Plate No. 109fabric
The soft combed down of the cashmere goat.
- First documented
- Middle Ages
- Origin
- Kashmir, Kashmir, India
- Fiber
- cashmere wool
- Weave
- fine woven or knitted, from cashmere down
- Family
- twills
Plate No. 109 · fabric
Cashmere
Cashmere is cloth from the soft underdown of the cashmere goat, the fine insulating coat the animal grows against Himalayan winters and sheds each spring. The down is collected by combing, a few ounces per goat per year, which is why true cashmere has always been costly. It reached the West through the Kashmir shawls that also gave Europe the paisley, and the names entangle: the fiber, the region, and the boteh pattern all carry Kashmir's name. Woven or knitted, cashmere is prized for a warmth-to-weight and a softness no sheep's wool matches.
Named for
Named for Kashmir, the Himalayan region whose shawls first brought the fiber to Western notice.
Often confused with
Sources & References
- 1.Cashmere wool, Wikipedia
- 2.Cashmere goat, Wikipedia