Animal fibres
- Lambswool and wool — warm, resilient, good value. Can feel slightly rough against skin in cheaper grades; merino solves that.
- Merino wool — soft, fine, temperature regulating. The default premium choice for next-to-skin knitwear.
- Cashmere — light, very soft, expensive. Usually used as a blend rather than 100%, unless the product is genuinely luxury.
- Angora, alpaca, mohair — halo and softness, often blended. Special handling and higher cost.
Plant and synthetic fibres
- Cotton — breathable, machine washable, good for spring and summer knitwear. Heavier than wool for the same warmth.
- Viscose and bamboo blends — fluid drape and a cool hand-feel. Popular for fine-gauge tops.
- Acrylic — the workhorse of volume knitwear. Cheap, colour-fast, machine washable, easy to care for. Hand-feel depends heavily on the yarn quality.
- Recycled blends — increasingly requested by brands with sustainability targets. Quality varies a lot between suppliers.
Gauge: why the same design costs different amounts
Gauge is the stitch density of the knit. A 3gg chunky sweater uses far more yarn per square metre than a 12gg fine knit, and takes longer to make. This is why two visually similar sweaters can be priced very differently.
If a target price is not achievable, the gauge is often the first thing worth revisiting — a slightly finer knit in a better yarn will usually look more expensive than a coarse knit in a cheap one.
How to specify yarn properly
A good specification names the fibre composition with percentages, the yarn count or gauge, and the colour reference. If you are matching a Pantone shade, say so at the enquiry stage, not after the sample.
If you do not have a yarn specification yet, send a reference garment, a photo and your target price. A supplier should be able to propose two or three yarn options with a clear trade-off between cost and quality.
A note on “100% cashmere” at a low price
If a quote for a cashmere sweater looks too good, ask for the fibre composition and consider independent testing on the first order. Blends are perfectly legitimate — misdescribing them is not, and it becomes your problem when a customer complains.