Cashmere is a very special fibre, and thus it requires more conscientious care instructions. Pantherella's cashmere socks are perfectly indulgent, being both extremely warm and soft, and incredibly light. Whether you received them as a gift, or gifted them to yourself, it's worth taking care of your cashmere socks properly. As such, we've created the following Cashmere Socks Care Guide to ensure their longevity.
How to Wear and Store Cashmere Socks
- Soft loafers, moccasins or slippers are the best footwear pairings for cashmere socks, as harder shoes or zips on boots can tear or damage the delicate fibres.
- Storage is just as important as activity. Rolling up your cashmere socks into a spiral to keep your in your sock drawer will avoid excess use of the elastic, which leads to premature wear during storage.
- Prevent moths by ensuring your sock drawer has some cedar balls or lavender bags.
- You may also store your cashmere socks seasonally, keeping them in an air-tight bag over summer months.
- Pilling on cashmere (the appearance of small balls of fibre stuck to the surface) is completely natural and does not indicate an inferior product. Pills are easily removed with a cashmere comb or fabric shaver. Over time, fewer pills will appear as the fibres settle into place and become accustomed to use.
How to Wash Cashmere Socks
- Washing machines are too harsh for cashmere socks, which react poorly to the consistent friction, hot temperatures and excessive soaking times. Thus, the ideal way to keep them clean is handwashing.
- To hand wash cashmere socks, simply add your socks to a clean bowl of lukewarm water and a small amount of specialist cashmere wash.
- Submerge your socks gently, swirling with the water and wash liquid. Allow them to soak for a few minutes (less than 5), then rinse with lukewarm water. Be careful not to let socks stretch out excessively while under running water.
- To keep your cashmere socks soft, refrain from the use of physical scrubbing, harsh soaps, bleach, stain-removal activators, machine washing and dry cleaning.
How to Dry Cashmere Socks
- Once rinsed, lay your socks flat on a towel, roll them up and gently squeeze to remove excess water. Do not wring or squeeze excessively as the fibres are most vulnerable in a wet state.
- Keeping your hands off is key to letting cashmere recover from the stress of wash day. Lay cashmere socks flat to dry immediately after washing, ideally on a mesh surface to dry as quickly as possible, or flipped every few hours.
- Never put cashmere socks in a tumble drier. The convenience of tumble drying will cause immediate regret and should be avoided at all costs to prevent irreversible damage. We also suggest avoiding hanging to dry to prevent stretching and ironing or other heat sources to prevent shrinkage.
Though we believe that all your socks should be treated with kindness (see our general care guide here), cashmere is an exceptional fibre that requires additional care. You can learn more about cashmere, as well as our other luxury yarns from our yarn encyclopaedia. We have designed the combination of softness, warmth, stretch and longevity to ensure that your socks are of the finest quality. Please take care of them for us.
At Pantherella we use the finest quality fibres in the world to make your socks. Such special materials require extra special care so we’d like to share with you our simple guide to keep your cashmere socks looking their best
PreWash
- Cashmere is a very delicate, luxury fibre and as such, should be treated with extra care
- Cashmere socks should be only ever be worn with a moccasin, soft loafer or comfy slipper. Excessive wear will occur if wearing ‘Hard Shoes’ such as dress shoes, court shoes or boots
- Try to keep your cashmere socks away from rough items, jewellery, zips etc. These items can cause pilling, snagging, or even holes
Hand Wash
- Always follow the product care label instructions
- Do not machine wash - Even on a ‘Delicates’ setting the action of tumbling around in the drum will cause cashmere fibres to bulk, tangle and felt
- Do not Dry Clean - Dry Cleaning can remove many of the natural conditioners within the cashmere fibres and leave them feeling harsh and brittle
- Always use a non-biological hand washing or specialist cashmere washing liquid.
- Wash similar colours together
- Do not use any type of bleach or stain removal activators as these will damage the cashmere fibres
- Do not soak your socks for longer than 5 minutes
- Avoid rubbing and scrubbing your cashmere socks as this can damage the delicate fibres
- Rinse well in warm water
- Do not wring or twist your socks, instead, gently squeeze out excess water
Post-Wash
- Dry your socks as soon as possible to avoid them developing a ‘damp’ odour
- Do not tumble dry
- Gently reshape your socks while they are damp
- Dry the socks flat, away from direct heat or direct sunlight. Never hang them to dry, as this can cause them to stretch
- Do not iron or press your socks
Storage
- Do not ’ball’ your cashmere socks to store as this will damage the fibres in the yarns, add excessive stretch to the rib-top and can lead to premature wear. Instead softly roll a pair of cashmere socks ‘roulade style’ and store in your sock drawer
- Cashmere is, unfortunately, very attractive to clothes moths. To keep moths at bay, place cedar balls or lavender bags in your sock drawer
Cashmere socks FAQ
Why is cashmere so special and expensive?
The ultimate in luxury hosiery, cashmere socks are exquisitely soft and approximately three times warmer than socks made from sheep’s wool.
Cashmere is one of the finest natural fibres in the world and is obtained from the hair of Cashmere goats whose coat is made up of two distinct layers – the outer layer (guard hair) and the undercoat (cashmere). The guard hair is coarse and waterproof, which serves to protect the goat (and the undercoat). The undercoat is ultrafine, soft and an excellent insulator, to protect the goat from the extreme cold.
Only the soft, ultrafine undercoat is used to produce cashmere. In spring, as the goats moult for summer, they are combed by hand to remove their ultrafine undercoat, while leaving the guard hair intact. These combings are then washed and sorted to remove any stray guard hairs. What is left is pure cashmere. This laborious process results in a fibre that is exceptionally exquisite and rare. It therefore commands a higher price than more easily obtained fibres.
Our leisure weight cashmere yarn is woollen spun using the finest grade of cashmere knitted with nylon to give extra durability and stretch. It takes approximately 6 goats to produce enough fibre to make one dozen pairs of Pantherella short cashmere socks.
Why do cashmere socks 'bobble'?
Bobbles or bobbling, (technically referred to as pilling) is a natural process that happens to all natural fibres during their service in a garment. Natural fibres are made into yarn by combing the fibres so the lay in the same orientation and then twisting them together. This will always mean the odd fibre will ‘stick out’ of the yarn. During wear, these odd fibres can knot together and bobble or pill. The level of pill will depend on the type of dye/shade, the knitted construction and the way the socks have been worn. It is completely normal that this should happen because cashmere is such a soft, ultrafine yarn. It is not a result of washing, but can be exaggerated by the use of conditioners.
Bobbles can be easily removed by hand or by using a special cashmere comb or de-fuzz device. You will find that by removing them in this way after the first few wears and washes, the cashmere socks will actually consolidate and soften in handle and touch. Like any fine wine, cashmere will improve with age if cared for properly.
