Misty Cashmere is based in a small village near Lewes in the heart of the Sussex Downs whilst our knitwear is made in the foothills of the Himalayan range. We use natural fibres of cashmere from goats in the Erdos Plateau in Inner Mongolia, merino wool from sheep in Australia and yak yarn from Tibet.
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Cashmere GoatsOur supplier farms cashmere goats that are raised on open grasslands. Temperatures often get to -46° C on the Mongolian Steppe which is exposed to the cold Siberian winds from the north. To brace themselves against the harsh winters the Mongolian goats produce a downy layer known as cashmere which is believed to be the finest, longest and softest yarn in the world.
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Why we love yaks!Like the cashmere goats, yaks form a dense woolly undercoat to insulate them from the extreme winter cold. The yak is the main bovine in the Tibetan Plateau and has extremely dense, long fur. Because the yak hair is such a beautiful natural colour we leave the yarn undyed in our knitwear.
Yaks are free ranging; the herders follow them in a nomadic pattern between spring, summer, autumn and winter pastures. They help maintain the delicate ecosystem of the area as they graze on a variety of flora, fertilize the land with their manure and spread the seeds with their broad hooves. The yaks are not clipped but instead the hair is gathered when they naturally moult in the summer and the yarn retains its insulating properties when knitted into garments for years to come! |
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