Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Find of the Week: Cashmere Knits for Holiday Gifts

Magaschoni cashmere infinity scarf, $210, Bloomingdale's. You could make one of these scarves in cashmere for a fraction of that price.

Once again, anything in cashmere is hot for the holidays. Why not make cashmere infinity scarves for your friends and relatives? Mood Fabrics in NYC's Garment District has tissue-weight cashmere knit for $60 a yard, 64 inches wide. You could get two scarves out of that. Or, you could make a double-sided scarf, like this Burberry scarf at Bloomingdale's: One side is cashmere, the other is wool you have (maybe) in your stash.


I hope to check out M&J Trimming this week to see what gift possibilities lie with that store's products. What about you, readers? Are you making any holiday gifts this season?
Though it's tissue-weight, this cashmere at Mood is really scrumptious. Think about taking your favorite t-shirt pattern and making a cashmere top with it, just for you.
B&J Fabrics in the Garment Center also has cashmere, but only in oatmeal, gray and black. This stuff is really fine; I must have stood there for 10 minutes just petting it. It has to be two-ply and it was marked as European. Prices ranged from $82/yard to $155/yard. It would be a treat to sew a cashmere robe like this for yourself.

10 comments:

  1. I love the cashmere,what a great idea .It beats all the polertec items I made a few years ago and ruined a few scissors. Now how do I justify buying more fabric when my stash is so big,are there places that take fabric. I checked with Big Brothers and they don't :O(

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  2. These lounge pants would be great to make, too. The fabric is ribbed cashmere, but who cares?

    http://www.net-a-porter.com/am/product/78263?cm_mmc=LinkshareUS-_-ProductFeed-_-Burberry-_-Lingerie&siteID=Ee18uo7H7zg-s7PG_Opyv8rFZsmp28c9IQ

    I've been wanting to make some new sweaters to replace the cashmere cardigans I bought from Banana Republic some years ago. The sweaters have holes in them, although the fabric is still soft and not pilled. In recent years, I've bought sweaters from J.Crew and the Gap and they've badly pilled within weeks.

    I looked at the sweaters again and see that they aren't finished with ribbing and the seams appear to be a kind of French seam. Maybe I'll try it.

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  3. snow:

    I hate synthetic fleece. It feels seriously weird to me. I have one fleece jacket, but I hate to wear it because when I touch the fabric it's as if my sense of touch doesn't recognize it as fabric.

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  4. "You could make one of these scarves in cashmere for a fraction of that price."

    And, in fairness, for a fraction of the design. Just saying. Yours truly is not in the market for $200+ cashmere scarves.

    But I like neutrals and basic colors just fine. The ability to make something that fits makes up for the lack of variety, although I love prints.

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  5. There's a really scrumptiously soft European knit at Vogue Fabrics right now...I think it's blend of wool, mohair. Anyhow, judging from NYC prices, this Vogue Fabrics knit is a bargain at $49 a yard! I hadn't thought of making anything with it, but this blog post has me thinking. Two presents, one yard, one hour of sewing. With the cold weather we have now, presents like these could be a hit.

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  6. Oh that really lightweight cashmere is perfect for a scarf. I made several scarves from a very lightweight cotton jersey I bought at Mood. 20" wide and 72" long, serged at the edge. I just let the corners curl.
    Out of 2 yards, I got 3 scarves and they are so cute in a stripe.

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  7. Oh you are doing a great service with this site. But I get so jealous that I can't just pop in to the stores you recommend!

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  8. I thought that I had posted here, but apparently not. I bought the Mood cashmere when Burda Style had it's 30% off sale with Mood. A bargain for gorgeous knit. I haven't cut it yet, but soon.
    How about bridal fabrics? I may well have a wedding dress in my not too distant future.

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    ReplyDelete

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