Where to Buy Quality Cashmere Online

Cashmere is a fabric made from the fibers produced by certain goats. Cashmere producing goats originated in the Kashmir area of the Himalayas. The goats are not a breed, as a few breeds of goats do produce this fiber, however of the goats that produce cashmere very little is produced, in fact an average cashmere producing goat might only produce about one quarter, to one third, of a pound of cashmere fibers per year.

Those people who are concerned with animal welfare will be happy to know that cashmere is removed from the animals without killing them or hurting them, it can be removed by trimming their hair, or using a special brush, as normally these hairs shed around the time of the winter solstice. 

Cashmere is graded for quality, with Grade A being considered to be the very finest. Grade A cashmere is when the individual fibers measure 14 – 15.5 microns in diameter and as such is very soft. Because they are so fine cashmere fibers are usually not spun by machine and are hand spun instead.

Cashmere is then made into yarn and then can be made into anything from sweaters, to baby blankets, throws, robes, scarves, and so on. The term Pashmina is often interchanged with Cashmere, and is sometimes specifically used to refer to shawls and wraps made from cashmere. Sometimes the term Pashmina has been used loosely to refer to soft shawls in general with no regards to what fibers are actually used.

Consumers looking for products made from only Grade A cashmere will be delighted with the selection from Cashmere Boutique. Additionally when a product from Cashmere Boutique says “pashmina” you know it is referring honestly to the fibers of a goat.

Cashmere Boutique has many cashmere products and are a favorite of women looking for luxurious feeling clothing, however cashmere is not just for women. Cashmere Boutique has a line of sweaters and coats for men too. They are on trend with all the latest styles and colors to put you on top of the fashion world. Cashmere Boutique even has super soft socks and slippers.

Some of the fashion items from Cashmere Boutique have silk added to make a lighter weight product. These items are always labeled as Cashmere silk blends.

Because they specialize in Cashmere, and only use Grade A cashmere, you know you are getting a wonderful product when you order from Cashmere Boutique.

"" High Quality Cashmere & Pashmina Apparel at Fabulous Prices. Free S&H for orders above $100.""

Keep your cashmere in good condition by hand washing and laying it flat to dry. You can also have cashmere dry cleaned. 

Read more about Cashmere Goats

Why Don't Sheep Shrink when they get Wet?

A question was recently asked on WebAnswers. A person asked “How come sheep don't shrink when they get wet?”. This thought must come from the fact that wool sweaters sometimes shrink after washing.

The answer is simple really, sheep are living things, it is the wool that shrinks, not the animal beneath the wool. A wool sweater may shrink but it is not made up of “sheep” it is made up of the fleece that the sheep has produced.  As well how the wool was treated makes it more prone to shrinkage.

What really causes a wool sweater to shrink is not so much the washing, but rather the drying. When the wet wool gets hot the fibers naturally cling together, they have a natural crimp that grabs on to the other wool fibers and do not want to let go.

An actual living sheep might get wet, but it does not get hot enough for this to occur. Also the woolen fibers on he sheep are all growing naturally in the same direction; from the skin out. Sheep hairs are not as smooth as human hairs, they even have minute scales, after being spun into yarn the fibers are all over the place, and the texture of each fiber grabs onto those next to it. If agitated further these fibers can be made into felt. This is why the hair of some animals can be spun into yarn, or made into felt, but you cannot do the same with hair from every animal.

So to get back to why the wool on sheep does not shrink, but the wool in sweaters does, we see that the wool in sweaters is not as well arranged as on the sheep – the fibers are going every which way, when you add water and heat, the fibers grab onto each other, pulling each other together resulting in shrinkage.

To prevent shrinkage, some wool is treated with chemicals to remove some of these scales, this does result in less shrinkage, but shrinkage in sweaters can also be prevented by not heating up wet sweaters – they can be dried safely with cool air.

If you happen to have accidentally shrunk your wool sweater you can “un-shrink” it by soaking it in warm water with a bit of hair conditioner added. Pull the sweater gently while it is soaking. Remove from the water and lay flat, pulling gently again relax the hold the fibers have on one and other, and to pull it back into its proper size.

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