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Cashmere Sweater Hierarchy

HotDilf

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D0076FB0-6E83-4B40-9335-4F15DD795258.jpeg

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Before and after shots of the knit drawer re-org in honor of sweater weather. These are most of my thin cashmere jumpers; mid- and heavy-weight jumpers are still in storage.

Red one is a really neat blend of baby alpaca, silk and cashmere from Lanvin. Couple of Lockies, the rest being Loro Piana baby cashmere. I wear these thin ones directly against the skin - as cashmere is meant to be worn - so I value softness and comfort above anything else. Admittedly I reach for the baby cashmere jumpers more often than the others: hard to go back to regular cashmere once one has experienced them.
 

DorianGreen

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View attachment 1834705
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Before and after shots of the knit drawer re-org in honor of sweater weather. These are most of my thin cashmere jumpers; mid- and heavy-weight jumpers are still in storage.

Red one is a really neat blend of baby alpaca, silk and cashmere from Lanvin. Couple of Lockies, the rest being Loro Piana baby cashmere. I wear these thin ones directly against the skin - as cashmere is meant to be worn - so I value softness and comfort above anything else. Admittedly I reach for the baby cashmere jumpers more often than the others: hard to go back to regular cashmere once one has experienced them.

It looks like a very fine collection. Congratulations!
 

HotDilf

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Thank you Dorian, very much appreciated.
 

StockwellDay

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Anyone interested in joining a MTO size 38 Lockie Windsor cardigan order at around 637 gbp (ex-vat) and free US shipping - direct from a retailer?

This would have to be a special order from Lockie because 38 is not a standard size and they require at least two sweaters per order. Apparently price goes up imminently for all Lockie items and I want to pull the trigger with the weak Sterling and before price increase.

Color options would be navy, flannel (grey), or dark natural.

Cashmere 4-ply

you would order direct from store and pay them, but I need at least one more for them to do it.

DM me before the end of the weekend.
 

ianskelly

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A sweater's thickness is made of many things, of which ply is only one component. The ply alone does not tell the whole story.

I think it helps to start at the beginning. When you make a sweater, you have to extract hairs from an animal (this is called the fiber). These fibers are then spun together to make a strand of yarn. This strand can have different thicknesses depending on the type of fiber and how they're twisted together.

When we say that a yarn is four-ply, this typically means that four strands are twisted together to make a four-ply yarn. However, and confusingly, this is not always the case. If you have two very thick strands, they can sometimes be twisted together and labeled as a four-ply yarn. Or you could have ten very thin strands that are twisted together and labeled as a four-ply yarn.

In knitting, there's something called the count system, where you have two numbers -- the number of strands (1, 2, 3, 4, etc) and the number of hanks that a 1,000 meter length of single ply yarn would result in a weight of 1 kilogram. The higher the number, the finer the yarn. The lower the number, the heavier the yarn. So you can have a 2/28 yarn, which means two plys of a certain strand weight.

Next, the knitter also has a way of affecting a sweater's thickness or weight. At William Lockie, they have something that they internally call their Rolls Royce cashmere, which is two cones of 2/28 yarn that are twisted together and knitted on a two-ply machine. That makes it a 2/14 yarn -- 2/28 and 2/28. Yet, if you were to look at the label, it may only say "two ply"

To add to this: different countries have their own measuring systems and standards for ply. Since most of us are interested Scottish cashmere, four-ply for a while was just a standard weight for yarn to make basic sweaters such as Fair Isles. It has just become a sort of baseline to discuss yarns.

The TL/DR: different things can go into the thickness of a sweater, of which ply is just one. Over time, I think the term ply has become a sort of marketing tool because people associate higher plys with better quality, but things are in fact more complicated.
HI this is a Description of a willim lcokie made sweater , does it sound like a "Rolls Royce "? "
Our 2 ply cashmere crewneck. Made in Hawick, Scotland. Knitted on 15 gauge frames using two ends of 2/28's cashmere yarn (some would say 4 ply!). In the most traditional way with a higher tension than most to ensure the garment maintains shape. The sweater is then washed in the soft Scottish water to ensure the handle you expect.
 

StockwellDay

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GBP at 1.05 now, if you’re on the fence.

Anyone interested in joining a MTO size 38 Lockie Windsor cardigan order at around 637 gbp (ex-vat) and free US shipping - direct from a retailer?

This would have to be a special order from Lockie because 38 is not a standard size and they require at least two sweaters per order. Apparently price goes up imminently for all Lockie items and I want to pull the trigger with the weak Sterling and before price increase.

Color options would be navy, flannel (grey), or dark natural.

Cashmere 4-ply

you would order direct from store and pay them, but I need at least one more for them to do it.

DM me before the end of the weekend.
 

Son Of Saphir

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in their pure cashmere they use an cheaper yarn from another house, and green cashmere is theirs blend of pure cashmere with some recycled cashmere
In our stretch test, the yarn came loose and didnt came back in its initially state

this is very interesting.
might explain why Chinese sweaters are said to lose shape.
 

FPB

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I hate to derail the topic, but what is the consensus on a 100% silk sweater? In other words, where to buy a good one, and whether it's a good alternative to other materials? Thanks.
 

DorianGreen

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I hate to derail the topic, but what is the consensus on a 100% silk sweater? In other words, where to buy a good one, and whether it's a good alternative to other materials? Thanks.

I don't own any in pure silk. The cashmere/silk blend seems pretty popular today, especially for lighter styles. As long as I know this yarn is spun in Italy. I have a polo sweater from Johnstons of Elgin in this material. By the way, I hardly can say the difference between it and others from the same brand in pure merino wool.

I also have socks in the cash/silk mix, they are very pleasant and comfortable and are supposed to last longer.
 

fabricateurialist

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I hate to derail the topic, but what is the consensus on a 100% silk sweater? In other words, where to buy a good one, and whether it's a good alternative to other materials? Thanks.

I have a fine pure silk navy cardigan, it wears almost like cotton with the added maintenance of silk i.e. can't put it in the washer
Had a thick one years ago that was pretty amazing, wore it in a pretty fluctuating climate with regards to humidity (Central America), and it insulated well, but I also never overheated

both Zegna, both very durable, the only use case I can think of is as an alternative to Merino in higher humidity environments

where to buy them ? the thick one I bought in their Aspen boutique of all places, and the thin one in one of their outlets, but haven't seen them as part of the regular collection since, let alone come across ones from other brands - but I'm certain the forum's hivemind will know more on this
 
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Johnny80

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I hate to derail the topic, but what is the consensus on a 100% silk sweater? In other words, where to buy a good one, and whether it's a good alternative to other materials? Thanks.
I have 100% silk from attolini, strong long lasting garments, works in winter and in summer as well
If you find good yak garments its also a great fabric for sweaters/polo.it is around 30-40% warmer than wool and more breathable than cashmere . But you have to take from good houses because a bad yak is a waste of money
 
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