Keep warm and look hot!

Image: Ava Edwards 2012

It gives me great pleasure to unashamedly plug my own product!

Knitwear, is one of my all-time loves, and I have launched a limited collection of cashmere scarves.  Men, don’t be put off  by the illustration, they are for you too, I just prefer to draw women.  The Stroke Me Collection © is available in 11 colours and will be available to buy at www.Shop-Label.com, Merchants on Long, 34 Long Street, Cape Town and directly from moi!  For more information please email info@alabaste.com.

For extra brownie points, these make the perfect gift

My beautiful swing tag, courtesy of © Deep Design 

A few factoids:

Cashmere comes from goats, not sheep.  These goats graze around the Kashmir region.

There are many conflicting opinions as to where the yarn actually comes from, but it is usually collected from the underbelly when the animal sheds it’s coat in Spring.  The coarse hairs are separated from the superfine hairs (de-hairing) and these soft hairs are sent for processing (spinning, dyeing, knitting etc.)

The fibres are graded.  The finer the fibre, the better (and more expensive) your final garment. A cashmere yarn should not exceed 19 microns B-).  Which, to you and me, is very fine.

It is the warmest and softest natural yarn available, but it is not as high maintenance as you’d think.  You can put your cashmere into a laundry bag and machine wash cold.  So long as your washing machine has a delicate cycle.  As The Laundress advises: “Cashmere isn’t meant to be dry-cleaned, it’s meant to be washed. It’s an animal hair; and washing it is like washing your own hair. Dry cleaning is the equivalent of giving cashmere a perm: not so good.”

100% Cashmere. For Men and Women. © Alabaste 2012

The scarf (187cm x 64cm – that’s a whole lot of soft stuff to wrap yourself up in!) – perfect for this chilly weather. Made in Mauritius with 100% cashmere.

I can hardly contain my excitement at sharing one of my favourite things with you!

Mwah!

xx