Cashmere, like all exotic fibers, is its own little universe. Cashmere is actually the underhairs of a species of goat that lives on the harsh steppes of Central Asia. Most of the world’s supply of raw material comes from the Hebei and Inner Mongolia regions of Northern China, and from Outer Mongolia. Iran, India and Scotland have very small productions, but nearly all the raw materials originate in China.
The Scots were the first to begin commercial production of Cashmere by inventing a machine to separate out the soft fine underhairs of the Cashmere goat. For some 200 years they controlled nearly the entire market, buying their raw material in China and spinning and knitting it in the British Isles. Only in the last few decades has China begun to spin and manufacture its own raw materials, often in partnership with Japanese, European or Italian companies.
The results have ranged the entire spectrum. While Scotland stuck with high quality garments and used the lesser-quality fibers for cloth, Chinese producers have made both low quality and high quality sweaters. Pressured by price-conscious importers (including large American discount chains), many have looked for ways to cut costs at the expense of quality, hurting the reputation of all Chinese suppliers. Cashmere softness and durability are determined by the average fiber-length of the yarn, the thickness of fiber, the tightness of the yarn’s twist and the amount of washing after the sweater is knit. Yarn varies in price from about $50/kilo to $120/kilo depending on its quality, which means that two identical sweaters can differ considerably in price. However, the better the quality, the more durable the sweater.
We determine all the yarn and finish specifications of our sweaters, resulting in quality that is among the best you can find anywhere in the world. We use a longer fiber (36-38 mm) and a tighter twist to avoid pilling and keep your sweater soft and beautiful for many years.
Pima Cotton is a long-staple cotton grown on the arid coast of Peru. It comes from the first picking of the crop, resulting in the longest, softest fibers. Pima garments are incredibly durable, and have a soft sheen that never goes away.
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Silk is one of the strangest and most beautiful fibers known to man. Over its five thousand year history it has been traded and even warred over, serving as a critical link between East and West from the time of the Roman Empire until the epic voyage of Marco Polo in the middle ages.
Silk originated in China sometime before the middle of the third millennium BC. According to legend, an Empress was having tea beneath a mulberry tree when a cocoon fell into her cup. As the hot water unraveled the silken thread, a new fiber was born. By the first millennium BC caravans laden with the precious cloth were wending their way to India, Turkistan and Persia. Gradually the secrets of sericulture spread to India, Japan and other Eastern countries.
Marco Polo and the Silk Road
The famous Silk Road, which stretched from China into Afghanistan and onward to Constantinople, was first used during the Roman Empire, when Han Dynasty silk made the long journey. Most Roman cloth was made by unraveling the Chinese cloth and then re-weaving it according to their own fashions. Silk remained an Oriental secret until the year 550 AD, when the Emperor Justinian of the Eastern Roman Empire persuaded two Persian monks to smuggle silkworms out of China in the hollow of their bamboo canes. This led to silk production in Italy and later France, although this industry died out because of a silk-worm plague in the 19th Century.
The Silk Road declined along with the political stability of Europe and China, but flourished again under the Mongols and Kubilai Khan. At this time, in the 13th Century, the most famous traveler, Marco Polo, made the long journey to what was then called Cathay. Marco Polo was unusual in that he traveled the entire length of the Silk Road. Normally, the long road would be traveled in segments, and at each link the silk would be sold to another merchant. The incremental profits along the way resulted in astronomical prices, making silk very much a luxury fabric. Marco Polo became an advisor to Kubilai Khan, traveling across China to collect taxes and report to the Khan. He returned to his native Venice more than twenty years later a rich man, gaining himself everlasting fame with his then-incredible descriptions of the barely imaginable Cathay.
Sericulture
As everyone knows, silk comes from the cocoon of the silk worm. Each cocoon is a single continuous thread of silk, stuck together with a gummy substance called sericin. The domestic silkworm can only live under cultivation, and its adult moth phase only lasts 2-3 days. Silkworms don't usually have to worry about the problems of adulthood, though, because most of them are killed in their cocoon with a brief blast of hot air or steam. The silk is then de-gummed in hot water, and end of the single strand is found by hand. Each filament is 2000 to 3000 feet long, and four or more are reeled together to form a single thread. Silk which is not de-gummed is called raw silk.
Silk Cloth
Silk cloth comes in many textures and thicknesses. Some are thin enough to read a book through, others are as stiff as cardboard. Tussah silk is made from wild, uncultivated silk. Silk made from shorter, broken threads is called spun silk, and the lowest quality is called silk noile. Unlike wool, much of silk's feel depends on the treatment and weaving of the cloth, rather than on the qualities of the fiber itself.
Here are some descriptions of some common forms of silk cloth:
Properties of Silk
Although silk has a reputation as being a delicate fiber, it is actually the strongest natural fiber in existence, stronger than steel for it's weight. Before nylon, it was used to make parachutes. It is extremely durable if it is properly cared for, and can be washed in cool water. Silk is extremely warm and a great insulator. At the same time, it has a light, refreshing feel in the summer heat. It is weakest when it is wet, so it should be washed carefully. It shouldn't be rubbed when it is wet, as that can damage the surface fibers.
A good silk garment, properly cared for, can last many years.
Hand-Painted Silk
We work together with two families in China to design and produce our hand-painted silk scarves and clothing.
The garments start out white and the outline of the designs are painted on in a resist. As it dries the resist sinks into the fabric and prevents any other liquids from crossing it. After that, silk dyes are painted in with a brush, applying water to the fabric with a second brush so that the dyes spread in a controlled way. On designs with solid color backgrounds, the background is carefully painted in. I'm told this is actually the hardest part, because it is difficult to do it evenly. After this the silk is steamed to set the colors, then washed.
If a garment is being made, each piece is painted individually then cut out, grouped together and brought to the factory for sewing. It's then ironed and sent to the export company for shipping.
Information
The Alpaca is a camel-like animal that lives in the high Andes of Peru, Bolivia and Northern Chile, at altitudes up to 18,000 feet. Alpaca fur has been prized in the Andes for thousands of years and was an important article of trade. So valuable was it that during the Inca Empire only the nobility was allowed to possess it. Alpaca garments are now exported exclusively from Peru and Bolivia, and the finest yarn comes only from two factories in Peru. It is a rare and expensive fiber, like cashmere, camel hair, mohair and angora.
There's a lot more to alpaca than just its silky-smooth texture. While alpaca (the fiber) is often called "alpaca wool", it actually shares similarities to both wool and fur, and is superior to sheep's wool in many ways. Its fibers are hollow, which makes it warmer than wool, and it keeps you warm when it is wet. It doesn't absorb as much water as wool and dries faster, and is also very resistant to soiling. Alpaca is also stronger and more durable than wool if it is properly cared for. Alpaca sweaters never pill, and with a little care they will keep looking new for many years.
Care
Alpaca should be cared for exactly like wool, but more attention should be paid to not stretching or hanging it. Since alpaca fiber is not as crimped as wool it tends to be less elastic. Alpaca sweaters should be neatly folded and treated well, like any fine clothing. Indian Market sweaters are extremely tough and can be treated like any wool sweater.
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One can refer to many hairs as "wools", even human hair, but at Invisible World we are careful to refer to sheep's wool as "wool", alpaca wool as "alpaca" and cashmere hair as "cashmere" because each one has unique characteristics.
Sheep's wool is a crimped fiber with tiny overlapping scales on the surface of the hair. It is these little scales that contribute to wool's itchy feel. They also contribute to the well known insulating properties of wool. The third thing that these little scales do is cause "felting". When wool is boiled or even soaked and then agitated, all the little scales grab onto each other and pull the fibers closer and closer together, creating a dense fuzzy material, or in its extreme, felt. It is this pulling together of the fibers that causes wool garments to shrink when they are washed in hot water.
Care
A wool sweater or knit jacket should never be hung on a hanger or crucified on the back of a chair. That is called "punishing your sweater for something it didn't do".
Never hang a wet sweater up to dry. This is called "torturing your sweater for information it cannot reveal".
A wool garment should never be washed in warm or hot water, or in the washing machine. Unless you have been accidentally exposed to nuclear radiation and find yourself getting smaller every hour like The Incredible Shrinking Man, you will truly regret the irreversible felting process that you have unleashed on your garment. Shrinking of things is better left to the Jivaro Indians of the northwest Amazon.
To hand-wash a sweater you should wash it in cold water with a mild detergent like Woolite or a good shampoo, gently kneading and squeezing the garment without twisting or wringing it. Adding hair conditioner or fabric softener will make your sweater silkier. After rinsing, you should gently squeeze out the water and lay the sweater flat on a towel to dry.
Although it is virtually impossible to systematically shrink a sweater to fit, it is possible to stretch out a sweater a little bit to just the right size. This is called blocking the sweater. To do this the sweater should be washed or at least well soaked. Then, after squeezing out the water, and laying it on a towel, the sweater is gently and evenly pulled out to the dimensions desired. The sweater should then be weighted with clean heavy objects until it is dry. It will then retain its new shape.
