The Fibrecrafts range of these rich hair fibres which include Alpaca, Camel Down, Cashmere, Mohair and Yak Down. They can be used for spinning soft, fluffy yarns and in feltmaking. The fibres do not felt easily as the scales along the fibre are much further apart than the scales on wool, but felting can be achieved using felting needles. The natural fibre colours are generally used in their natural state for spinning, knitting and weaving but can be coloured effectively with Acid dyes. Results will depend on the shade of the base colour.
Alpaca
Alpaca fibre is similar to mohair and comes from the fleece of an Alpaca which is a member of the Llama family. It’s long, strong, fleece produces a soft and woolly fibre which can be spun into soft, silky and lustrous yarns.
Camel Down
The Bactrian camel is the most commonly used for its coat, which is comprised of an outer layer of long, coarse guard hairs and a much finer, short layer of down. The fibre is gathered by hand when the animal sheds its coat in the spring and the down is separated out from the guard hairs. Camel down is much lighter than wool, very soft and ideal for shawls and knitwear.
Cashmere
The Cashmere fibre comes from the soft downy undercoat hairs of the Kashmir goat. It is an extremely tedious and costly process to dehair the fleece. However the excellent, superfine fibres, giving the cashmere yarn colour and feel, are worth the expense. The resultant soft yarn is ideal for knitting and weaving sweaters and other items of apparel.
Mohair
Mohair fibre comes from the curly, high sheen fleeces of the Angora goat. It is a silky, lustrous fibre which spins like wool and is often blended with it. It can be spun using varying amounts of twist to achieve soft yarns for knitting and more robust yarns for weaving rugs and furnishings.
Yak
A curly mass of surprisingly soft fibre harvested from the Yak. It is usually dark brown to black in colour and similar to cashmere in texture. It therefore produces a soft, luxurious yarn.