Module 04

Quality & Price Guide

The commercial question, answered without a price list. What actually drives the cost of a yarn, and why the fibre name is almost never the answer.

Seven factors behind every yarn price.

When two quotes for the same fibre differ, one of these seven is the reason. Ask for all seven and the difference usually explains itself.

Raw material, grade and market price
The base fibre cost, which moves with the commodity market and with the grade you specify. Length, micron and purity all sit inside this.
Fibre fineness and length
Finer and longer fibre means lower yield and more sorting work, and therefore a higher price per kilogram.
Processing route and yield
Combing, dehairing, carding and spinning each lose a percentage of the fibre. The loss is priced into the kilogram.
Count, ply and twist
A finer count contains more fibre per kilogram. Plying adds a second operation. Twist changes the hand and the pilling.
Dyeing and finishing
Dyeing is a large cost that scales badly. Setup is spread across more kilograms when the shade count and order volume are high.
Order volume and shade count
Supplier minimum order quantities, the number of shades and the delivery window all move the price.
Supplier position and traceability
A supplier with verifiable certifications, stable capacity and traceability carries a cost that has to be paid for somewhere.

Micron: the number that explains a price gap.

A micron is one thousandth of a millimetre. Fine merino sits roughly in the 16 to 19.5 micron band, fine cashmere around 15 to 16. Below about 22 microns a fibre bends instead of pricking, which is the entire mechanism behind softness. Finer fibre means fewer usable fibres per animal and more sorting work, so the price follows.

Always ask for micron together with fibre length. A supplier who quotes a fine micron but cannot state the length is usually buying a short-fibre lot, and the garment will show it after a few months of wear.

What causes pilling.

Pilling is a friction problem, not a defect in the fibre. Surface fibres migrate into the fabric under movement, work back to the surface and tangle.

The four causes

  • Short fibre, which migrates more readily than long fibre.
  • Insufficient twist for the count.
  • An open or brushed construction, which gives fibres room to move.
  • Fabric position: cuffs, elbows and underarms see more abrasion than the body of a garment.

What you can do about it

Ask for a pilling test result with the method stated, since results from different standards are not comparable. Specify a higher twist where the collection position demands it, and a longer-fibre yarn where softness and pilling resistance both matter. A de-pilling comb removes surface pills but does not change the underlying behaviour.

Yarn price is not sweater cost.

The yarn cone is often the largest single material line, and it is rarely the largest cost in a finished garment. Comparing two prices per kilogram and concluding that one garment will be cheaper is usually wrong.

Material per garment
Driven by garment size, fabric weight in grams per square metre, pattern efficiency and trim allowance, not by the yarn price.
Process waste
The weight of yarn knitted is less than the weight bought. There is waste at knitting, cutting loss and unusable cone ends, and in a multi-shade order the leftovers accumulate.
Knitting time
Driven by gauge, stitch pattern and fabric weight. A cable in a fine gauge takes far longer than a plain jersey in a heavy gauge. Yarn price has no relationship to it.
Making up and finishing
Cutting, sewing, linking, pressing and finishing each carry a cost, and full linking and specialist washing can be a significant share of the landed cost.
Development
Samples, lab dips and pre-production samples are all paid for before the first bulk garment, and at low volume they can be the largest single cost in the programme.

How blends balance cost and performance.

Every blend solves a problem, and the ratio is the specification. Five percent and 30 percent of the same fibre are different products with different prices and different behaviour.

Nylon is added to wool for durability. Polyester is added to cotton for colour fastness and shrinkage control. Acrylic is added to wool for price. Cashmere is added to cotton for softness. Blends also create problems: the two fibres can pill at different rates, they can dye unevenly if their affinity differs, and any elastane or synthetic component removes a garment from the natural-fibre recycling stream.

Technical guides.

Twelve guides on the questions that come up in every first conversation.

Quality price

Why Can the Same Fiber Have Different Prices?

Two yarns labelled with the same fibre can differ by a factor of several. The reasons are almost never the fibre name itself.

6 min readQuality price

100% Acrylic: What Separates Basic and Better-Quality Yarn?

The fibre is the same. What changes is fineness, spinning, twist and finishing, and those four things are what the buyer is actually paying for.

5 min readQuality price

What Makes Cashmere More Expensive?

Cashmere price is not a single factor. It is a combination of fibre length, fineness, grade, dehairing loss and how much of the down survives into the yarn.

6 min readFiber

Merino Wool vs Regular Wool: What Is the Difference?

Both come from sheep. Merino is defined by fibre diameter, and that one variable explains most of the difference in feel, use and price.

5 min readFiber

Cotton vs Viscose: Hand Feel, Drape and Applications

Two cellulosic fibres that look like the same category to a buyer but behave very differently in the finished garment.

5 min readFiber

What Does Fiber Micron Mean?

Micron is the diameter of a single fibre, measured in thousandths of a millimetre. It is the most useful number in a wool or cashmere specification.

5 min readFiber

Fiber Length, Fineness and Yarn Quality Explained

Two fibre properties explain most of what buyers are confused about when two yarns of the same type cost different amounts.

6 min readConstruction

Ring-Spun vs Worsted vs Woollen Spun

Three spinning systems, three different yarns. Knowing which one you have is the fastest way to understand a specification.

6 min readQuality price

What Is Pilling and What Causes It?

Pilling is not a defect in the fibre. It is a friction problem, and it is mostly decided by fibre length, yarn twist and fabric construction.

6 min readCount gauge

How Yarn Count Affects Knitwear Appearance and Cost

The same fibre in a different count is a different product, in both price and appearance.

6 min readConstruction

How Blended Yarns Balance Cost and Performance

A blend is a specification designed to solve a problem. The ratio matters more than the list of fibres.

6 min readQuality price

Why Yarn Price Is Not the Same as Sweater Cost

Yarn is often the largest single material line, but it is rarely the largest cost in a finished garment.

6 min read

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