Cardiff Cashmere
Cardiff Cashmere Prime
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Product Details
Cardiff Prime is one of those yarns I reach for when a project deserves a little luxury. It is a brushed yarn spun from soft cashmere around a fine core of mulberry silk, which gives it a featherlight halo and a quiet warmth with almost no weight to it. I think of it as a more refined relative of silk mohair, softer next to the skin and beautifully smooth to knit with.
Because it is a laceweight, Prime is wonderfully versatile. You can knit it on its own for delicate shawls and lightweight layers, or hold it double, or carry it alongside another yarn to add softness, halo and a gentle glow of colour. It really is a yarn that needs to be felt to be understood.
Yarn Specifications
Yarn Name: Cardiff Prime
Yarn Brand: Cardiff Cashmere
Ball Weight: 25g
Ball Meterage: Approximately 300m
Ball Yardage: Approximately 328 yards
Yarn Composition: 68% cashmere, 32% mulberry silk
Yarn Weight: Lace
Recommended Gauge: Around 26 to 28 stitches and 36 rows to 10x10cm on 3.25mm needles when knitted single. Prime is often held double or alongside another yarn, so always knit a tension swatch first. (Please confirm against your ball band.)
Recommended Knitting Needles: 3mm to 3.5mm
Recommended Crochet Hook: 3mm to 3.5mm (Please confirm.)
Knitting Machine: Best suited to hand knitting. It can be worked on a standard gauge machine, but the brushed halo can catch, so take care. (Please confirm.)
Care Instructions: Hand wash and dry flat
Other Information: Spun in Italy. Despite the name, Cardiff Cashmere is an Italian brand based in Biella, not from Cardiff in Wales.
Pattern Ideas
Here are a few patterns that show Prime off nicely, whether you knit it on its own or hold it double. If none of these is quite right for you, do get in touch and we will happily suggest something to suit your project.
- Jenna Sweater knitting pattern by Hiromi Nagasawa on Ravelry
- Shifa Shawl knitting pattern by Zanete Knits on Ravelry
- Field Slipover knitting pattern by Camilla Vad on Ravelry
- Barbara Balaclava knitting pattern by PetiteKnit on Ravelry
- August Hat (mini) knitting pattern by Sari Nordlund on Ravelry
I have knitted the Jenna Sweater in Cardiff Prime myself, and we have my example in the shop for you to see and feel in person. You can also watch it here: see the Jenna Sweater knitted in Cardiff Prime on our Instagram.
About Cardiff Cashmere
Cardiff Cashmere is an Italian brand, founded in the 1980s and based in Biella, the heart of Italy's fine textile region. The name tends to surprise people, as it has nothing to do with Cardiff in Wales. It refers instead to a production technique behind the yarn.
What sets Cardiff apart is a real devotion to cashmere. The fibres are chosen for their softness and length, then spun in Italy into yarns that feel as lovely to wear as they are to knit. At Knit With Me, we stock Cardiff Classic and Cardiff Prime, two yarns that share the same carefully matched colour palette, so you can knit them together with confidence.


























