Welcome to the 12th issue of the new Yarnmarket Just My Type newsletter. Each month we’re featuring a different Yarn Types category from our store and showcasing many of the sensational fibers & fiber blends in stock and just right for your favorite knitting & crochet projects. With over 750 yarns now available from Yarnmarket.com, you’re sure to find the perfect option for your next creative endeavor no matter what it is. Having trouble reading this issue? Then please enjoy the online version.
Luxurious Cashmere & Angora Yarns to Enjoy Year Round
So what makes the difference in the quality of your cashmere and angora options? And where do these fibers come from anyway?
First of all, both of these wondrous fibers come from specific mammals, and the buyer should definitely beware of any imitations. Cashmere fiber comes from the downy undercoat of the cashmere goat. These animals originated in the Himalayas and were actually named after India's Kashmir region.
Because of the harsh weather conditions, these goats grow a dual-layered coat for added protection & insulation. The layer with the harsh guard hairs comprises the vast majority of the coat, and it's only when the fleece is dehaired to remove the harsher parts that we have true cashmere to work with. The end result is a collection of short, delicate fibers that the best mills try to maintain in their fluffiest, most natural state.
Our other luxury fiber for this issue of the newsletter is angora, and yes, it comes from those cute little bunnies with all that hair. But just as with the cashmere goat, the angora rabbit has its fair share of guard hairs too. The main difference, however, is that even a percentage of the guard hairs can be used to create lovely angora yarn because as Clara Parkes points out in her extensive The Knitter's Book of Yarn: "The firmer guard hairs actually serve as structural supports to keep the finer down fibers open and lofty."
The typical angora rabbit produces about half of a pound of fiber per year, so neither animal provides the quantities of fiber on which we can rely for extensive ranges of handknitting yarns.
The most common way to keep these luxury fibers affordable is for yarn companies to blend cashmere and angora with other more readily available, cost effective fibers for some superb blends to knit & crochet. The most common mixture is with merino wool because the softness of the merino can accent this feature in the cashmere and angora too. But we've also seen some fairly exotic blends such as with cotton and with synthetic fibers trying to make these lovelies into multi-seasonal yarns well beyond fall and winter.
Also several pattern books show you just how wonderfully these types of yarns and fiber blends are transformed into garments & accessories for yourself and your loved ones. Judith Durant's Luxury Yarn One-Skein Wonders has 101 small projects to indulge in for yourself & others. Then take a peek at Luxury Knitting: Ultimate Guide to Exquisite Yarns for more project ideas and sensational details and background on the fibers themselves. Also check out our Luxury Yarns department overviewing these sumptuous yarns currently in stock at Yarnmarket.com so that you have plenty of options from which to choose for all your favorite outfits year round. We know you enjoy browsing for yourself, but we also have the following special staff recommendations of yarns and projects using these terrific yarns.
For those who enjoy knitting & crocheting with lacy, fingering-weight yarns, superb Supercashmere Fine is spun from the highest quality, long-stapled Italian cashmere into a 2-ply construction. With exquisite softness next to the skin, "Supercashmere Fine" is sensational used single-stranded for lacy scarves, open-weave shawls & stunning tops, and it even works up spectacularly in baby items for that precious little one.
Then for a quick-to-create version of this same high-quality fiber, discover the wonders of chunky-weight Supercashmere. With a beautifully twisted, ultrasoft series of strands, "Supercashmere" lives up to its name and delivers fantastic stitch definition & velvety softness for hats, scarves, jackets, sweaters and more.
With the simplest of names, Cashmere yarn is aptly described for its 100% Italian cashmere construction. Luxuriously soft, delicately plied & highly sought after, GGH's "Cashmere" has superb stitch definition for pullovers, cardigans, hats, ponchos, scarves, gloves and so much more.
As a terrific hand-dyed, worsted-weight beauty, check out Cashmere 5 yarn. It's constructed of five side-by-side plies of the softest cashmere you've ever touched. Then fingering-weight Cashmere Sock and Yarnmarket-exclusive Impressionist Cashmere Sock are a superb blend of two strands of luscious cashmere twisted with one strand of wool/nylon similar to the yarn used in St. John suits. Perfect for socks, gloves, hats, baby items, really anything lightweight you want to knit & crochet for that special someone.
Or when you crave a bit of glitz in your wardrobe, we know you'll love Beaded Ensemble & Sequins beautifully crafted of cashmere & silk. As the dressy version of the lovely Ensemble yarn, this eveningwear version is simply stunning.
As its name indicates, fingering-weight Superior gives you airy softness in a combination of 70% brushed cashmere & 30% sumptuous silk. With a generous 328 yards on every 25-gram ball, "Superior" also helps you make those scarves & shawls you've been dying to make with fewer tie-ins.
Then for all those precious wee ones in your life, the yarn gurus at Filatura Di Crosa have recently created two marvelous merino/cashmere blends especially for your heirloom-quality projects. Multi-colored Prestige Baby Print and single-hued Prestige Baby are both DK-weight creations that are totally interchangeable in your favorite baby patterns.
Her "Kashmir" family of yarns provides a terrific blend of merino & microfiber with a touch of cashmere. But what makes her yarn collection so different is the construction. Instead of using the traditional plied or lightly twisted approach, she uses a fabulous woven chainette that resists pilling & provides greater durability.
So from worsted-weight Kashmir Aran to lighter weight Kashmir DK and her most recent version Kashmir Baby, we know these cashmere blends will be some of your best options for your projects for babies, children & adults.
"Maggi's Angora" gives you luxurious softness and only modest flyaway because its angora is anchored to a nylon core for greater stability. Selected as a significant trim yarn in the Irish Maggi Knits yarn collection, "Maggi's Angora" is a superb worsted-weight option for your knitting & crochet projects such as indulgent sweaters, spectacular scarves & shawls, even fluffy Santa beards. It's also great used as trim for sweaters, jackets, hats and other accessories.
Light worsted "Invernal" has a cuddly soft mix of 50% angora with merino wool & nylon. Spun from natural angora fiber that's 7 times warmer than traditional sheep's wool, "Invernal" has the velvety feel & halo of 100% angora yarns but without the flyaway furriness. It's sensational when knitted or crocheted into superb shawls, scarves, sweaters & really any garment worn next to your skin.
Starting off with a cute name to remind you of its angora content, Bunny Hop Print gives you great elasticity and machine washability for all your worsted-weight projects. Great used by itself or color coordinate it with single-hued Bunny Hop Solid for even more design options.
When you hear the word "tweed," you probably think of the traditional rustic version that can be a little bit harsh worn against your skin. But Berroco's Blackstone Tweed yarn has the nubby, classic tweed look but without the scratchiness. With just enough angora and mohair mixed with the wool to add softness and extra loft, "Blackstone Tweed" knits up and crochets marvelously, so just think what great worsted-weight sweaters, jackets, blankets, cardigans, hats & scarves you can create!
Sumptuous Lush yarn is the perfect example of what happens when you blend two diverse fibers superbly. Mixing the fur of angora rabbits with sheep's wool produces what Knitter's Review calls "a lovely, cohesive, full-bodied yarn with great handle, spring & durability." Without the telltale furriness of other angora blends, "Lush" has splendid softness and body comparable to worsted-weight cashmere.
The other beautiful Classic Elite yarn we highly recommend is gorgeous Princess with its touches of both angora and cashmere for exceptional softness combined with lightweight elegance.
Debbie has also added a touch of luxurious cashmere or angora to several of her most recent creations for added softness & loft: super chunky Como, classic Luxury Tweed Aran and its quick-to-knit cousin Luxury Tweed Chunky.
As one of the loveliest yarns in Eisaku Noro's collection, Cash Iroha has been a staple for Noro projects for several years and gives you the best qualities of both cashmere & silk in one yarn. Then with its generous 30% angora content, Kochoran always delivers wonderful softness and is a dream to knit and crochet.
Noro's most recent fiber gems -- multi-colored Vintage and its single-hued cousin Retro -- are both crafted in Japan of 64% wool, 24% silk & 12% angora with the same worsted-weight gauge so that they can be easily color coordinated in projects.
And just as a little preview of what's to come, our 13th issue of the Just My Type newsletter will be emailed to you on Tuesday, March 23rd, so get ready to enjoy spectacular creations with our fashionably Fuzzy Alpaca yarns when we feature 100% alpaca yarns & alpaca blends.
And as always,
Happy Knitting!
Your Yarnmarket Knitting Store Staff
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