Cashmere dyes beautfully. It is a matt coloring as there seems little shine on cashmere.
It’s so incredibley soft that I don’t think it matters. Here is what it did when I carded it.
I admit I’m pretty new at carding cashmere. I’m doing more research to see if I can card it with other fibers to get a better blend. As the fibers are pretty short 1.5 to 3 inches most cashmere I’ve seen is in roving or some sort of carded form. I’ve noticed that cashmere top is available. I’ve found out that this is usually Italian or other varieties of cashmere. Some people say it’s not cashmere at all but cashgora. I have made top with 3 inch angora fiber so it could be done. I’ve been googling on the subject but have found very little information regarding this. Spinning cashmere is similar to spinning cotton in my experience slow with alot of twist.
- My spun cashmere.
Sorry for the pic the camera didn’t want to focus on the spindle.
I did get the opportunity to speak with two wonderful ladies and ask more questions to my hearts content.
Carol and Carrie Spencer run Foxmoor Farm. Carol specializes in Red Cashmere goats and gave me a ton of information on goat care, like to check to see what minerals are missing from the hay and grass here that I may need to supplement. They do not sell online just locally and are working to breed to a standard. She also created an awesome PDF on how to dehair cashmere by hand(no tweezers needed). As I have only 4 goats and processing has become more expensive this may be an option. Here is the link for anyone who might be interested.
I also had the pleasure of speaking with Diana Blair of Going to The Sun Fiber Mill. I learned a lot about cashmere processing and how it affects the fiber. If the fiber is run thru the dehairer too many times it may break but there may be guard hair still in it. Finer fiber is not always better for dehairing. She also told me that processing cashmere is not something to be done by rote. She watches the fiber and makes changes to equipment as needed and trains her partners to do the same. I also learned that humidity plays a huge role when it comes to carding cashmere. Diana told me that is can cause nepping and breakage. She also had a great solution of using some Downy wrinkle-free when I’m carding enough to get it moist and cool but not to soak it. I’m gonna have to give that a try. Diana really impressed me with her attention to detail. She also informed me that I’m going to be blending my cashmere with other fibers and my guardhair was low that I may not need to process it at all. Imagine that!!! The owner of a fiber processing mill telling me not to process my fiber. Going to the Sun Fiber Mill also processes other exotic fiber such as Yak, Bison ,and Quivet. They also have no processing minimums for fiber processed into rovings or batts. There is a 1pd minimum for yarn.
So enjoy spinning your cashmere of I’m off to go roll in some:)
Tags: animal rescue, cashmere goat fiber, cashmere scarf, cashmere yarn, fiber animal products, fiber animals, raising fiber animals, roving wool, sheep wool processing, wool for sale, wool for spinning, wool for spinning yarn, wool processing
