The Ultimate Guide To Cashmere Yarn
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!

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.

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!

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!

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!

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!

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
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!
Enjoyable read with informative content. Thank you!
Thank you for this helpful article. I’m wondering if you can tell me what pattern was used for the orange colored scarf on the echo cashmere photo in this article. Thank you so much.
Hi Christy,
That’s our Simplicity Scarf!
All the best,
Lili
I’d love to make some cashmere socks but worry the fiber won’t hold up in the toe and heel. Am I wrong? Is there a cashmere or cashmere blend out there up to the task?
Appreciate any comments. 🙂
Hi Lexymarty,
Thanks for writing in! Cashmere yarn would make super warm and cozy lounge socks! You’re right though, because cashmere is such a soft fiber, and our cashmere yarns have no reinforcing nylon in them, it might not be the best choice for socks that get a lot of wear and tear. If you want to add some durability to the sock though, another option is to hold the yarn together with a nylon thread!
All the best,
Lili
Thank you, Lili, for your insight and reply! Really helpful 🙂
Strange to think that, the higher quality the yarn, the more likely it is to pill. One would think the opposite.
Hi Judith,
We’re glad you wrote in about this! There are many reasons why a yarn could be more prone to pilling than others, but the reason why may surprise you…
It isn’t necessarily an indication of poor yarn quality and is instead related directly to how the yarn is plied. Yarns with fewer plies and more loosely spun yarns, for example, allow for more friction between the fibers, which is the main cause of pilling. Cashmere in particular has a natural “halo” of fiber that rises above the stitches. This can be mistaken for pilling, but it’s more of a cloud-like layer that adds to the extreme softness cashmere is famously associated with.
I hope this extra context helps encourage you to give our cashmere a try! If you’re ever curious about the differences between any of the yarns we carry though, we’re more than happy to do a deeper dive!
All the best,
Lili
Cadhmere is my very favorite yarn to knit with. I love Purl Soho’s Nigh DK. It is a scrumptious yarn to knit with. The projects feel absolutely great. Thank you for selling this wonderful yarn and offering it at 20% off.
This is so helpful!
What is the pattern used for the garment in the photo captioned “Our Cygnet fingering-weight yarn, 70% cashmere and 30% baby alpaca (both undyed)”
Hi Jackie,
I’m so glad! Those are our Soft As A Cloud Cowls!
All the best,
Lili