2 ply, 4 ply, 6 ply, 12 ply… How to decide which one?
The thickness of any knit clothing – including cashmere – has a lot to do with the ply. Think of the number of ‘plies’ as the number of layers the yarn is knit into. The more plies, the thicker the fabric. Even though high-quality cashmere fibres are quite fine, knitting the resulting yarn into a multi-ply garment can create a thick, substantial fabric. A word of caution though: cashmere is a great insulator, so a thick cashmere jumper will REALLY keep your heat in, so it won’t be comfortable in a heated indoor situation – better for the great outdoors.
2 ply is best for warmer weather, but if combined with an outer shell that blocks the wind, it can still provide substantial warmth. This is the most popular thickness, as it can be worn under a coat or indoors… it’s also the cheapest.
A 4 ply cashmere jumper is about as thick as a regular woollen jersey. A 4 ply garment hangs a bit differently and is more popular with some men, who are often not as accustomed to wearing thin materials.
More than 4 ply, when dealing with cashmere, and you’re talking about an outdoor item that can often be worn as the primary outer garment (perhaps under a wind-cheating shell). These thicker cashmere jumpers exist, but they are specialist items and are quite expensive due to the amount of cashmere required to make one – often ten or more goat’s worth of fibres for a single jumper… wow!
What influences the price of Cashmere Wools?
We work hard to keep our prices as attractive as our garments, and for that reason some may wonder if they are getting a quality product. We only encourage this type of care when buying cashmere products.
A major part of these savings comes from our decision to keep overheads as low as possible. We aren’t a big chain, and so we don’t have to pay for a management-heavy bureaucracy or the high cost of major advertising campaigns. We keep the business simple, clean, and high quality – just like our products. That way, we all win.
References:
http://fashionsy.com/cashmere-has-many-attributes-that-make-it-very-desirable-and-expensive/
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21662282.2018.1495917
https://foreignpolicyi.org/most-popular-cashmere-clothing-pieces/