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Fabric · Fibre

Baby cashmere

The first combing from a young goat: finer, scarcer, softer, and not more durable.

Baby cashmere is taken from the first spring combing of goats under about a year old. The fibre is finer than adult cashmere (around 13 to 14 microns) and much scarcer, since a young animal yields very little. It is softer to the hand; it is also shorter, and so no more resistant to pilling.

Fine pale cashmere knit on a wooden hanger
Fine pale cashmere knit on a wooden hanger

What it is and is not

It is a genuine grade, not a marketing word: finer fibre, from young animals, in small quantity. The scarcity is real: a young goat produces a fraction of an adult's yield, and only the first combing counts.

What it is not is a strictly better material. Fineness and durability pull in opposite directions in every animal fibre, and baby cashmere is fine and short. For a scarf or a jacket worn occasionally it is a luxury that behaves well. For a sweater worn weekly, well-selected long-fibre adult cashmere will look better in five years.

How to treat it

Like the delicate material it is. Hand wash cool or use a specialist cleaner, never wring, dry flat, and store folded rather than hung so the shoulders do not stretch. Rest it between wearings as you would a suit.

Pilling on baby cashmere is not a defect and not evidence of poor quality; it is short fine fibre doing what short fine fibre does. A cashmere comb removes it, and the garment improves after the first few sessions.

The scarcity, in numbers

A young goat's first combing yields a small fraction of an adult's already small yield, and only that first combing qualifies. The arithmetic means a single scarf represents the output of several animals and a coat many more. That scarcity is real and it is also the entire commercial argument. A buyer should be clear which they are paying for: the fibre is finer, and the story is worth money too.

Images

Licensing →
Young cashmere goats, whose first combing is baby cashmere
Australian Cashmere Goats

At a glance

Fibre diameter
About 13–14 µm
Source
First spring combing of goats under roughly a year old
Trade-off
Finer and softer; shorter, and no more durable

Who works with it

Houses and mills on this site with a documented connection to Baby cashmere.

  1. A Loro Piana shop window Loro Piana (clothing) Brand · Biella

    Loro Piana's clothing line sells knitwear, coats and soft tailoring in rare fibres like vicuña and baby cashmere, with no visible logos and very high prices.
  2. Loro Piana Cloth maker · Biella · 1924

    Loro Piana began as a Biella wool mill and is now a big luxury clothing house, famous for rare fibres like vicuña and baby cashmere.

Cloth makers and merchants

All mills →
  1. Loro Piana Biella · 1924

    Loro Piana began as a Biella wool mill and is now a big luxury clothing house, famous for rare fibres like vicuña and baby cashmere.

What it is used for

  1. A stack of three sweaters Sweaters and knitwear

    Sweaters are best judged by fibre and by whether they were knitted to shape piece by piece, which lasts longer than knitted fabric cut and sewn.
Last reviewed: September 2026 Report an error on this page

Related

FabricCashmere Cloth makerLoro Piana Glossary termDehairing GarmentSweaters and knitwear BrandLoro Piana (clothing) FabricVicuña FabricWool FabricSilk FabricCotton FabricLinen FabricMohair FabricMerino wool
Picture credits 4
  1. Fine pale cashmere knit on a wooden hanger: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
  2. Australian Cashmere Goats: Photograph · Paul Esson · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
  3. Madrid - Loro Piana (Ortega y Gasset 16): Photograph · Zarateman · Wikimedia Commons · CC0
  4. A stack of three sweaters: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art

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