How to Care for Cashmere: A Complete Guide

To care for cashmere, hand-wash it in cool water with a mild wool detergent, never wring it, and dry it flat away from heat and sunlight. Store it folded rather than hung, give it a rest day between wears, and lift any bobbles away with a cashmere comb. Cashmere is more forgiving than its reputation suggests — most damage comes from heat, agitation and hanging, not from washing itself.

Cashmere care at a glance

Task	Do this	Never do this
Washing	Hand-wash in cool water (about 20°C) with wool detergent or baby shampoo	Hot water, biological detergent, bleach
Rinsing	Rinse in water the same temperature as the wash	Sudden temperature changes — this is what felts the fibre
Removing water	Press between two towels	Wringing or twisting
Drying	Reshape and dry flat	Hanging wet, tumble dryer, radiators, direct sun
Storing	Folded, in a breathable cotton bag	On a hanger, in plastic, or unwashed
Pilling	Cashmere comb, one direction, fabric flat	Scrubbing back and forth, razors on fine knits
Pressing	Coolest setting, damp cloth between iron and fabric	Direct heat, or ironing while wet

How often should you wash cashmere?

Less often than cotton, but more often than most people think. Two to three wears between washes is a reasonable rhythm for a sweater worn over a base layer, and a full season is fine for a shawl worn occasionally over outerwear.

Airing does most of the work. Hang the piece somewhere with moving air for a few hours after wearing and it will freshen on its own. What you should not do is store it dirty at the end of a season — body oils and traces of food are what attract moths, so the last wash before storage matters more than any other.

Wash it once before the first wear

One step almost everyone skips. A gentle wash before you wear a new piece removes transit dust and any surface residue left from finishing, and it relaxes fibre that has been compressed in packaging. It costs five minutes and it does no harm to good cashmere.

It also solves a surprising number of “this feels scratchy” complaints, because detergent and finishing residues sitting on the fabric surface cause more skin reactions than the fibre itself does. We explain why in does cashmere itch, and what it means for sensitive skin.

How do you wash cashmere without ruining it?

Fill a basin with cool water, add a capful of wool detergent, and submerge the piece. Press it gently under the water for a minute or two — don't rub, don't agitate. Rinse in water at the same temperature until the water runs clear, then press the water out between two towels and dry flat.

Two things cause almost all wash damage: heat and agitation. Together they make the fibre's microscopic scales interlock, which is felting, and felting is permanent. A machine's wool cycle can work if it genuinely spins slowly and stays cool, but hand-washing removes the guesswork.

Dry cleaning is not required for most cashmere and the solvents are harsh on fine fibre. Save it for structured or lined pieces where washing would distort the shape.

Full step-by-step method: how to wash a cashmere sweater.

How do you dry cashmere?

Flat, always. Press the water out between towels, lay the piece on a dry towel, gently push it back into its original shape while damp, and leave it away from radiators and windows. Turn it once partway through so both sides dry evenly.

Hanging a wet cashmere garment is the single most common way people ruin one — the weight of the water pulls the shoulders and body out of shape permanently, and no amount of later blocking fully undoes it.

Why does cashmere pill, and how do you fix it?

All cashmere pills. It is not a defect and it is not a sign of poor quality on its own — pills are short fibres working to the surface where the fabric rubs, so they appear under the arms, at the cuffs and wherever a bag strap sits.

What quality changes is how it pills: longer-staple fibre pills slowly into soft fuzz that lifts away cleanly, while short-staple or heavily blended yarn pills quickly into hard little balls that snag. Most pieces pill most in their first few wears and then settle down.

To remove pills, lay the garment flat and draw a cashmere comb gently in one direction. Don't scrub back and forth, and be cautious with battery shavers on fine-gauge knits.

Detailed method: how to remove pilling from cashmere.

How should you store cashmere?

Clean, folded, and able to breathe. Wash or air the piece first, fold it rather than hanging it, and keep it in a cotton or muslin bag. Avoid plastic boxes and vacuum bags — they trap moisture, and compressed fibre loses loft.

For moths, cedar blocks and lavender sachets help, but neither is a substitute for storing the piece clean. Refresh cedar occasionally by sanding the surface lightly; once it stops smelling of cedar it has stopped working.

Worth knowing: some manufacturers treat animal-fibre garments with insect-resist chemistry before storage or shipping. Ours are not treated, which is why cedar and a clean fold matter here — the protection is physical rather than chemical.

Full seasonal storage method: how to store cashmere.

Can you fix cashmere that has shrunk?

Often, yes — if it shrank rather than felted. Soak the piece in cool water with a little hair conditioner or baby shampoo for around 30 minutes, then gently stretch it back toward its original dimensions and dry it flat.

The distinction matters: mild shrinkage is fibre that has relaxed and can be coaxed back, while felting is fibre that has matted together and only partly recovers.

Step-by-step rescue: can you unshrink cashmere.

Care by garment type

The fibre is the same in every piece we make, but construction and how a garment is worn change what you need to watch. Find yours below.

Sweaters, cardigans and hoodies

Knitted pieces hold their shape through the structure of the stitch, so the risks are stretching and pilling. Fold, never hang — a hanger puts the garment's whole weight on two points and pulls the shoulders into peaks. Give a sweater a rest day between wears so the fibre recovers its loft; this does more for how it looks across a season than anything else on this page. Zip hoodies need one extra step: close the zip before washing so the teeth can't snag the knit.

Capes and ponchos

A cape carries all its weight from the shoulders across a wide, open shape, which makes shoulder stretch the main risk — more so than with a sweater, because there are no side seams to distribute the load. Always dry flat and fully supported; never hang one while damp. Because most capes are worn over other clothing rather than against skin, they need washing far less often — airing between wears is usually enough, and once or twice a season is a realistic wash rhythm. Fold along the existing shoulder line rather than inventing a new crease.

Shawls, wraps and pashminas

Woven pieces are more dimensionally stable than knits, so the fringe is where the attention goes: comb it straight with your fingers while damp and never brush it, which splits the tassels. Fold along existing lines. A woven shawl can be pressed on a low setting through a cloth; a knitted one generally should not be.

Joggers, sweatpants and lounge sets

Our men’s and women’s cashmere joggers take the hardest wear of anything we make. They are worn against skin, often for long stretches, and the knees and seat bag out because that is where the knit stretches repeatedly and never fully recovers on its own. Wash them more often than your sweaters — every two or three wears — and reshape the knees and waistband by hand while the fabric is damp, which resets most of the bagging. Never tumble dry: the elastic and the knit shrink at different rates and the fit goes permanently. If a drawstring is fitted, tie it loosely before washing so it doesn't pull through.

Throws and blankets

Large pieces are heavy when wet, and that weight is the whole problem — lift a soaked throw by one corner and it will stretch. Support the full weight with two towels when you move it, and dry flat with the piece squared. Air throws regularly rather than washing often; a folded throw over a sofa arm rarely needs more than a seasonal wash.

Beanies, headbands and gloves

Small accessories sit against skin and hair and take constant friction, so they pill fastest and need combing most often. Headbands and beanies also meet hair products, which build up invisibly — wash them more frequently than you would a sweater. The critical rule for anything shaped is to reshape it while damp and let it dry in that shape: stretch a beanie or headband when wet and it stays stretched. Dry gloves flat with the fingers laid straight.

Socks

Cashmere socks are the one exception to most of the rules here. They take more friction than any other piece, they need washing after every wear or two, and a mesh laundry bag on a cool wool cycle is a reasonable trade-off for the convenience. Dry them flat like everything else. Expect them to pill early and then settle.

Does undyed cashmere need different care?

Slightly, and mostly in your favour. Our undyed line keeps the fleece's natural colour and never passes through a dye bath, so there is no dye to crock onto a white shirt and nothing to fade unevenly in sunlight. You can wash undyed pieces alongside each other without worrying about colour transfer.

Skipping the dye bath also removes the largest chemical stage in most knitwear — the reason we make the range that way in the first place. We set out what that does and doesn't guarantee in what “natural fibre” does and doesn't guarantee.

The trade-off is that natural shades show marks a little more readily than a mid-tone dyed piece would, so spot-treat spills promptly with cool water. Note that we also make a dyed range — for those pieces, wash separately the first few times and keep them out of prolonged direct sun.

Pressing and travel

Cashmere creases far less than linen or cotton, and most creases fall out on their own if you hang the piece overnight. If you do need to press, use the coolest setting with a damp cloth between the iron and the fabric, and never press a wet garment.

For travel, fold rather than roll, and pack the piece near the top of the bag so nothing heavy compresses it. Creases from a suitcase usually release if you hang the piece in the bathroom while you shower — steam without direct heat is the gentlest option there is.

Frequently asked questions

Can you machine wash cashmere? Sometimes, on a genuine wool cycle that stays cool and spins slowly, inside a mesh bag. Hand-washing is lower risk and takes about five minutes.

Does cashmere need dry cleaning? Usually not. Dry-cleaning solvents are harsh on fine fibre; reserve them for structured or lined garments.

Why does my cashmere smell after wearing? Cashmere holds body oils rather than releasing them. Airing usually fixes it; if not, it is time to wash.

Is pilling a sign of fake cashmere? No. All cashmere pills. How quickly, and whether the pills are soft or hard, tells you more than whether pilling happens at all.

How long should cashmere last? A well-made piece that is washed gently, dried flat and stored clean can stay in regular wear for many years. Heat, hanging and moths are what shorten that, not wearing it.

Can you wash cashmere with regular detergent? Avoid it. Biological detergents contain enzymes that break down protein fibres, and cashmere is a protein fibre. Use a wool-specific detergent or baby shampoo. Enzymatic and heavily perfumed detergents left in the fibre are also a common, under-diagnosed cause of skin irritation — rinse until the water runs completely clear.

Why is my cashmere machine washable when yours isn't? Machine-washability in animal fibres is usually achieved by treating the fibre surface so the scales can't interlock. It works, and it involves chemistry we have chosen not to use — which is why our care instructions say hand wash.

Keep exploring

For the largest pieces in the house, the cashmere throw guide covers choosing and caring for a blanket you will keep for decades.

Understanding the fibre makes the care make sense — read what undyed cashmere is and how to tell if cashmere is real before your next purchase. If a piece prickles rather than feeling soft, does cashmere itch explains what is actually causing it. And if you own a shawl, our guide to how to wear a pashmina covers nine ways to style it.

When you are ready to add a piece, browse our cashmere shawls and cashmere knitwear, hand-combed from Chyangra goats and handmade in Nepal.