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pugsweater
Gabber Extraordinaire
452 Posts |
 Posted - 11/01/2005 : 09:10:29 AM
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i've recently dyed some mohair top and started spinning them thin last night.
i'm curious as to what other spinners do with their mohair:
are there many mohair lovers out here?
do you spin neat mohair or do you prefer to blend them with other fibers?
Pugknits Blog |
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yarnlover
Permanent Resident
1729 Posts |
Posted - 11/01/2005 : 10:45:48 AM
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I bought a 1 lb. bump of mohair a few years ago. It's dyed in the most beautiful colors and I couldn't resist it even though I had no idea what to do with it. Last year I finally got around to trying to spin it, and got very frustrated as it kept drifting apart. I know that I was not putting in enough twist, but at that time, I just put it back in my stash. Some months later I saw the vendor who sold it to me and she agreed that I needed to put in more twist. I've yet to get that mohair back out for spinning, and part of the reason is I don't have the perfect project in mind. This mohair is top and I suppose I could blend it with some other fiber, but part of me doesn't want to do anything to dilute the colors.
I do love mohair, but my favorite top or roving is a blend. I'm spinning up some roving that is 70% Ramboullet/30% Mohair. It's a dream to spin and I think I'm going to really love this yarn and am anxious to knit up some mittens and a scarf.
See My Stuff: Here
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pugsweater
Gabber Extraordinaire
452 Posts |
Posted - 11/01/2005 : 12:08:07 PM
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exactly,kim....i had to put much twist and the yarn feels more like worsted type yarn for weaving than for knitting. the fiber is so stark straight, but the luster is beautiful and shows the color so well. i can understand the bump purchase....:)
so, until i finish the 5 oz and wash it, i dunno if it will bloom a little to make it slightly more fluffy/puffy. but the mohair fiber is sticking out of the single, giving me a prickly feeling. so i wondered if most spinners use it for blending rather than spinning the top as is.
i love <url="http://www.theknittinggarden.com/js-rarecomfort.htm">jo sharp's mohair</url>......
Pugknits Blog |
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glassgirl
New Pal
USA
43 Posts |
Posted - 11/14/2005 : 4:05:45 PM
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I've just been reading all about spinning mohair in Spin Off back issues...it seems like its very simple to spin a mixture of mohair and wool, but it also seems possible to spin it by itself. But very tight and very thin. And then after plying, it does bloom. I think you can make it bloom more by lightly brushing it out.
But I wonder if you couldn't do something like core spinning tiny tufts of top onto a fairly fine wool or maybe silk single, and if necessary to prevent shedding, spin a thread over the whole thing like with boucle.
I have a little sliver of mohair and I'm just waiting for the right moment to experiment with it.
Martha |
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Destiny
Warming Up
69 Posts |
Posted - 11/14/2005 : 4:36:00 PM
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I have a silly question what is the diffrence between sliver, top and roving?
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BessH
Permanent Resident
3095 Posts |
Posted - 11/14/2005 : 6:09:00 PM
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I used mohair top to make a wonderful pinkish boucle yarn. I put photos of the yarn on my blog - look in the October 2005 archives.
Bess
http://likethequeen.blogspot.com |
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RoseByAny
Permanent Resident
USA
12598 Posts |
Posted - 11/14/2005 : 6:15:07 PM
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I'm playing with a mohair blend right now, and in fact one of my cats is a mohair policeman - he can find the smallest bit of mohair in anything you're working with. (he's actually fond of any goat fiber, silk, and corriedale sheep, but mohair is his absolute favorite) There are pictures on my blog today of what he does when the case is solved.
I'm finding my roving tricky to get even, and I'm glad to hear you all post because I'm horribly out of shape for spinning, so I didn't know if the difficulties were from the fiber or in poor craftsmanship on my part.
Always happy to blame the fiber rather than myself. 
"Choose your friends by their character and your socks by their color. Choosing your socks by their character makes no sense, and choosing your friends by their color is unthinkable."
http://RoseByAny.BlogSpot.Com |
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Momma78239
Permanent Resident
USA
4859 Posts |
Posted - 11/15/2005 : 1:44:31 PM
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I spindle-spun an ounce of kid mohair a few months ago. I barely twisted it enough to stay together, and had to be very careful when plying. I used it for a rolled hat brim, and then brushed it with a brass brush when it was all knitted. It bloomed beautifully and looks gorgeous!
-WendyM
And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen. Exodus 35:25 |
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petiteflower
Chatty Knitter
USA
297 Posts |
Posted - 11/15/2005 : 3:59:43 PM
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I like spinning mohair blended with wool in top or roving form, and I love the relaxed drape that mohair gives to knitted garments like shawls and scarves. Mittens, hats, socks, they all look so casual and friendly with that mohair "floppiness". I did spin up a pound of straight mohair top a few years back and found that it took a little bit of a different knack to spin it because it is so slick and has no memory. But it is so lustrous and the colors that my mohair top had been dyed into had me intrigued enough to finally push me into my own dying operation. I ended up plying the mohair with some natural colored jacob roving and have yet to knit it up. When I finally get to it after it has matured to perfection, I can savor it and say..."2001, that was a very good year!
As far as mohair seeming a bit prickly to the skin, it is going to make a big big difference how fine the mohair fiber is and this is going to vary from animal to animal. In general, the kids who are under a year old have the finest silkiest fleeces. The yearlings are next to finest and then you have the young adults and adults. I have been scouring 3 adult mohair fleeces and there is one of the three that is much softer than the other two. All are silky-feeling and very lustrous and "seem" but to wear against the skin they would be pretty irritating. I'm going to use this mohair in socks for my husband because he wears thin cotton socks under his handknit wool socks, and I want to make a couple of big carrying bags like the Tibetans tie onto their yaks! |
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