The Derek Rose Cashmere Care Guide

Our expert guide on how to care for your cashmere knitwear and get the most out of this wonderful, luxury material.

September 01, 20220 comments

We’ve been working with cashmere for some time now and we’re always amazed at how great it is to wear. Incredibly soft, warm and cosy – it ticks all the right boxes for us when it comes to layering during the colder months.

We only use the highest quality yarns which are spun from the longest and finest fibres making our cashmere remarkably long-lasting whilst being lightweight and soft. Read more about our cashmere in our Cashmere Material Guide here.

How to care for your cashmere.

Here are some simple steps to follow to ensure your cashmere garment always looks its best:

Step 1. Washing

Fill your sink with cool water and add the recommended dose of specialised wool/cashmere detergent.

Turn your garment inside out and soak for approx. 20 minutes.

Drain the sink and rinse through with cool water.

Gently press your knit against the sink to remove the excess water, being careful not to wring or twist.

Step 2. Drying

Place your knit onto a clean towel and roll up, gently pressing the excess water out as you go.

Remove from the towel and gently smooth your knit out into its original shape.

Lay flat on a dry towel (or drying rack) and allow to air-dry, away from direct sunlight and sources of heat.

Step 3. De-Pilling

(Pills are caused by the unavoidable friction of fibres and can be easily removed with a cashmere comb when they build up)

Lay your garment flat and taut and gently comb in one direction.

Do not use on rib or cable detailing.

Step 4. Storing

We advise always folding knitwear and storing it in a drawer to prevent stretching.

Add cedarwood balls to your drawers to prevent moth damage.

Does cashmere shrink?

Unfortunately, Cashmere does shrink if not washed with care. While handwashing is the best bet for a genuine Cashmere, if you use hot water in the process, you will see your Cashmere will have shrunk in size when it dries up (an ideal trick for those who are looking for tips on how to shrink a cashmere).

Will cashmere shrink if I dry clean it?

Whilst many brands often state “dry clean only” for their cashmere, dry cleaning is the second-best option for cleaning a Cashmere fabric after hand washing according to our guide mentioned at point 7 above. That said, cashmere will not shrink when dry cleaned.

Can I unshrink cashmere?

Happily, the answer is yes. Well at least most of the time. It really depends on how severely it's been shrunk. If the shrinkage isn't too dramatic, follow the first two steps listed above and then do the following:

Gently, pull in opposite directions and stretch the fabric patiently. Not necessarily tiny sections of fabric at one time but larger blocks of fabric so that you don’t end up with small, inconsistent areas of stretch.
You’re trying to slowly relax the fibres with these gentle pulls so they can stretch again. If you rush this you could damage the yarn and create a hole, so please take it easy.
Stretch in every direction as you go before returning to your original direction, working slowly round the fabric as you stretch it. Pull uniformly in each direction.

After you’ve followed these steps and the fabric is stretched out back to normal, leave it to dry laid flat for a day or two.

Shop the full men's range of cashmere

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