MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN WORKING RECYCLED CASHMERE ON KNITTING MACHINES

Let’s be clear from the start: recycled cashmere does not forgive improvisation.

It’s an extraordinary material, but it has a different memory, a different strength, a different behavior. And anyone who treats it like virgin cashmere—or worse, like just any yarn—ends up with breakages, defects, unstable garments.

Not because the yarn is “poor quality,” but because it’s been handled the wrong way.

This isn’t theory. This is what actually happens, machine on.

MISTAKE 1: Applying Too Much Tension

Recycled cashmere is made from shorter fibers compared to virgin cashmere. That means one thing: less tensile strength.

If you set your machine with standard tension—as you would with combed yarns or virgin cashmere—the result is inevitable:
the yarn breaks.

Maybe not immediately. But it will break.

And often at the worst possible moment: during production, or even after, when the garment is already finished.

👉 Real solution:
reduce tension. Always.
Then test. Then reduce it slightly again.

MISTAKE 2: Running the Machine Too Fast

This is a production-driven mistake—caused by rushing.

The faster you go, the more stress you put on the yarn. And recycled cashmere does not like stress.

Short fibers can’t “hold together” under high speed: the yarn weakens, heats up, and loses cohesion.

👉 Real solution:
slow the machine down.
Better to lose a few minutes than an entire garment.

MISTAKE 3: Ignoring Knots

Knots exist in recycled cashmere. That’s it.

It’s not a defect. It’s a technical consequence of the recycling process.

Anyone who thinks they can eliminate them completely doesn’t understand the material.

The problem is not the knot.
The problem is ignoring it.

If a knot passes through without control:

• it can break needles
• it can create visible defects
• it can weaken the stitch

👉 Real solution:
use a knot detector (on industrial machines).
Or stop manually and manage the passage.

A knot must be handled, not ignored.

MISTAKE 4: Skipping Sampling Before Production

This is the most expensive mistake.

“I’ve already worked with this count, I know how it behaves.”

No, you don’t.

Because with recycled cashmere:

• every batch can react differently
• every color can behave differently
• every twist changes the final result

👉 Real solution:
always make a sample.
Wash it.
Full it.
Dry it.

Only then decide how to produce.

MISTAKE 5: Ignoring Washing and Fulling

A recycled cashmere garment is not finished when it comes off the machine.

That’s where it actually begins.

Many mistakes happen because the raw piece is judged without considering what happens next.

Recycled cashmere changes:

• it compacts
• it opens up
• it transforms

👉 Real solution:
design the garment with the finishing process in mind.

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 subtle mistake.

“I’ve always worked like this.”

Sure. 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 your touch.

👉 Real solution:
adapt everything: tension, speed, take-down, stitch.

Start from zero every time you change yarn.

MISTAKE 7: Thinking It’s an “Inferior” Yarn

This is the worst mistake.

People who struggle with recycled cashmere often blame the yarn.

But the truth is simple:
recycled cashmere is not inferior—it’s different.

And like anything different, it must be understood.

Once you understand it, something interesting happens:

• you get soft garments
• natural feel
• a living hand
• and a real story behind it

And most importantly, truly sustainable products.

Working recycled cashmere on knitting machines is not harder.

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 will fail.
Those who listen to it will create something others can’t.

And today, that difference matters.