Cashgora Yarn from Tajikistan by way of Peacefleece

A photo of my daughter Devan wearing the Artchitexture Scarf done up in a worsted weight Cashgora spun by Jonamo.  The yarn is available for purchase through Peacefleece and clicking on the link for the Artchitexture Scarf will take you to the Ravelry page where you can purchase the pattern.  The Peacefleece site has a wonderful history of the yarn and the women who spin it.  I am just going to go on and on about the qualities of the yarn and what seems to me to be its strengths (many) and weaknesses (only one).  As the photo above shows the yarn has amazing drape which is a strength and potentially a weakness since it also is less elastic.  This is only a relative lack of bounciness; say 5 out of 10 with 10 being Maine Mitten Wool.  Experienced knitters will already know that bounciness and softness have an inverse relationship to each other.  The softer the yarn the less elastic it is apt to be.  The Cashgora has middling bounce and a Truly Awesome softness.  The cashgora goats that the Tajik women are spinning from are a blended breed of cashmere goats and Angora (or Mohair) goats.  So you get the right next to the skin softness of cashmere along with the longer fiber of the Mohair which gives you some bounce and a really beautiful sheen.  The softness has been tested on my scratchy wool sensitive Daughter in Law.  She cannot tolerate wool of any description (yes even Merino) next to her skin but has worn her Cashgora Architexture Scarf, which is a duplicate of Devan's, many times this winter, wrapped warmly around her sensitive throat.  You can also see from the photos the way the slight sheen of the longer fibers works beautifully to highlight textured knitting stitches.

The photo below is a beautiful shawlette knit up by my friend Jenny with only one skein of the fingering weight yarn.  It is a beautifully done lace handkerchief shape with some clear crystal beads worked into the pattern.  I cannot describe to you how gorgeous this is.  The natural color of the yarn, which reminds me of fallen oak leaves, in combination with the icy sparkle of the beads is just a perfect combination of fiber, pattern and workmanship.

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The cowl above is knit up with a very simple Feather and Fan stitch and then grafted together.  My friend Marie knit this up with her sample of the Cashgora yarn and wore it around her neck through our long Maine winter.  The above photo was taken last November when the cowl had just been completed. 
The photo alongside is a closeup of the cowl after a winter of steady wear and this was a surprise to me.




Usually an incredibly soft yarn like Cashgora will felt or at least pill a bit with the abrasion of wear.  I want you to look at this closeup view of the cowl; a very slight increase in halo, but absolutely no sign of felting or pilling!  I looked closely and there was literally not a pill to be seen.

So a list of knitting qualities is laid out for you below:

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• Wonderful drape and weight. 
  
• Structured knitting would help to control the drape i.e., cables or textured patterns
• Open work stitches will enhance the drape like lace stitches or working with a looser gauge
• Truly incredible softness
  
• Slight sheen which enhances textured stitches or lace
• In spite of the softness Cashgora is very resistant to pilling and other abrasion
• Only natural colors are available although the Tajik women are working on dyeing
  
• Incredible price through Peacefleece for a luxury yarn $33 for a 100 gram/3.5 ounce skein
  
• A cowl takes one skein; the long Architexture scarf required 2 1/2 for a scarf 12 x 64 inches