From the wool of the Angora goat, mainly found in Turkey, America and South Africa, fibers known as mohair are produced. These threads are very popular with knitters. Angora wool is soft and airy, warm and fluffy, it feels like silk. But when it is made, acrylic or nylon is necessarily added, otherwise it will simply crumble into separate particles in the hands. Knitting things from mohair is very beneficial, because the yarn is very voluminous and at the same time weightless. In this regard, the thread consumption is small. For example, a product of size 44 will require 200–250 g of Angora fluff. At the same time, things turn out to be unusually warm and pleasant to the touch. You can knit anything from this yarn: warm wool socks, fluffy sweaters and voluminous scarves.
Historical background of fluffy wool
Mohair has long been called "soft gold." Not a single wool has such properties as Angora. Fluff perfectly repels water, but absorbs natural moisture, while retaining heat. A big plus of angora is its resistance to pollution. It is worth noting that this coat is completely hypoallergenic. Also, products from this yarn help people with such ailments as osteochondrosis, arthritis and hypertension. After all, Angora wool has a reduced thermal conductivity, which means that it creates “dry heat”.
The softest, gentle and warm fluff is the "Orenburg". Its thickness is only 15–17 microns, and its length reaches an average of 8 cm. Fluff from Volgograd, which is 11–12 cm long, is slightly inferior to it. And microns of thickness vary between 22–23. Angora rabbit hair is also widely used . Mostly, only palatines and openwork napkins are knitted from it. It is not suitable for the manufacture of warm down scarves, because the length of the wool is very large. It reaches 43 cm, and the thickness ranges from 37 to 43 microns.
Pros and Cons of Mohair Yarn and Fabric
Angora in the form of yarn is practically not produced in its pure form. In the composition, you can often find acrylic or merino (sheep’s wool), the addition of which makes the product more durable and durable. Most often on sale you can see yarn of various colors, in the composition of which dye is added. But it is not difficult to find a natural undyed yarn of pure white or black color. Woolen threads lend themselves very poorly to uniform and high-quality dyeing, so colored items are much more expensive. The main advantages of this yarn can be called extraordinary softness, warmth and fluffy, which is so pleasant to the touch. But there is a fairly significant drawback. Unfortunately, the mohair is peeling off. And, alas, this process is irreversible, even if you reduce the percentage of angora in yarn.
Characteristics of the Angora goat breed
Many needlewomen probably wondered: what are Angora wool made of? It turns out that she is sheared from a goat. By external signs, one can easily distinguish an animal of this breed from any of its other relatives. So, Angora goats have small legs and a beautiful short body with small horns. Their weight ranges from 30 to 35 kg. It is quite easy to recognize the male by the horns; they have swirling and very powerful ones. Their approximate average weight is 50 kg, but the mass can reach 85 kg. The Angora goat has a characteristic feature - a beard, and there is both a male and a female. But the main difference is, of course, wool. The Angora breed is shiny, long, soft and incredibly fluffy.
What does a buyer get today under the brand name “Angora”?
The Angora goat is a whimsical animal and takes root in few places. For this reason, the Angora rabbit breed was bred by the Chinese. Today it is a fairly high-quality replacement for real goat hair. Rabbits are very fluffy. The length of their hair can sometimes reach 50 cm. Modern industry has learned to process rabbit fluff by adding acrylic fibers to it even at the production stage. And only then, mixing camel or sheep’s wool with the finished yarn. Woolen threads from pile of rabbits with the inscription "Angora" can be found today on store shelves.
The quality of Angora fluff
A big minus of products from angora is the impossibility of washing such products in cars. It is necessary to clean things only with mild, gentle detergents that are designed for any woolen things. In this case, you can only wash with your hands. Angora wool is not always the same. Its quality is affected by the type of animal from which it is made from the pile, and the purity of this very coat. It is worth noting that the last factor is one of the most important. He determines the price of fluff. Dirty hair is worth a dime.
Factors determining the grade of yarn
So, the fluff of perfect purity belongs to first-class. But here the important condition is the length of the hair - it should be at least 6 cm. 70% of the body of the animal is covered with this fluff. If the hair is clean, but its length does not reach 6 cm, then such wool can be considered second-rate. Such fluff is observed on the limbs and abdomen of the animal. The cost drops by almost 20% compared with the first grade. And finally, felt down, which is cut off the neck, costs only 15% of the cost of the first grade.
The hair of Angora rabbits is 98.5% clean, since the amount of sebaceous glands is limited by nature on the animal’s body. And on top of that, the animals successfully clean themselves. If we compare with sheep’s wool, then due to the presence of sweaty secretions, it is only half clean. The haircut or shaving of rabbits in order to obtain wool is carried out approximately once every 3 months, and the hair is combed out 2 times a year.
Advantages of Angora Rabbit Wool Production
Woolen hair is of very high quality. Its approximate length is from 6 to 12 cm. Down hair is much shorter, but much warmer and softer. They are very difficult to keep in a thread. They fall out of the finished product. Many faced in everyday life with the fact that Angora wool “falls off”. But this property, most likely, is a plus of fluff, rather than its minus. After all, this factor is used with great success for the production of softest felt.
On an industrial scale, only white rabbits are raised, as their wool lends itself to further dyeing. But an interesting fact is that in India, farmers craft animals of color in a crafty way, getting a pile of different palettes in muted tones without using a further dyeing method. The fluff of the Angora rabbit is hollow, which makes it light, thereby increasing thermal insulation properties. Therefore, angora yarn is so popular. Wool has always been valued for its unique properties.
Features of the content of Angora rabbits
A prerequisite for the producer of angora is to keep the animals clean, since the wool goes into production for processing without prior washing. Caring for Angora rabbits requires a high level of professionalism and great knowledge in this area. Even small erroneous actions can lead to the loss of adult animals and, consequently, to large losses. Indeed, in order to compensate for the loss, it will be necessary to raise at least a one-year-old animal. A very delicate procedure is the collection of fluff, because careless sorting leads to damage to the pile. And to return to its original properties and beauty will already be simply impossible.
A very important condition for collecting high-quality fluff is the nutrition of rabbits. It must be full, rich and diverse. This directly affects the quantity and quality of the collected fluff. Also climatic conditions of keeping animals are no less important. High temperatures and excess sun will not affect fluff in the best way. Both in quality and quantity, the result will be scarce. But even in countries with cold winters, rabbits will not feel comfortable. The best option in harsh conditions will be buildings that protect animals from the cold. But you need to remember that in this situation, after cutting, the Angora rabbit needs special care.
How to care for Angora wool products
Nothing warms you on cold winter evenings like woolen socks knitted with your own hands. But for them and other wool products to serve as long as possible, they must be properly looked after. There are no special recommendations in comparison with other types of wool. The product can only be washed by hand with the use of special liquid detergent powders, drying is allowed in the unfolded position on a horizontal plane - this, perhaps, is all the rules of care. Observing them, you can understand that it simply cannot be warmer, softer and more pleasant than a product from Angora wool.
And it does not really matter from the mixtures of which fibers the thread is made. The main factor should be naturalness, and not artificial fake under the big names "Mohair" or "Angora", as is now customary in Turkey or China. The softest, natural fluff of tender angora can be recognized only by a true connoisseur and a true connoisseur of high-quality, natural fibers.