Fiber Definitions — textile fibers, yarn fibers and fiber properties from Apparel Search
Angora wool, or Angora fiber, refers to the downy coat produced by the Angora rabbit. While their names are similar, Angora fiber is distinct from mohair, which comes from the Angora goat. Angora is known for its softness, its low micron count, meaning thin fibers, and what knitters call a halo, or fluffiness. It is also known for its silky texture. Good quality angora fiber is around 12 to 16 microns in diameter and can cost around 10 to 16 dollars per ounce.
Angora wool or Angora fiber refers to the downy coat produced by the Angora rabbit. While their names are similar, Angora fiber is distinct from mohair, which comes from the Angora goat. Angora is known for its softness, low micron count (i.e. thin fibers), and what knitters refer to as a halo (fluffiness). It is also known for its silky texture.
Angora rabbits produce coats in a variety of colors, from white to black. Good quality angora fiber is around 12-16 microns in diameter, and can cost around 10 - 16 dollars per ounce. It felts very easily, even on the animal itself if the animal is not groomed frequently.
The fiber is normally blended with wool to give the yarn elasticity, as angora fiber is not naturally elastic. The blend decreases the softness and halo as well as the price of the finished object.
The Angora rabbit
There are four different ARBA recognized types of Angora rabbit: English, French, Satin and Giant. There are many other breeds, one of the more common being German. Each breed produces different quality and quantity of fiber, and has a different range of colors.
Angora fur is produced in Europe, Chile, China and the United States. Harvesting occurs up to four times a year (about every 4 months) and is collected by plucking, shearing, or collection of the molting fur.
Most breeds of Angora rabbits molt with their natural growth cycle about every four months. Many producers of the fiber pluck the fur of these breeds. Plucking is, in effect, pulling out the molted fur. Plucking ensures a minimum of guard hair, and the fur is not as matted when plucked as when it is collected from the rabbit's cage. However, plucking a rabbit is time consuming, so some producers shear the rabbit instead. While this results in slightly lower quality fleece as the guard hairs are included, it does take less time and results in more fleece. Also, not all breeds of angora molt, and if the rabbit does not naturally molt, it cannot be plucked. German angoras do not molt.
The rabbits must be groomed at least once or twice a week to prevent the fur from matting and felting. There is also a danger that a rabbit will ingest its own molted fur; unlike a cat, a rabbit cannot easily be rid of the build up.
The premium 1st quality wool is taken from the back and upper sides of the rabbit. This is usually the longest and cleanest fiber on the rabbit. There should not be hay or vegetable matter in the fiber. Second quality is from the neck and lower sides and may have some vegetable matter. Third quality is the buttocks and legs and any other areas that easily felt and are of shorter length. Fourth quality is totally unsalvageable and consists of the larger felted bits or stained fiber. Third and fourth quality are perfect for cutting up for the birds to use in lining their nests. With daily brushing felting of the fiber can be avoided, increasing the usable portion of fiber.
The director, writer, and actor Edward D. Wood, Jr. was known to have a fetish for angora wool sweaters, referenced in his film "Glen or Glenda?". Also, in the film "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", directed by Ed Wood fan Tim Burton, there is a scene in Willy Wonka's factory where pink Angora sheep are being shorn. Wonka (here played by Johnny Depp) says "I'd rather not talk about this one", which is a reference to Depp's role as Wood in a previous Burton film.
| The above article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/angora_wool). Modified by Apparel Search 8/28/08 |
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Quality in angora is graded by position on the animal and by cleanliness. The premium first quality wool is taken from the back and upper sides of the rabbit; it is usually the longest and cleanest fiber on the animal, and there should not be hay or vegetable matter in it. Second quality comes from the neck and lower sides and may have some vegetable matter. Third quality is the buttocks and legs and any other areas that easily felt and are of shorter length. Fourth quality is totally unsalvageable, consisting of the larger felted bits or stained fiber. Felting is the standing risk of the fiber: angora felts very easily, even on the animal itself if the animal is not groomed frequently, so the rabbits must be groomed at least once or twice a week to prevent the fur from matting and felting. With daily brushing, felting can be avoided and the usable portion of fiber increases, which is why the same rabbit can yield very different amounts of saleable wool under different keeping.
Angora fur is produced in Europe, Chile, China and the United States. Each of the recognised breeds, English, French, Satin and Giant, plus the common German breed, produces a different quality and quantity of fiber and a different range of colours, and angora rabbits produce coats in a variety of colours from white to black. Not all breeds molt: German angoras do not molt, and a rabbit that does not naturally molt cannot be plucked, so shearing is the only harvest for those animals. There is also a husbandry reason for regular collection, since a rabbit can ingest its own molted fur and, unlike a cat, cannot easily be rid of the build-up. In use, angora wool appears in apparel such as sweaters and suitings, in knitting yarn, and in felting, the last of these turning the fiber's greatest handling weakness, its readiness to felt, into the making process itself.
No. Angora wool comes from the Angora rabbit, while mohair comes from the Angora goat. The shared name reflects the shared Ankara origin of the animals, but the fibers, animals and handling are different.
Angora fiber is not naturally elastic, so the fiber is normally blended with wool to give the yarn elasticity. Blending decreases the softness and the halo of the finished object, and also decreases its price.
Harvesting occurs up to four times a year, about every four months, and is collected by plucking, shearing, or collecting the molting fur. Most breeds molt with their natural growth cycle about every four months; plucking the molted fur gives a minimum of guard hair, while shearing is faster and yields more fleece at slightly lower quality.