winter fabrics report

Panno del Casentino (Casentino cloth) is a traditional wool fabric, typical of Casentino. The fabric is fulled (felted) to make it waterproof and teaseled to obtain a hairy side.The “coarse cloth”, got from the valley sheepshearing, was popular for its high wear and weather resistance and it was suitable for people who had to live travelling or spending mostly the day in the open air. The lock, typical of Casentino cloth clothes, represents a functional double layer, with cold and rain protection, and at first it was obtained from a particular finishing , the teaseling, that pulled out the hair, and then from the friezing. Rubbing down the wool with stone they got the lock, instead nowadays they use some machines (friezing machines) to produce it. The features of the fabric guarantee also the perfect heat insulation, in addition to the perspiration of the human body.

Baby Alpaca fibre
Irresistibly soft and lofty, Baby Alpaca DK is gently spun from the finest baby alpaca fibre. Its versatile weight and luxurious drape makes it ideal for a variety of elegant accessories and garments. While similar to sheep’s wool, it is warmer, not prickly, and has no lanolin, which makes it hypoallergenic. Alpaca is naturally water-repellent and difficult to ignite.

Cashmere
Cashmere is an extremely soft, luxury fabric made from the hair of the Kashmir goat. Native to India, Tibet, Turkistan, Iran, Iraq, and China, the Kashmir goat produces hair with a lofty feel and natural crimp.The natural crimp of cashmere fibres helps them interlock during processing and allows the fibres to be spun into a very fine and lightweight fabric. The crimp of the fibre correlates with the fineness of the spun yarn and the softness of the finished product. The yarn retains the loft of the fibres which makes it warm without weight.