Animal Fibres
Learn about the beautiful animal fibres of the world.
Wool
It is the fur that protects sheep and insulates them against cold and heat, keeping their bodies at an even temperature. The wool fibre is composed of keratin, the same protein contained in human hair. It is one of the best insulators, because of the little pockets of air that are trapped in its characteristic crimps. The more fine and crimped the wool is the better it works as an insulator. Wool is a hygroscopic fibre which can absorb up to 30% of its weight in moisture, without looking wet; it absorbs water vapour stopping the body of the wearer to come in contact with wet clothing; it is also dirt and stain resistant because its surface is water repellent. The wool fibre is elastic, crease-resistant, and therefore highly wear resistant. There are several sheep species that produce wool fibres with different length, fineness, brightness and strength.
The breed ‘merino’ is the one that produces the most precious wool; it is originally from Spain. Its greatest breeding areas are now in Australia, Argentina and New Zealand. Merino wool has a shorter fibre but a very small diameter, making it more precious. It is very soft and smooth, tightly crimped and it is used to produce very fine textiles.
There are also other native or crossbred sheep breeds that produce less fine and crimped fibres, which are used for other products such as carpets and blankets.
Cashmere
Cashmere goats are specially bred in China, Mongolia, Iran and Afghanistan. The fleece of this goat is characterized by long and coarse hair. However, in winter the animal grows under its hair a short, soft and fine fleece; cashmere is this very fine under- coat that protects goats against the extreme temperatures of the regions in which they live. This undercoat is collected during spring by combing and it provides a precious raw material for the textile industry. Naturally, the raw fibres thus harvested still contain a considerable amount of coarse hair (called ‘jarre’) that is eliminated with a processing called ‘de-hairing’.
Traditionally, cashmere is not very standardised in terms of classification, codifications and comparative technical data. Generally fibres are divided according to their origin: cashmere from China is the most precious because it is the finest, with a fibre diameter of about 14.5-15.5 microns, followed by that from Mongolia; cashmere from Iran and Afghanistan is the most ordinary. The cashmere fibre could also be classified by the colour range: from white to light brown and grey.
Cashmere
Cashmere goats are specially bred in China, Mongolia, Iran and Afghanistan. The fleece of this goat is characterized by long and coarse hair. However, in winter the animal grows under its hair a short, soft and fine fleece; cashmere is this very fine under- coat that protects goats against the extreme temperatures of the regions in which they live. This undercoat is collected during spring by combing and it provides a precious raw material for the textile industry. Naturally, the raw fibres thus harvested still contain a considerable amount of coarse hair (called ‘jarre’) that is eliminated with a processing called ‘de-hairing’.
Traditionally, cashmere is not very standardised in terms of classification, codifications and comparative technical data. Generally fibres are divided according to their origin: cashmere from China is the most precious because it is the finest, with a fibre diameter of about 14.5-15.5 microns, followed by that from Mongolia; cashmere from Iran and Afghanistan is the most ordinary. The cashmere fibre could also be classified by the colour range: from white to light brown and grey.
Mohair
Mohair fibre is obtained from the fleece of Angora goat, originally from Anatolia. The fleece of this animal is made of wool fibres: the most precious hair is long, between 12 and 25 centimetres, slightly curly and bright like silk. Usually in a very bright silver white, sometimes it may be ash-grey, rosy, brown or black. The animal is carefully shorn twice a year and each exemplar supplies on the average 1.5 kg of wool; the hair spinning operation depends on the age of the animal because the quality of the hair changes while the animal gets older.
The fibre is classified on the base of its length and fineness, which usually varies between 24 and 60 micron depending on the age of the goat. The fleece of the young ones (Kid Mohair) is the more precious with an average fineness of less than 24 micron; the fibre of the kid mohair is used for high quality products like outerwear, while the fibre of older goats usually serves to produce carpets and blankets. Today, South Africa is the major producer of this fibre, with nearly 60% of the world production, followed by the United States and Turkey.
Camel
CAMELS typically live in arid and cold areas, distributed all over Central Asia, from the Persian Gulf to China and Japan. These animals have always been used by man for their wool, meat, milk and as means of transport. Their fleece is long, soft and fine with an undercoat which is collected in spring with the use of special combs. The colour of the fine, soft and slightly curly hair is light fawn. Its fineness varies between 10 and 30 micron, with an average of 17-23 micron and its length is between 4 and 12 cm. Usually, the male camel supplies 5 kg of fibre a year while the female 3.5 kg. The younger animals up to one year are ‘blond’ or nearly white and their hair is particularly soft and precious. The best quality of Camel fibre comes from Siberia, Mongolia and China, and is mainly used to pro- duce textiles for outerwear, like very warm coats which are at the same time very light.
Camel
CAMELS typically live in arid and cold areas, distributed all over Central Asia, from the Persian Gulf to China and Japan. These animals have always been used by man for their wool, meat, milk and as means of transport. Their fleece is long, soft and fine with an undercoat which is collected in spring with the use of special combs. The colour of the fine, soft and slightly curly hair is light fawn. Its fineness varies between 10 and 30 micron, with an average of 17-23 micron and its length is between 4 and 12 cm. Usually, the male camel supplies 5 kg of fibre a year while the female 3.5 kg. The younger animals up to one year are ‘blond’ or nearly white and their hair is particularly soft and precious. The best quality of Camel fibre comes from Siberia, Mongolia and China, and is mainly used to pro- duce textiles for outerwear, like very warm coats which are at the same time very light.
Guanaco
The GUANACO is similar to the llama and is widespread in South America, Peru, Ecuador, Chile and Argentina. Like the llama it is double coated. It has a coarse guard hair and a soft undercoat, which is finer. The colour changes very little, usually ranging from a light brown to dark cinnamon with shading to white in the undersides and in the neck.
Vicuña
VICUÑA is the smallest of the South America camelids, which produce the most precious of the special fibres; vicuñas live in the Andean Cordillera at elevations of 4000 to 6000 meters. At freezing temperatures it produces a long and silky fleece and a very tight under- coat made of fine, short and very soft fibres that are the finest animal fibres in the world with a diameter of 12.5 micron. Vicuña is a protected animal by CITES: only small quantities of fibre are available, with a production of 5-6000 kg fibre per annum. The fibre comes from animals living in the wild state at 4000 metres over the sea level; the shearing is made only on animals with minimum 3 cm fibre length because the hair, which serves to protect the animal from the cold weather, grows very slowly.
Vicuña
VICUÑA is the smallest of the South America camelids, which produce the most precious of the special fibres; vicuñas live in the Andean Cordillera at elevations of 4000 to 6000 meters. At freezing temperatures it produces a long and silky fleece and a very tight under- coat made of fine, short and very soft fibres that are the finest animal fibres in the world with a diameter of 12.5 micron. Vicuña is a protected animal by CITES: only small quantities of fibre are available, with a production of 5-6000 kg fibre per annum. The fibre comes from animals living in the wild state at 4000 metres over the sea level; the shearing is made only on animals with minimum 3 cm fibre length because the hair, which serves to protect the animal from the cold weather, grows very slowly.
Alpaca
The ALPACA has not a particularly fine fleece but a thick, silky one with a gradation of more than 20 colours from white, light and dark brown, grey and black; the undercoat is instead much finer and softer. Alpacas are shorn once a year between November and March and have two breeds: Huacayo and Suri. Huacayo is the most numerous breed (nearly 90%), while the Suri type is more rare and slightly smaller with a special long, shiny and silky hair.
Llama
The LLAMA is the biggest of the South American Camelids. Since the Inca period Llamas have been used for transportation, due to their weight and build. The Llama fleece is combed using a process that eliminates the coarser fibre, providing a long, soft, shiny fibre, in many colours, and is very much prized by the textile industry.
Llama
The LLAMA is the biggest of the South American Camelids. Since the Inca period Llamas have been used for transportation, due to their weight and build. The Llama fleece is combed using a process that eliminates the coarser fibre, providing a long, soft, shiny fibre, in many colours, and is very much prized by the textile industry.
Yak
Yak are native to the high plateaus of Central Asia such as Mongolia, the Himalayas, Tibet as well as some parts of Russia. Yaks thrive in cold and harsh climate conditions. Their coat consists of three types of layers. The outer layer is the guard hair which is long coarse hair with a micron of over 50. The mid-layer consists of shorter hair with a micron range of 25-50 micron. The undercoat is called yak down and has a micron range between 15-20. Majority of yaks have a medium to dark browns and black coloured coat. Rarer are grey and white coloured yaks. Each yak produces only 1 kg of down per year, which makes it a rare and very precious fibre.
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