By Claudia Ostrop
Cashmere Delizia
You know the feeling – you see a yarn and immediately want to pick it up. And after that first touch, you just have to stroke it across your neck or cheek...
Cashmere Delizia is without a doubt one of those yarns. The new cashmere yarn in the Pascuali range is a dream of softness. Its name says it all: Delizia means delight, joy, pleasure, bliss, or indulgence.
Cashmere Delizia comes in 25-gram balls with a length of 82 yds (75 m). The recommended needle size is 8 US (5 mm), giving a gauge of about 18 stitches and 26 rows per 10 cm.
It is made of 100% of the finest cashmere fibers, sourced from cashmere goats in the Mongolian highlands. The extreme climate there, with its strong temperature fluctuations, results in an especially fine and dense undercoat. The fiber diameter used for Cashmere Delizia ranges between 15.3 and 15.5 microns – softer and finer is hardly possible!
Let’s take a closer look at the finished yarn. What stands out immediately is that the yarn is not twisted. It looks knitted – and in fact, it basically is. Using an innovative system in a spinning mill in Italy, the fibers are combined into a light, voluminous, round chain structure. The yarn has a gentle elasticity with a soft, cloud-like halo, light, airy, and full of volume all at once.
And now to the needles! The yarn glides effortlessly through the hands, and thanks to its slight elasticity, even the first row after casting on is easy to knit. With the thicker needle size, you make quick progress, and the result is a beautifully even stitch pattern. Delizia is a pleasure to knit – the stitches don’t split, and it’s pure fun! A quick “frogging test” shows: no problem if you need to unravel – the stitches come undone easily, without the halo getting in the way.
A relaxing bath does wonders for a finished piece made with Cashmere Delizia: the yarn blooms, and if the stitch definition looked beautiful before, it is absolutely perfect after washing and drying! The size of our swatch didn’t change after blocking.
Since the natural color of the fibers varies slightly and the base wasn’t “bleached out,” the fabric has a pleasantly lively look. With such a beautiful yarn, you don’t need a lot of fancy stitch work: knit in simple stockinette, Cashmere Delizia is gorgeous. It has a touch of rustic charm, which combined with the softness makes for a fantastic pairing.
Cables stand out beautifully, as do simple textured patterns and bobbles. But with a yarn this special, less is often more!
The palette includes 16 shades, ranging from white to various light and dark (undyed) natural tones, pastels, and rich colors. All shades stay true to a very natural spectrum.
Cashmere Delizia is so wonderfully soft that it can be worn directly against the skin without hesitation. Perfect for wrist warmers, scarves, and shawls — but also for cardigans and sweaters. Typically, 300 grams will make a women’s size 38 (US size 8–10) sweater.
