Does Cashmere Fray When Cut? (How to Hem a Cashmere Sweater)
Cashmere, one of the most expensive fabrics are made from the wool of a goat, which is believed to grow a coat to protect it from the cold of the mountains. The origin of cashmere fabric takes us to the beautiful Kashmir valley in India, which gives the fabric its name. Also known as 'Pashmina' cashmere has gained a lot of popularity now with China and Mongolia being the leading producers of the fabric.
Like any other fabric, cashmere has its sets of difficulties, with one of the main concerns being fraying. The question in many minds is ‘does cashmere fray?’ and ‘how can you hem it?’
Does Cashmere Fray?
Fraying is one of the most difficult concerns of a fabric, which makes hemming more difficult and riskier. There are many materials such as micro-suede, fleece, felt, velvet, fur, that do not fray, but does cashmere fray? Fraying happens when a certain fabric is cut, and the threads do not hold meaning, the threads that make up the fabric begin to unravel.
It would be easier to say that any woven fabric will fray, at least a little. Even fabrics that are tightly woven fray at least a little, making it difficult to cut and hem, with cashmere being one among them. The speed and extent at which a fabric begins to fray depend on several factors, which include the following.
- The tightness of the fabric’s weave
- How much the fabric endures on a day-to-day basis
- The age of the fabric
Youth nowadays would just love to wear a pair of denim jeans that have frayed. But if you consider a fabric such as cashmere, fraying is just undesirable. In addition, it is considered a nuisance to sew as trying to get a clean edge on the fabric makes the task more painful.
Can You Cut Cashmere?
Cashmere is a special yarn that is made from rare fibers that are found in the undercoat of cashmere goats that live primarily in Mongolia and China. The ultra-fine hairs with strong insulating properties are collected and divided into different quality ranges. The fibers are then dyed and spun into yarns before they are sent out to the garment industries to be knitted into garments.
The question many people face is 'can you cut cashmere?' Cashmere is expensive because it is scarce, it is of high quality, it is authentic, and because of the difficult production process, it goes through. If you are wondering if you can cut cashmere, yes, only if you know how to hem it back.
Cashmere is a fabric that offers more than just elegance and warmth. It is soft, light, and durable. It does not itch due to the density of the fiber, which is much higher than wool. It also does not shrink when washed, which leaves many people asking if cashmere can be cut, to alter to fit. But before you get your scissors, it would be ideal for checking if cashmere frays when it is cut.
Does Cashmere Fray When Cut?
Cashmere is an expensive garment that needs to be used for as long as you can. But at times, you may need to alter a garment due to several reasons. If you are wondering whether cashmere frays when cut, reach out to an expert near you. Cashmere is knitwear that is bound to fray when it is cut. Unless you know how to handle a garment that has unraveled before your eyes, it would be ideal not to cut it.
Many times we are faced with a situation where we are forced to cut a cashmere fabric to fir to the purpose. The sleeves might be too long, the dress may be too loose, the sweater may be too wide, the pants may be too lengthy, and so on. When it comes to altering a cashmere garment, you need to understand whether you can do it all by yourself or whether you need to take help from someone who has sufficient knowledge and experience.
Can You Cut a Sweater Without it Unraveling?
Cutting a sweater to alter to fit can be intimidating. You may be faced with one vital question that can ruin the whole project. Can you cut a sweater without it unraveling? A knit sweater can unravel with a few wrong snips, which makes it more and more intimidating. But did you know that there is an established technique to cut a sweater without letting it unravel? Keeping the cut edge intact is a fundamental part of knitting, and you can cut a sweater without it unraveling if you know how.
Can You Hem Cashmere?
Hemming in stitching is a garment finishing method. In this method, the edge of the garment or the piece of cloth is folded narrowly and stitched to prevent it from unraveling. Now the question is, can you hem cashmere?
While there is always stress that cashmere can unravel when it is cut, hemming a cashmere garment is not impossible. You must be extremely careful as the fabric itself is extremely costly, and if things go wrong and the fabric unravels, your knitwear is ruined. To ensure that you do not go wrong and that you have an opportunity to right the wrong, cur of a bit longer than you want. To hide the raw edges of the cut, carefully turn up and fold the raw edges and sew small stitches. You can then hem the cashmere garment.
While some say that cashmere is a fabric material that is always better left to experts if it is something new that you want to alter, think about it as a fabric you can outsmart. It is not an impossible task to hem a cashmere garment. You can always learn how to hem a cashmere sweater or cashmere pants by recycling an old one first. Here’s how you can do it.
How to Hem a Cashmere Sweater?
Hemming is a vital part of cashmere garment as the fabric can unravel if it is left as it is. How to hem a cashmere sweater? If this is your first time, then it would be ideal to try it on an old piece cashmere sweater. Cashmere is not as easy to hem as other fabrics. One small mistake can ruin the whole outfit. The extremely soft and delicate fabric gives you comfort like no other, and ruining a garment could disappoint you.
As mentioned earlier, hemming a cashmere sweater is a challenge that you can win if you think of it as a fabric that you can easily outsmart. To hem a fabric, you will need a needle, thread, scissors, tailor’s chalk, and a pattern. You will start by checking if the cashmere material has any holes. If there are any, sew them up using thread and needle to avoid further damage to the sweater. The next step is to felt the fabric.
How to Felt a Cashmere Garment?
Felting a cashmere garment is not as similar to other pieces of garments made from different fibers. First, you must make sure that the cashmere fabric isn't washable, and the label must read 'dry wash only' or 'hand wash cold, lay flat to dry.' If it is washable, then it won’t felt. You just can't throw your cashmere fabric into the washing machine. To felt it without causing damage, follow the below steps.
- You will need an old pillowcase, old hair tie, dryer balls.
- Place the cashmere fabric and dryer balls inside the pillowcase and use the rubber band to lie the loose end.
- The dryer balls can be substituted with large lego pieces or anything that can agitate the sweater.
- The pillowcase protects the washing machine and the motor from lint.
- You can simply wash it with the rest of the laundry or run it alone. Washing with other laundry prevents an unbalanced load.
- Wash it with the hottest cycle possible, and run the dryer as well.
That’s it, your cashmere fabric is felted and ready to be altered as you please.
Based on the pattern you are using, measure, and mark the fabric using the tailor's chalk. Don't forget, the amount of fabric that you will need must be included in the measurement and must be projected in your pattern plan. Before cutting cashmere, you can place a smaller stitch immediately after the pattern marked to ensure that they do not unravel. This is just a precautionary step.
Cut out the pattern, ensuring that you keep the cut edge intact. Make sure that you use sharp scissors, so you don't tug on the fiber and distort its shape. Sew the felted cashmere pieces as per the project. Try on the garment and check the positioning of the hem before you begin the hemming process. Mark or place pins where you want the hemming to begin and end. Fold the fabric towards the wrong side and ensure that the raw edges are completely hidden. Sew the hem once you have folded the desired fabric.
How to Hem Cashmere Pants
If you are wondering how you can hem cashmere pants, it is not very different from hemming a cashmere sweater. All you need to do is follow the steps of hemming a cashmere sweater with the only difference being; you use a pattern that is designed for a pant instead of a sweater.
