Material is the foundation of a sweater. By clearly understanding the material of a sweater, you can select the one that suits you best. Here, I've summarized the advantages and disadvantages of common sweater fabrics to make your sweater - choosing process much more convenient.
Cotton
Sweaters made of pure cotton.
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Advantages: They don't pill, have good texture and are comfortable.
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Disadvantages: They are relatively stiff, not fluffy, and a bit heavier.
Wool
It comes from the fleece of sheep.
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Advantages: It's a protein - based fiber, fluffy with air inside, has excellent warmth retention, is elastic, has good moisture absorption and is not easily wrinkled.
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Disadvantages: It's relatively expensive, it pills, is prone to static electricity when the air humidity drops, and its performance may decline after getting wet.
Cashmere
The fine down combed from goats, known as “soft gold”.
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Advantages: It has outstanding warmth - retaining performance, is delicate, light, soft and of high grade, and is not easy to pill.
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Disadvantages: It's expensive, has low production, and is easily damaged by insects.
Mohair
Also known as Angora goat hair.
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Advantages: It's elastic, soft and fluffy.
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Disadvantages: It sheds easily, and there is a large quality variation among different mohair products.
Rabbit Hair
There are Angora rabbits and domestic rabbits. Angora rabbit hair is of high quality while domestic rabbit hair is inferior.
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Advantages: It's light, soft and has excellent warmth - retaining performance.
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Disadvantages: It has low strength, sheds easily, and is rarely used alone to make sweaters.
Acrylic
It has many properties similar to wool, and is known as “synthetic wool”.
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Advantages: It's fluffy, has a soft hand - feel, is warm, relatively inexpensive and elastic.
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Disadvantages: It pills and generates static electricity easily.
Polyester
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Advantages: It's strong, inexpensive, not easily wrinkled and durable.
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Disadvantages: It pills and generates static electricity easily, and has poor air permeability.
Viscose
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Advantages: It's very soft and comfortable, has good moisture absorption and is less likely to generate static electricity.
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Disadvantages: It deforms easily, is not resistant to washing and shrinks easily.
