Italian knitwear craftsmanship

Around twenty steps separate the raw material from a finished jumper, and most of them stay invisible. Anyone who has seen how much hand work goes into a cashmere piece understands the price difference between one that lasts three winters and one that lasts three decades. A look at the route our yarns take.

It starts with a comb, not shears

Cashmere is not shorn, it is combed out. Beneath its coarse guard hair the cashmere goat carries a fine undercoat which it sheds naturally in spring. That is the window in which it is combed by hand, animal by animal.

The yield is correspondingly small. One animal gives around 150 to 250 grams of raw fibre a year, and after sorting, which removes the coarse guard hair, often only half of that remains. A medium weight jumper therefore takes the annual yield of four to six animals. That, rather than the label, is the real reason for the price of cashmere.

Why fibre length decides everything

After sorting, the fibre is judged on two criteria: fineness and length. In good goods the fineness lies between 14 and 16.5 micrometres, about a fifth of a human hair. It determines how soft the material feels.

Durability, however, is decided by length. Long fibres can be twisted more firmly and sit securely in the finished yarn; short ones work their way out under friction and form pills. We use long staple qualities exclusively and spin them into a 2/28 yarn, meaning a two ply construction. That is considerably more involved than a single yarn, and you can tell after five years.

In the end this is the one point where cheap and good part company. Both feel soft in the shop. Only one of them still looks that way in the third winter.

Spinning and plying

The sorted fibre is washed, carded and drawn into a roving before it is spun. In plying, two single threads are twisted together in opposite directions. It sounds like a detail, but it is the step that gives a yarn its stability: the twist of the two threads holds itself in balance, so the knit does not skew later.

Italian spinning mills traditionally work with soft water from the Alps. Soft water means less lime, and less lime means the scale layer of the fibre survives washing undamaged. It is one of the reasons the northern Italian textile region has the reputation it has, and not some other region.

Knitting: stitch density tells the rest

Knitting reveals whether the fibre was skimped on. A densely knitted piece uses more material, hangs heavier and holds its shape. A loosely knitted one looks airy on the hanger at first but stretches sooner, because there is less substance to carry its own weight.

A simple test in the shop: hold the piece up to the light. If you can clearly see the stitches as holes, it is loosely knitted. If the surface stays closed, nothing was saved. On pieces such as the Albani Cashmere Jumper Mysore you can feel the difference in the weight alone.

The finish decides the handle

After knitting comes the step that turns a correctly made piece into a special one: washing and careful milling. The fibres rise, the knit contracts slightly and takes on its final handle. Milled too briefly, the piece stays flat and lifeless; milled too long, it felts.

Hitting that point is a matter of experience and hard to capture in a machine setting. It is the step that shows whether a manufacture employs people who have been doing this for decades. Each piece is then checked by hand, shaped and steamed.

What Made in Italy actually means

The label alone says little. What counts is how many of the steps really take place in the country. A piece knitted in the Far East and merely buttoned and pressed in Italy may, under certain conditions, still be sold as Italian.

So ask specifically: where is it spun, where knitted, where finished? Anyone who gives you a clear answer usually has nothing to hide. What that means for our pieces is set out on our about page, and how to recognise good workmanship yourself is covered in a separate piece on the small details.

Frequently asked questions

Why is cashmere so expensive?

Because the raw material is scarce. One cashmere goat yields 150 to 250 grams of raw fibre a year, of which roughly half remains usable after sorting. A single jumper therefore takes the annual yield of four to six animals.

What does 2/28 mean on a yarn?

It describes fineness and construction: a two ply yarn of count 28. Two threads twisted in opposite directions hold each other in balance, so the knit does not skew later and the fibre stays securely in the yarn.

How do I recognise good cashmere in a shop?

Hold the piece up to the light. A dense knit stays closed, a loose one shows the stitches as holes. Also pay attention to the weight in your hand and to whether the cuffs spring back immediately after stretching.

Is cashmere shorn?

No, it is combed out by hand in spring, when the goat sheds its fine undercoat anyway. Shearing only happens with lower qualities, because it brings the coarse guard hair into the fibre.

Is Made in Italy a guarantee of quality?

Not automatically. What matters is which steps actually take place in the country. Ask where the yarn is spun, knitted and finished, because a piece can be knitted elsewhere and only completed in Italy.

If you would like to feel the difference for yourself, the pieces are there to handle in our showroom, and we are happy to show you what to look for. The full cashmere collection is available online as well.