Mohair
Mohair is one of the oldest fibres used by man, dating back to the 8th century.
The yarn is produced from the wool of the Angora goat. The name is often confused with Angora yarn which comes from the fur of the Angora rabbit.
The goat wool is removed by shearing twice a year, with 50% of the world’s production of mohair coming from South Africa.
The Angora wool is mainly composed of keratin (like our hair and nails) and does not felt like sheep wool. It can often be worn successfully by those with true wool allergies, i.e. reacting to the lanolin in the wool. Mohair yarn is very insulating, flame-resistant, crease-resistant, and takes dye well.
The hair grows in diameter as the goat ages; the finest mohair yarn is made from the wool of young (kid) goats.
Hand-dyed yarns
Perran Yarns includes a supersoft laceweight kid mohair yarn blended with silk.