MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN MACHINE KNITTING RECYCLED CASHMERE
I'll tell you something straight: recycled cashmere doesn't forgive improvisation.
It's an extraordinary material, but it has a different memory, a different strength, a different behavior. And whoever treats it like virgin cashmere — or worse, like any other yarn — ends up with breakages, defects, unstable garments. Not because the yarn is "poor quality," but because it was processed incorrectly.
This article is not theoretical. It's what really happens, machine in hand.
MISTAKE 1: Pulling the yarn too much
Recycled cashmere is made from shorter fibers than virgin cashmere. This means one thing: less tensile strength.
If you set the machine with standard tension, as you would with a worsted yarn or new cashmere, the result is inevitable: the yarn breaks.
Not immediately, perhaps. But it breaks.
And often it breaks at the worst points: during processing, or afterwards, when the garment is already finished.
👉 Real solution: reduce the tension. Always.
Then do a test. And then reduce it slightly more.
MISTAKE 2: Machine speed too high
This is a production error, made by those in a hurry.
The faster you go, the more stress you put on the yarn. And recycled cashmere doesn't like stress.
The short fibers cannot "hold" when the machine works too fast: the yarn weakens, heats up, and loses cohesion.
👉 Real solution: slow down the machine.
It's better to lose a few extra minutes than to throw away an entire garment.
MISTAKE 3: Not considering knots
Knots exist in recycled cashmere. Period.
It's not a defect. It's a technical consequence of the regeneration process.
Anyone who thinks they can eliminate them completely hasn't understood the material.
The problem is not the knot.
The problem is ignoring it.
If the knot passes unchecked:
- it can break needles
- it can create visual defects
- it can weaken the stitch
👉 Real solution: use a knot catcher (if working industrially).
Or stop manually and manage the passage.
The knot must be guided, not rushed.
MISTAKE 4: Not making samples before production
This is the most costly mistake.
"I've already worked with this count, I know how it behaves."
No. You don't know.
Because with recycled cashmere:
- each lot can react differently
- each color can behave differently
- each twist changes the final result
👉 Real solution: always make a sample.
Wash it.
Mill it.
Dry it.
Only then decide how to produce.
MISTAKE 5: Ignoring washing and milling
The recycled cashmere garment is not finished when it comes off the machine.
That's where it truly begins.
Many errors arise because the "raw" garment is judged without considering what will happen next.
Recycled cashmere changes:
- it compacts
- it opens up
- it transforms
👉 Real solution: design the garment already thinking about the wash.
If you don't know where you want to go, you'll never get there.
MISTAKE 6: Using the same settings as other yarns
This is the most insidious mistake.
"I've always worked this way."
Perfect. But you're not working with the same material.
Recycled cashmere requires:
- less tension
- more attention
- more sensitivity
It's not about the machine.
It's about the touch.
👉 Real solution: adapt everything: tension, speed, stitch, gauge.
Start from scratch every time you change yarn.
MISTAKE 7: Thinking it's an "inferior" yarn
This is the most serious mistake.
Those who work recycled cashmere poorly often blame the yarn.
But the truth is simple: recycled cashmere is not inferior, it's different.
And like all different things, it needs to be understood.
When you understand it, something interesting happens:
- you get soft garments
- natural
- with a lively hand
- and with a story behind them
And above all, truly sustainable.
Working recycled cashmere on a machine isn't more difficult.
It's more technical.
It requires respect for the material, attention to detail, and the ability to slow down when needed.
Those who treat it like any other yarn fail.
Those who listen to it, on the other hand, achieve something others can't.
And today, that's a huge difference.