# Cotton-Cashmere blend?



## superpacker (Jul 16, 2008)

A lot of companies are offering theses. J.Crew is the most famous, LL Bean is starting to do them, as well as Banana Republic. They are cotton sweaters, crew and v-neck with about 15-20% cashmere. They come in lots of colors, and seem nice to throw over an ocbd. Any thoughts on these? How do they hold up to the wash?


----------



## Markus (Sep 14, 2004)

*Personally, I don't get it.*

Seems to me that the addition of cashmere is more of a marketing device. I doubt that it will make them any more serviceable but it will certainly mean that (i think) that an intrinsically casual piece of clothing will henceforward require dry cleaning.

'Course, I haven't seen one, so maybe there's something special about them.

Just my .02


----------



## superpacker (Jul 16, 2008)

That is something I would like to know. They are actually quite soft, which is nice. But, do they need to be dry cleaned. The website care instructions for all of these say machine wash or dry clean.


----------



## Coleman (Mar 18, 2009)

I had three at one point (the J. Crew ones). They were very soft and comfortable and seemed to hold up well. 

They can be machine washed, just don't do as I did and dry them (I wanted to shrink them a bit, but they did that and a bit more).


----------



## superpacker (Jul 16, 2008)

Coleman, so would you buy them again? When you say they shrunk "and more" what does that include. Are they pretty durable for just knocking around in, or taking as a travel sweater?


----------



## Coleman (Mar 18, 2009)

Anymore I'm really trying to pinch pennies and buy non-third-world-manufactured apparel (I still buy a few things but am really trying to limit it), so for that reason, I probably wouldn't buy them again. 

That being said, they seemed like a durable enough product that could last a few years. I think they'd suit your needs. 

I had already washed them several times before my blunder, and I would just lay them out to dry. The shrinkage only occured when I decided to dry them in the dryer to attempt shrinking them a bit. They shrank just a bit more than a full size making them unwearable for me.


----------



## P Hudson (Jul 19, 2008)

I have one or two that I am happy with. They are very soft to the touch, which my wife likes, and get a tiny bit fuzzy over time (not pilled). I don't think I have ever washed mine, but if I did I would line dry them. My preference is for a high quality lambswool, which can be just as soft but maybe a bit more versatile.


----------



## Youngster (Jun 5, 2008)

I don't like them. They are soft, but they seem to lose shape quickly. This means they must be washed so as to shrink them back to normal size. This cycle causes me general frustration.


----------



## BinomialSpider (Sep 4, 2009)

I have a few cotton/cashmere and cotton/wool sweaters from various stores. They're basically cotton sweaters, but the small amount of added wool makes them warmer and a bit rougher in appearance than a cotton sweater. They're fairly useful as indoor sweaters, where 100% wool would be too warm. Also, since they're mostly cotton, you can wear them against your skin without trouble, although I don't know how useful that is.

Since the mixture is warmer than a plain cotton sweater, they're often pretty thin--I have one sweater from MUJI (which was not, unfortunately, made in the USA) that is especially lightweight. The J. Crew sweaters I've seen are on the thicker end. Some of the Banana Republic sweaters have a bit of silk mixed in, which makes them even warmer and a little bit shiny. I believe the silk blends are dry clean only.

My J. Crew sweater changed in texture a bit in the wash; otherwise, it seems OK. You can find cotton/wool sweaters on sale frequently--I'd buy one cheap to see if you like it, before buying others.

My current favorite sweater is an 80% cotton, 20% wool (not cashmere) blend.


----------



## Thom Browne's Schooldays (Jul 29, 2007)

I have a couple, they're very thin.
Great for layering under jackets and for something to throw on in the summer when it gets chilly at night.


I wouldn't say they're terrifically durable, they probably pile less than lambswool sweaters from the same stores, but more than higher quality knits, if that makes any sense.


----------



## godan (Feb 10, 2010)

I have a few, mostly from J. Crew. Durability varies, probably according to the original source. For cleaning - inside out in the washer with cold water on the gentle cycle, followed by drying at the lowest heat. They seem to pick up wrinkles when stored flat, no matter how carefully they are folded.


----------

