Fibres

Natural fibres are increasingly preferred by knitters and consumers for their benefits to the local agro-industrial economy, for breathability, and for the environment.  Luxury fibres are among the most expensive textile materials.  Their scarcity adds to their appeal, and enhances their status.  The market for luxury fibres is highly volatile and prices are subject violent fluctuations as climatic extremes and politics come into play.

Touch Me Knot scarves and accessories and made from all natural and luxury yarns from the Americas.  These include Alpaca, Peruvian Wool, silk blends, Pima cotton, and cashmere blends.  To learn more about these fibres, go to wikipedia.org.

Alpaca

 

Alpaca fibre is warmer than sheep’s wool and lighter in weight.  It is soft and luxurious and not prickly like most wools.  In physical structure, alpaca fibre is very glossy.  Their luxurious fibre comes in the widest assortment of colours of any fibre bearing animal in the world.  Alpaca fibre is strong, durable, non-allergenic and repels water. 

Pima Cotton

 

Pima Cotton is one of the best grades of cotton in the world, ranked with Egyptian cotton.  One of the advantages of Pima cotton is that the thickness of the cloth it weaves creates a very durable fabric.  Those who market this cotton claim their products can last up to 50% longer than fabrics made from other forms of cotton.  Because of the fineness of Pima cotton, more fibres can be spun into a yarn of a given count, which will enhance the feel and softness, drape-ability and brilliance of colour of the fabric.

Wool

 

Wool is the fibre derived from the fur of animals of the Caprinae family, principally sheep, but the hair of certain species of other mammals such as goats, llamas and rabbits may also be called wool.

Wool has two qualities that distinguish it from hair or fur: it has scales which overlap like shingles on a roof and it is crimped; in some fleeces the wool fibres have more than 20 bends per inch.

Silk

 

Silk is a natural protein fibre, obtained from cocoons made by the larvae of the silkworm. The cocoon is made of a single continuous thread of raw silk from 300 to 900 meters (1000 to 3000 feet) long. The fibres are very fine and lustrous, about 10 micrometers (1/2500th of an inch) in diameter. About 2,000 to 3,000 cocoons are required to make a pound of silk.

The shimmering appearance for which silk is prized comes from the fibre’s triangular prism-like structure which allows silk cloth to refract incoming light at different angles.

Cashmere

 

Cashmere wool is wool obtained from the Cashmere goat and is also known as Pashmina. The name derives from an archaic spelling of Kashmir. It is sometimes incorrectly applied to any extremely soft wool regardless of origin. Cashmere is characterized by its luxuriously soft fibres. It is noted as providing a natural light-weight insulation without bulk. Fibres are highly adaptable and are easily constructed into fine or thick yarns, and light to heavy-weight fabrics. 

Touchmeknot[at]gmail.com

To contact us: