What is Mohair?
Mohair is fine and lustrous and has many of the good qualities of wool. It’s fairly soft and can absorb moisture yet still feel warm and dry. Knitted on a large needle, it’s lightweight and airy. La Gran is spun with a strong bindera combination of wool and nylonto secure it. The fluffy surface is the result of a good brushing.
Mohair (the fiber) comes from Angora goats (the animal). Angora goats are small and friendly, and they’re shorn two times a year. Their fleece makes a yarn that is soft, lustrous, lightweight, and warm. Most often, mohair is spun with a binder for durability. Picture a two-part yarn: The fuzzy part, what you see and touch, and a core to support the fuzzy part. In La Gran, the fuzz is 100% mohair, and it is worked into a core made from equal parts of wool (for softness and warmth) and nylon (for strength). Because of its structure, La Gran doesn’t shed, a blessing when you’re wearing a light-color sweater with a dark skirt. And the yarn has bodyit’s silky smooth to touch and wear, but not so drapey that your sweater will lose its shape. I think I mentioned this beforebut it’s worth saying againLa Gran comes in 42 beautiful colors!
CEY’s La Gran comes from angora goats in Africa, but if you’d like to read about one woman’s small herd of angora goats, see The Goat Lady of Harmony in the Summer 2006 issue of Wild Fibers.