Mohair - in the very sound of this Turkish word meaning “the best goat hair” or, more simply, the wool of Angora goats, the essence of this magnificent material, its softness, fluffiness and tenderness is determined. For many years, it was Turkey that was the only supplier of mohair fiber to the markets of Europe and America, it was she who owned the exclusive right to breed Angora goats. The coat of these wonderful goats is really gorgeous. Thin and delicate, extremely fluffy and warm, it falls from the goat's backs and sides with long twenty-five-centimeter shiny strands.
The quality and value of a mohair is determined by the age of the animal with which it is cut. The most tender and thin mohair (Kid Mohair) is sheared from young kids, whose age has not reached even six months. A thicker but extremely soft mohair (Goating Mohair) is obtained after the second shearing of goats that have reached the age of two, and finally, the most durable and thicker fiber (Adult Mohair) is obtained from the hair of adult goats. The properties of natural mohair wool are amazing. It is durable, fluffy, has healing properties, is able to repel moisture, warm in cold and cool in heat, in a word, this is, without exaggeration, the best wool for spinning and knitting. The excellent qualities of mohair fiber make it very expensive, so often mohair is mixed with other types of wool or artificial materials, which reduces its cost price, but also reduces the quality of the thread. On sale, there are more often skeins of mohair, the composition of which is 50% sheep’s wool or acrylic, and 50% mohair. In addition, under the brand name "mohair" you can often find skeins exclusively from synthetic threads.
Knitting mohair
Knitting from a mohair is a very pleasant activity. The beauty of the thread, its long thin and shiny hairs give the knitted fabric an amazing appeal. For knitting, thick knitting needles or a hook are often used, then the structure of the fabric turns out to be thinner, transparent and light, and due to the fact that the pile of the mohair yarn is long, the fabric itself comes out smooth, uniform and warm.
You can knit anything from a mohair thread - sweaters, dresses, coats, berets and hats, mittens and scarves. Knitting from mohair can be the easiest weaving, even from a combination of front and back loops, because the thread itself is very beautiful and does not “require” complex patterns. Various braids and simple lace are very beautifully obtained from mohair yarn. When choosing a model for knitting, you should pay attention to its style. The subtlety, light transparency and ductility of the mohair cloth are perfectly played out in volumetric models with flowing lines, additional volumetric details, for example, a large collar, bow or scarf, pleats and frills.
Knitting a model of mohair with an elastic band on the hips or waist should begin with thin knitting needles. The elastic at the bottom of the product or on cuffs, knitted from mohair, often stretches, loses elasticity, so the whole product takes on a stretched, shapeless appearance. If you tie the elastic on the cuffs and at the bottom of the blouse with very thin knitting needles (you can add a thin cotton or wool thread), it will remain elastic and dense, even with prolonged wear. This should be taken into account when knitting mittens, hats and berets with a dense rim.
Knitting from a thin mohair looks very thick with very thick knitting needles. Just the front and back loops create an openwork pattern; the canvas is transparent with a thin haze created by the long and delicate fleece of angora. Volumetric transparent capes and tunics, long jackets and cardigans, as well as openwork shawls and stoles, knitted from a thin mohair thread with very thick knitting needles or crochet, look especially elegant.
For knitting blouses and cardigans, it is better to choose mohair yarn with a high content of Angora wool. The more high-quality wool in the composition of the knitting thread, the warmer, softer and softer the product will be. For scarves and hats, mixed yarn with synthetic thread or the addition of sheep wool is quite suitable. Such a thread holds its shape better, more dense, elastic and taut.
Knitting from a mohair is a very common type of needlework. You can find many models with a detailed description of the work on the Internet on knitting sites, as well as in numerous needlework magazines.