves from the yarn’s spin. The result is a diaphanous fuzziness that seems to float on the surface of the finished fabric, what knitters call a “halo.” This effect has a wonderful way of diffusing light, giving cashmere knits a delicate glow. Those short fibers also cause cashmere yarn to “bloom” when you wash and block it, which means the stitches plump up and fill in the space between them.

For all these reasons, plus some intangible ones that we’ll chalk up to mystery, knitting with cashmere yarn really is an extraordinary experience and profound joy!

The Ultimate Guide To Cashmere Yarn | Purl Soho

Our Cygnet fingering-weight yarn, 70% cashmere and 30% baby alpaca (both undyed)

Types Of Cashmere Yarns

100% Cashmere Yarn

First, there are 100% cashmere yarns. These are the purest and tend to also be the most expensive. But even 100% cashmere yarns come in a range of micron counts and quality. The best cashmere yarns are more carefully sorted for fineness, purity, and long staple length. Our Nigh DK and fingering-weight Nigh Fine yarns are both 100% Mongolian cashmere and will give you a wonderful idea of what it’s like to knit with the best cashmere yarn in the world! You can easily make a gift with just one skein. Explore our Nigh DK knitting patterns and Nigh Fine patterns for some fabulous ideas!

The Ultimate Guide To Cashmere Yarn | Purl Soho

Light worsted/DK-weight Cashmere Merino Bloom, 75% extra fine merino and 25% cashmere

Recycled Cashmere Yarn

Recycled cashmere yarn gives a beautiful new beginning to fiber that deserves a second life. Recycled cashmere yarn, like our fingering-weight Echo Cashmere, is made with excess fiber from the production process of cashmere sweaters and yarn, as well as with cashmere from recycled sweaters. For this reason, recycled cashmere usually has a small percentage of “other fibers” in the mix but is often at least 95% cashmere. It also tends to be less expensive than 100% cashmere, making recycled cashmere yarn a more accessible way to get your hands on some lovely cashmere… Our Echo Cashmere knitting patterns will put you on the path!

The Ultimate Guide To Cashmere Yarn | Purl Soho

Our Irish tweeds: worsted-weight Hedgerow and lace-weight Spindle, both with a touch of cashmere!

Cashmere-Blend Yarn

Even adding a touch of cashmere to other fibers always brings depth and beauty to yarn, but when you blend it with a fiber that is super special in its own right, they bring out the best in each other. For example, our light worsted/DK-weight Cashmere Merino Bloom yarn starts with the highest quality extra fine merino wool in the world, which contributes its own softness, as well as elasticity and structure. The addition of 25% cashmere brings over-the-top softness, a gentle halo, and beautiful bloom. Check out our Cashmere Merino Bloom knitting patterns, and find out all the gorgeous things you can make with the yarn!

Cygnet, too, is an inspired combination of 70% fine cashmere and 30% baby alpaca. This fingering-weight yarn is fabulously sleek and smooth, thanks to the long staple length of the alpaca, as well as the yarn’s many fine plies. Its natural colors make Cygnet even more exceptional, with undyed white cashmere combining with a range of naturally occurring shades of baby alpaca to create 5 undyed shades. Our Cygnet knitting patterns have a quiet beauty that will inspire you to cast on.

Even a tiny bit of cashmere can transform a yarn. Worsted-weight Hedgerow and laceweight  Spindle, both made in Ireland’s County Donegal, use a touch of cashmere to give a soft hand feel to this traditional Irish tweed yarn. The best of both worlds! Discover our Hedgerow knitting patterns, as well as Spindle patterns, to experience the power of a smidgen of cashmere!

Explore All Our Gorgeous Cashmere Yarns

The Ultimate Guide To Cashmere Yarn | Purl Soho

Nigh DK | 100% Cashmere | DK-Weight Yarn

The Ultimate Guide To Cashmere Yarn | Purl Soho

Cygnet | 70% Cashmere, 30% Baby Alpaca | Fingering-Weight Yarn

The Ultimate Guide To Cashmere Yarn | Purl Soho

Echo Cashmere | 95% Recycled Cashmere | Fingering- to Sport-Weight Yarn

The Ultimate Guide To Cashmere Yarn | Purl Soho

Hedgerow | 93% Merino Wool, 3.5% Cashmere, 3.5% Mulberry Silk | Worsted-Weight Yarn

The Ultimate Guide To Cashmere Yarn | Purl Soho

Nigh Fine | 100% Cashmere | Fingering-Weight Yarn

The Ultimate Guide To Cashmere Yarn | Purl Soho

Cashmere Merino Bloom | 75% Extra Fine Merino, 25% Cashmere | DK-Weight Yarn

How To Care For Cashmere Handknits

Blocking and washing cashmere handknits does wonders! They soften and relax; the fibers bloom; and a beautiful, delicate halo arises on the surface of the fabric.

  • To get started, pick up our very gentle Sweater Soap and follow along with our How To Hand Wash A Sweater Tutorial for step-by-step instructions and tips to avoid felting or overstretching.
  • After some wear, light and gentle strokes with our Sweater Comb will tame pilling and give your fabric a fresh finish.
  • Both the soap and comb are included in our handy Wool Care Kit, along with Spot Soap for focused stain removal and a Sweater Rake that is better reserved for hardier knits.
  • You may also want to buy some Sweater Storage Bags to protect your precious cashmere from moths (who seem to appreciate cashmere as much as we do!)

With a little bit of care, your cashmere knits will become more and more beautiful with time… In fact, true heirlooms!

Looking for more inspiration? Explore all of our free knitting patterns and knitting tutorials, buy one of our many knitting kits and yarn bundles, and shop for beautiful yarn. We have over 35 gorgeous natural fiber yarns in 100’s of magnificent colors, designed to bring integrity, beauty, and joy to your next knitting project and only available at Purl Soho!