Where Does Mohair Come From?

Mohair comes from an Angora Goat.

Confusing isn’t it! Angora comes from an Angora rabbit, but Mohair comes from and Angora goat!

Mohair is silky soft and is the fleece of the Angora goat. Their fleece is very curly and has a lovely lustre to it. Mohair is considered to be a luxury fibre and it is very warm, strong and soft to touch.

What Does an Angora Goat Look Like?

They are fairly big goats and have a beautiful cream coloured, curly fleece. Baby goats are called “kids” and the fleece of the young goat is known as “kid Mohair” and is very soft.

Animal Welfare is Crucial

You may have heard that there are welfare issues in the production of Mohair. These are generally linked with goats that are kept for Mohair production in South Africa.

The Mohair that I use to spin into yarn, comes from a small flock that live here in the UK. They are looked after like much loved pets and are kept for fleece only. I visit the flock often and they are always happy and healthy.

What Do I Do With The Mohair?

First of all I spin it into yarn. Thre are three different methods that I use. Lockspun, where I spin two singles from raw locks and them ply them together to make the final yarn. Corespun, where I spin from a cloud of locks onto a core yarn. Or, I spin one single from raw locks and then ply it with silk. It all depends on what I want to make with the yarn, as to which yarn design I choose.

I then dye the yarn in a pot in my kitchen. This bit is really good fun and I experiment with many different colour combinations.

The yarn in the pot above is the one on the right in the picture of the skeins below:

 

What I Make With My Mohair Yarn

Scarves, shawls, throws, blankets, jumpers, vest tops, whatever takes my fancy really.