How Undyed Cashmere Yarn Is Produced: From Dehaired Fiber to Machine-Ready Cone, A B2B Buyer’s Guide

If you have ever asked a cashmere supplier for “the yarn price”, you have asked the wrong question. The price per kilogram of cashmere yarn depends on three production stages you have not yet seen: which fiber lot you are buying from, whether your yarn is worsted or woolen spun, and how much of the dehaired cashmere your yarn mill actually retained after combing. The same 26/2 Nm cone can cost $42 or $78 per kilo depending on those three answers.

This post walks through the 7 stages that turn raw cashmere fiber into the undyed cones your knitting or weaving line uses. The 7 stages are dehairing, top sorting, scouring, carding, roving, spinning, and winding. Each stage has a yield loss that compounds — by the time the dehaired cashmere enters the spinning frame, only about 30-35% of the raw greasy fiber weight is still on the cone. The remaining 65-70% is noil (short fiber), vegetable matter, suint (sweat salts), and grease that left the fiber at various points along the cycle.

If you are a B2B buyer sourcing undyed cashmere yarn for machine knitting, the production cycle below tells you what you are actually buying when you place a PO. The section after the cycle explains which stages are negotiable on lead time and price, which are not, and what you should test before accepting a yarn shipment.

Stage 1 — Dehairing (April to June, Inner Mongolia)

The dehairing season runs from early April to late June in Inner Mongolia. This is the biological clock that governs every cashmere yarn mill in the world — by July, the year’s dehaired cashmere is committed to specific spinning orders, and the spot market for additional fiber goes thin.

Dehairing separates the soft down fiber (the cashmere that becomes yarn) from the coarse guard hair and from vegetable matter and dirt collected during the goat’s winter coat. The input is raw fiber sheared or combed from the goat in spring; the output is dehaired cashmere tops, sold by fiber diameter (micron count) and fiber length.

The dehairing line at an Ordos cashmere factory operates at approximately 1,200 tons of raw input per year across multiple lines, with an average yield of 30-35% by weight. That means a 24-ton raw fiber lot typically yields 7-8 tons of dehaired cashmere tops ready for the spinning mill. The rest — coarse guard hair, short noil, grease, suint, and dirt — leaves the line as waste or as a lower-value byproduct (noil sold to felt or recycled-blend markets).

What you should know as a buyer:

• Yield is the first number to negotiate. If your supplier quotes yarn price but cannot tell you the dehairing yield they assumed, the yarn price has no basis. Ask for the yield, by micron range, for the year you are sourcing from.
• Micron range drives both price and yield. Cashmere (FFF) fiber below 15.5 microns yields less dehaired cashmere per ton of raw input than fiber at 16-17 microns. Finer fiber has more guard hair to remove. Your supplier’s yarn price reflects the micron mix they have committed to, not just the average.
• The harvest window is hard. Dehaired cashmere from the 2026 Inner Mongolia harvest becomes available in July. By September, the year’s allocation is largely spoken for. If you are sourcing in Q4, your fiber was reserved months earlier — meaning the supplier’s commitment to you was made before you knew you needed it.

Stage 2 — Top Sorting (June to July)

After dehairing, the dehaired cashmere fiber is sorted by micron range, length, and color. The sorting is done by hand or by optical sorting machine, depending on the factory. The objective is to group fiber into homogeneous batches so the spinning mill can produce yarn with consistent hand-feel and color across the lot.

The sorting stage takes a 24-ton dehaired cashmere output and breaks it into batches of 50-200 kg each, classified by micron (typically 14.5-15.5 μm for premium cashmere, 15.5-16.5 μm for standard cashmere, 16.5-19.5 μm for lower-grade cashmere), length (28-34 mm for worsted spinning, 26-30 mm for woolen spinning), and color (white, natural brown, light gray, dark brown).

The sorting is the factory’s first quality gate. Fiber that does not meet a specific batch’s spec — for example, a short fiber in a long-fiber batch, or a brown fiber in a white batch — is pulled out and dropped into a different batch or sold as noil.

What you should know as a buyer:

• Color sorting costs. White cashmere commands a 15-20% premium over natural brown cashmere because of the sorting effort and because white accepts dye more uniformly. If your supplier quotes a single yarn price for “natural cashmere”, ask whether they mean white-only, white and natural mixed, or one specific color. The answer changes the price by 15-20%.
• Length determines spinning route. Fiber longer than 32 mm is suitable for worsted spinning (smooth, lustrous yarn for fine-gauge knitwear). Fiber shorter than 30 mm is suitable for woolen spinning (loftier, hairier yarn for heavy-gauge knitwear and weaving). Your yarn count request determines the length your supplier needs to source.
• Sorting takes time. A 7-8 ton dehaired cashmere lot takes 2-3 weeks to sort. If your order is placed in July, the sorted fiber enters the next stage in August.

Stage 3 — Scouring (July to August)

Scouring is the washing stage. Raw dehaired cashmere still contains 5-10% by weight of grease, suint, and dirt that needs to be removed before spinning. The fiber is washed in warm water with mild detergent (typically non-ionic surfactant, pH 7-8, 50-60°C), then rinsed and dried.

The scouring stage loses an additional 2-3% of the dehaired cashmere weight to wash water effluent. The washed fiber is whiter, softer, and ready for the next stage.

What you should know as a buyer:

• Scouring effluent is a regulatory concern. Modern cashmere mills in Inner Mongolia operate scouring lines with effluent treatment plants. If you are sourcing for an EU or US buyer, the OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification covers the scouring effluent compliance — your supplier should be able to share the OEKO-TEX test report.
• Over-scouring damages fiber. Cashmere fiber, like wool, is protein-based and sensitive to high pH and high temperature. A reputable mill uses mild scouring agents and moderate temperatures. Over-scouring produces weaker yarn with reduced hand-feel. Ask about the scouring protocol if your hand-feel specs are tight.
• Scouring is not optional. A supplier that offers “low-cost” yarn may have skipped or shortened scouring — at the cost of residual grease in the yarn that will smell and dye unevenly.

Stage 4 — Carding (August to September)

Carding aligns the washed cashmere fibers into a continuous web, then divides the web into narrow strips called slivers. The carding machine is the heart of the spinning preparation — it sets up the fiber orientation, blend, and uniformity that determines the yarn quality.

For cashmere, carding is gentle compared to wool carding — cashmere fibers are shorter and more delicate. The carding settings must be calibrated to avoid fiber breakage. A standard Ordos cashmere carding line runs at 8-12 kg of fiber per hour (versus 60-80 kg per hour for wool carding).

What you should know as a buyer:

• Carding yield drops fiber further. A 7-ton scoured cashmere lot entering carding typically yields 6.5-6.8 tons of carded sliver. The carding noil (short fiber separated in carding) is sold separately to the felt and recycled-blend markets at $8-15 per kilo.
• Blending happens here. If your yarn is a cashmere-silk blend or cashmere-merino blend, the cashmere and the silk/merino fibers are blended at the carding stage. The blend ratio you specify is enforced here, not in spinning. Verify the blend ratio before the spinning frame, not after.
• Carding determines yarn count ceiling. The carded sliver weight per unit length (the sliver count) determines the finest yarn count your fiber can be spun to. Finer yarn counts require finer carded slivers, which require longer, finer fibers. If your supplier offers 2/80 Nm yarn from standard 15.5 μm cashmere, ask how they achieved it — the answer tells you whether they have the carding precision or are buying yarn from elsewhere.

Stage 5 — Roving (September to October)

Roving draws the carded sliver down to a finer, slightly twisted strand suitable for spinning. The roving frame reduces the sliver count by a factor of 5-10 and adds a slight protective twist.

The roving is wound onto bobbins and sent to the spinning frame. For worsted spinning, the roving is tightly twisted and uniform. For woolen spinning, the roving is more open and loftier.

What you should know as a buyer:

• Roving twist is protective, not functional. The twist in the roving holds the fiber together during transport to the spinning frame — it is not the final yarn twist. The final yarn twist is set at the spinning frame.
• Roving quality affects spinning efficiency. A poorly formed roving produces breaks at the spinning frame, which slow production and reduce yarn uniformity. A reputable mill tests roving consistency before passing it to spinning.

Stage 6 — Spinning (October to January)

Spinning draws the roving down to the final yarn count and applies the yarn twist that gives the yarn its strength, hand-feel, and surface character. There are two main spinning routes for cashmere:

Worsted spinning uses a long-fiber preparation (fiber length 32+ mm), tight roving, and a combing step between carding and roving that removes short fibers (noil). Worsted yarn is smooth, lustrous, strong, and suitable for fine-gauge knitwear (12 gauge and finer) and weaving. Worsted cashmere yarn commands a 20-30% premium over woolen-spun yarn of the same count.

Woolen spinning uses shorter fiber (28-30 mm), open roving, and skips the combing step. Woolen yarn is loftier, hairier, softer to the touch, and suitable for heavy-gauge knitwear (3-7 gauge) and hand-knitting yarn. Woolen cashmere yarn is the dominant form for hand-knitting yarn cones.

Both routes can produce the same yarn count (e.g., 2/26 Nm), but the yarn quality, hand-feel, and end-use differ. The same yarn count spun worsted versus woolen has measurably different surface character — worsted is smooth and cool to the touch; woolen is fuzzy and warm.

What you should know as a buyer:

• The yarn count you specify is the metric. Nm (metric count) is km of yarn per kg of yarn weight. A 2/26 Nm yarn means 2-ply, 26 km per kg. The 2-ply construction means two single yarns twisted together. The count is set at the spinning frame, with twist and tension calibrated to the fiber and the count.
• Twist direction matters. Most cashmere yarns are Z-twist singles, S-twist plied. The twist direction affects the yarn hand-feel and the way the yarn knits. A reputable mill specifies twist direction in the yarn spec — if your supplier does not, ask.
• Spinning frame capacity is the bottleneck. A single spinning frame produces 200-500 kg of finished yarn per day, depending on count and fiber. A 2-ton yarn order takes 4-10 days of spinning frame time, plus setup and changeover. This is why yarn orders have a 25-35 day production lead time at the spinning stage, not 25-35 days total.

Stage 7 — Winding (November to January)

The final stage is winding the spun yarn from bobbins onto cones or skeins for shipment. The winding stage includes quality checks for count variation, twist consistency, and surface defects.

Wound cones (typically 1-2 kg per cone) or skeins (typically 50-100 g per skein) are packaged according to the buyer’s spec. Most B2B orders ship in cones for machine knitting. Hand-knitting yarn cones (typically 100 g) ship to retail customers.

What you should know as a buyer:

• Cone weight is negotiable. Standard cone weight is 1-2 kg, but a mill can wind to your specified cone weight for a small setup fee. A 100 g cone for sampling, a 500 g cone for small production, a 2 kg cone for bulk production — all are possible at the winding stage.
• Yarn count testing happens here. The yarn count is verified at the winding stage using a wrap reel and a scale. A reputable mill tests every 10th cone for count variation. If your yarn count tolerance is tight (e.g., ±2% for machine knitting), ask for the mill’s count testing protocol.
• Winding stage adds 5-7 days to lead time. Cone winding, packaging, and pre-shipment inspection are the last steps before the yarn leaves the mill. A typical 26-week total lead time for cashmere yarn (dehairing through delivery) is allocated as: dehairing (8 weeks), sorting (3 weeks), scouring (2 weeks), carding (3 weeks), roving (2 weeks), spinning (4 weeks), winding (2 weeks), shipping (2 weeks).

The Compounding Yield Story

What makes cashmere yarn expensive is the yield compounding. Starting from 100 kg of raw fiber:

• After dehairing: 30-35 kg of dehaired cashmere (65-70 kg is guard hair, noil, grease, dirt, VM)
• After sorting: 28-33 kg of sorted cashmere (2-3 kg is color/length mismatch sold as noil)
• After scouring: 27-31 kg of scoured cashmere (1-2 kg is wash effluent)
• After carding: 25-29 kg of carded sliver (2-3 kg is carding noil)
• After roving: 25-29 kg of roving (negligible loss)
• After spinning: 24-28 kg of spun yarn (1-2 kg is spinning waste)
• After winding: 23-27 kg of wound yarn (1 kg is package waste)

So 100 kg of raw fiber yields approximately 23-27 kg of finished undyed cashmere yarn. The 73-77 kg loss is the cost of producing cashmere yarn from raw fiber — the noil, guard hair, grease, dirt, and process waste are sold separately at much lower prices, but they do not recover the cost of the dehairing and sorting labor.

When a mill quotes you $42 per kg for 2/26 Nm undyed worsted cashmere yarn, the cost structure behind it is approximately:

• Raw fiber cost: $15-20 per kg of finished yarn (assuming 30% yield from $50-65 per kg raw fiber)
• Dehairing + sorting labor: $5-8 per kg of finished yarn
• Scouring + carding + roving: $4-6 per kg
• Spinning + winding: $8-12 per kg
• Mill overhead + profit: $8-12 per kg

If a mill quotes you $28 per kg for the same yarn, one of three things is true: the fiber cost is lower (lower micron, longer length, or lower-grade fiber), the yield is higher (suspicious — usually means fiber was sourced from a less reputable supply chain), or the mill is cutting corners somewhere (skipping scouring, using cheaper labor, or accepting higher waste rates).

What This Means for Your Next Yarn Order

If you are a B2B buyer sourcing undyed cashmere yarn for machine knitting, the production cycle tells you three things:

First, plan your fiber commitment 6 months ahead. Dehairing season is April to June. Your supplier’s fiber allocation for your Q1 2027 yarn order was made during the 2026 dehairing season — meaning the order needs to be in place by July 2026 for the fiber to be reserved. If you are placing a yarn order in October 2026, the fiber was committed in spring and the yarn is being spun now.

Second, ask about the spinning route before you finalize the yarn spec. If your buyer wants fine-gauge knitwear (12-14 gauge), worsted spinning is required and you need fiber length 32+ mm. If your buyer wants heavy-gauge knitwear or hand-knitting yarn, woolen spinning is fine and shorter fiber works. The yarn count and the spinning route together determine the fiber spec your mill needs to source.

Third, expect a 20-25 week lead time from order to delivery. Fiber sourcing 6 weeks, dehairing + sorting 6 weeks, scouring + carding + roving 6 weeks, spinning + winding 4 weeks, shipping + customs 3 weeks. Lead times below 20 weeks usually mean the mill is using fiber from a prior allocation — which is fine, but means you are buying yarn that was originally committed to another buyer.

Where to Read the Production Data on the Site

For the dehairing yield and micron data on our specific lots, see our yarn formulations and facility post (linked below). For the spinning frame and yarn count specifications, our yarn category page lists the available counts, blends, and color options.

For pricing or to discuss your yarn order, send a spec sheet (desired count, ply, fiber spec, color, quantity, target delivery date) to our team. We respond within one business day with a confirmed fiber allocation, spinning schedule, and FOB / CIF / EXW quote.

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For B2B buyers evaluating cashmere yarn suppliers, the production cycle above is the reference you should use to ask the right questions of any mill. If a supplier cannot walk you through their dehairing yield, sorting protocol, spinning route, and lead time allocation, they are either buying yarn from elsewhere and reselling it, or they are skipping steps. Either way, you do not have a reliable yarn source.