The beautiful woolen products on the market today have great style and fashion appeal, not to mention the warmth and softness factor in wearing them. Briefly, and I do mean briefly, I want to explain where a lot of yarn fibers come from and how many different animals contribute to our love of woolen products.
Angora (was popular to put around class rings when going steady) comes from the Angora rabbit. The long-haired rabbit is bred for its desired soft fiber characteristics and is known in many circles as the "Aristocrat of wools". This soft fiber is used in baby blankets and clothes, mittens products worn next to the skin. For more information go to:www.angorarabbit.com
Mohair comes from the Angora Goat (not to be confused with Angora from the Angora rabbit-mentioned above) and is known for its strong (not soft) fibers. This goat produces from 4-8 pounds of mohair per animal per year. It is very warm w/great insulating characteristics and has great texture (stands up and does not flatten like some yarns). Mohair does not felt well (felted hats,purses,etc.) rather than other preferred wools. To see an angora goat to to Wikipedia.org/wiki/mohair.
Cashmere comes from the Kasmir goat which grows long coarse hair that has to be separated from the soft hair which is so soft to our skin with the finished product. Typical casmere, using the soft hair of the Kasmire goat, products are mittens, gloves, socks, sweaters, leg warmers, booties, capes (woolen products in direct contact with human skin).
Lamb's wool obviously comes from a lamb and is known for its warmth. Lambsdown has a flleeced nap on one side and has been used in bedding products.
Merino wool is among the finest, most luxurious and softest wools in the world, with many Merino sheep being bred in mountainous areas like New Zealand and the western mountains of the US. This wool resembles cashmere in its feel and to the touch.
Camel wool is very lucious, light weight and soft from the undercoat of the 2-humped Bactrian camel. This wool is great for chunky woolen knits like coats, socks, scarves, or hats.
Musk ox wool (qiviut) is a rare wool to find from the under-wool of a musk ox and is considered by many as the world's finest fiber.
Alpaca wool from the alpaca is used mainly for clothing because of it's fiber content. Alpaca fleece is silky with great luster.
Llama wool is used in many cases as a tougher wool and is used for outer clothing, ropes, blankets and is in many cases coarser than alpaca wool. The llama is a two-coated animal which makes it fibers so warm. (Vicuna-type of llama-small and wild-whose wool is soft and is used in making soft coats).
Australia supplies approximately 30% of the world's wool and they breed some of their sheep to have wrinkly skin which means more wool per animal.
What I generally use in my Fiber Accessories (Fiber Necklaces & Fiber Earrings) is a combination of sheep wool and mohair because I like the characteristics of combining the two. The mohair stands up and spreads out so nicely giving a beautiful commercial look. The more expensive wools (angora, cashmere and musk ox) are commercially too expensive to use in my products and are not as readily available in commerical skeins. However, there is nothing like wonderfully soft wool against your skin, and there is nothing worse than coarse wool creating that itchy, uncomfortable feeling against the skin. This why I recommend wearing my Fiber Necklaces under any type of collar (blouse, jacket, coat, etc.) or against a sweater or turtleneck to avoid that itch, uncomfortable skin contact; while still showing off the beautiful wool which has been specially bred, sheered or cut, cleaned, spun, colored or dyed and wound before it ever becomes a beautiful wearable product.
by Jane Ann Steiner, Fiber Necklaces & Accessories
