The pilling of the Cashmere

by Staff DiffusioneStock
26 May 2018

Pilling effect is when the chafe of the smaller and superficial textures forms some “little balls”. This is a consequence of their coming out from the thread because they are not well fixed from the twisting.

As usual, people think that pilling effect is a quality’s defect but instead, this is a normal characteristic of cashmere and of thin wool. The realization of pure cashmere knitting presents always a dilemma: it is necessary choose between the softness or to “close” the thread to avoid the texture’s coming out caused by the use.
When the thread is more twisted, and so more “closed”, it will be less soft and swollen, similar to a string. On the contrary, with a swollen soft and light yarn, obtained by few twisting, the knitting will be very delicate and it will ruin very soon.
We prefer to produce a medium/high twisting to guarantee the life and the stability of garments.
When You buy our knitting, they will be soft but surely, washing after washing, they will be softer and the light pilling will completely disappear after 2/3 washings.
The thinner textures tend more to the pilling effect; so, a “Shetland” knitting (normal wool) will have surely less problems than a merino extrafine or cashmere knitting.

HOW TO REDUCE THE pilling EFFECT
• Don’t worn the knitting more than 2/3 days running.
• It has to be washed as often as possible: cashmere loves water, because goats live in hard conditions, outdoors and under the rain. The textures when wet, they extend, while when dry, they come back to their origins. In this way, your cashmere knitting will be new, each washing.
• Don’t worn over the knitting jutting accessories, that can damage the textures. Pay attention to the daily habits: for example, don’t bring a pen or stiff things into the pockets to avoid the pilling effect. Our morphology and our habits influence a lot the life of our knitting.