Cashmere is easier to care for than its reputation suggests. It does not need dry cleaning. It needs cool water, a gentle detergent and patience while it dries. Here is the full routine, from the first wash to winter storage.
How often to wash cashmere
Less often than cotton. Cashmere does not hold odour the way plant fibres do, so a sweater worn over a shirt can go five to ten wears between washes. Air it overnight on a chair, not a hanger. Wash it when it has lost its spring or picked up a smell.
Hand washing cashmere
- Fill a basin with lukewarm water, no warmer than 30 °C. Hot water is what shrinks wool fibres, not water itself.
- Add a small amount of wool detergent. A capful of baby shampoo works too. Avoid ordinary detergent with enzymes; it eats protein fibres over time.
- Turn the piece inside out and press it under the water. Squeeze gently for two or three minutes. Do not rub, twist or wring.
- Rinse in clean water of the same temperature until the water runs clear.
- Lift the piece out supporting its whole weight. Wet cashmere stretches if it hangs.
- Lay it on a towel, roll the towel up and press to take out the water.
Can you wash cashmere in the washing machine?
Yes, if the machine has a wool or hand-wash programme. Use that programme, cold or 30 °C, with wool detergent and a slow spin, 600 rpm or below. Put the piece inside out into a mesh bag so it does not catch on zips. Never use a normal programme, even on cold: the agitation felts the fibres and the piece comes out a size smaller.
Drying
Always flat, never hanging, never in a tumble dryer. Shape the piece on a dry towel or a mesh drying rack, pull the hem and cuffs into line, and leave it away from radiators and direct sun. A sweater takes a day; a coat may take two. Turn it over halfway.
Cashmere pilling and what to do about it
Every cashmere piece pills in its first few wears. The short fibres on the surface rub together and form small balls, mostly under the arms and where a bag strap sits. This is not a sign of poor quality; it is what new cashmere does. After the loose surface fibres are gone, pilling drops off sharply.
Remove pills with a cashmere comb or a fine-toothed pilling comb, working in one direction with the fabric flat. Do not pull pills off by hand; that drags longer fibres out and makes the next pills worse. Washing also helps, because it relaxes the surface fibres.
My cashmere sweater has shrunk. Can I fix it?
Often, yes, if it was shrunk by heat rather than felted by agitation. Soak it for thirty minutes in lukewarm water with a tablespoon of hair conditioner. The conditioner relaxes the fibres. Lift it out, press the water out in a towel, then lay it flat and gently stretch it back to size, holding the stretched shape with a few pins at the edges or heavy objects. Let it dry fully. If the fabric has gone dense and stiff all over, it has felted and will not come back.
Storing cashmere
Fold, do not hang. A hanger stretches the shoulders. Store clean: moths are drawn to skin oils and food traces, not to the wool itself. Over the summer, keep pieces in a breathable cotton bag or a drawer with cedar blocks. Sealed plastic traps moisture.
Scarves, hats and gloves
Same rules, less effort. Hand wash in the basin, press out in a towel, dry flat. Scarves can go in the machine on the wool programme inside a bag.
All our cashmere is 100% Mongolian cashmere, knitted in Mongolia, and every piece in the women's, men's and accessories collections follows the routine above. A good first piece to practise on: the Kherlen crew-neck sweater.