Mohair, produced by the Angora goat, is sometimes referred to as The Diamond

Fibre. It belongs to the group of fibres referred to as speciality or luxury animal fibres (Fig
1), and is one of the most ancient fibres known to man. Mohair, derived from the Arabic word
Makhayar (Mukhayar or Mukhaya), is the fleece of the single coated Angora goat, Capra
hircus aegagrus (Fig. 2), named after the Turkish province of Ankara (Angora or Ancyra).
The Angora is thought to have originated in the Asian Himalayas (Asia Minor) or Highlands
of Tibet, from where it spread to the Middle East, eventually finding a new home on the
Turkish plains. The birth of the mohair industry took place in Ankara, Turkey, which was also
the first country to supply mohair as a raw material. The first Angora goats to leave Turkey
went to South Africa in 1838.

Figure 1: Luxury Animal

Fibres

Figure 2: Angora goats (Mohair South Africa)

The
Angora goat is
regarded
as
unique
amongst goats,
in
that
it
is
essentially
single coated,
with the fibres
from
the
primary and secondary follicles not differing very widely, and it does not moult (i.e. shed its

fibres annually), its fibres growing continuously throughout the year. For centuries, mohair
has been regarded as one of the most luxurious and best quality fibres available to man. It is
generally a long, straight (uncrimped but often wavy or curly), smooth and naturally lustrous
fibre, the predominant natural colour of mohair being white. Mohair is characterised by, and
renowned for, its outstanding lustre, smoothness, durability (hard wearing), elasticity,
resilience, resistance to soiling, soil shedding, setting, strength, abrasion resistance, comfort,
and moisture management (including moisture absorption), as well for its pleasing handle,
and relatively low flammability, felting and pilling. It can be dyed to deep, brilliant and fast
colours, It is a long life fibre, but will biodegrade in soil, with life-cycle benefits.
Mohair has proved extremely popular in many applications, notably knitwear,
blankets, furnishings, upholstery, curtains, carpets and suitings, Its outstanding properties,
such as resilience and durability (hard wearing), make it particularly suitable for household
textiles, such as upholstery fabrics, curtains and carpets, it being considered one of the most
durable fibres, particularly natural fibres. Nevertheless, because of its coarseness relative to
most other luxury animal fibres, it has some limitations in certain close to the skin apparel
applications, although using long brushed surface fibres can mostly reduce, or even
overcome, these limitations.
-------------------------------------------------------------

In practice, the quality of greasy mohair is described as a combination of style and character,
freedom from kemp, lustre, handle, yolk and uniformity of length and fineness, the presence
of kemp (or objectionable medullated fibres) being one of the most undesirable quality
characteristic of mohair. Handle is largely determined by fineness, although a soft natural
yolk and oleaginous dip can also improve softness of handle. Mohair quality characteristics
of economic importance are fineness (fibre diameter), length, style and character,
contamination (kemp, coloured fibres and vegetable matter), and clean yield, lustre and
uniformity in general. Fibre diameter is particularly important, as is the presence and level of
kemp, with length having a smaller, though still important, effect on price and processing.

The fleece of the Angora goat, when shorn, contains natural and applied impurities; typically
a total of 10 to 15% of non-fibre being present. The sweat or suint, the water soluble
component, and grease (wax or surface lipids) combined are termed yolk. The grease (wax,
called lanolin when purified) is secreted by the sebaceous glands and the sweat (suint) by the
sudoriferous glands. Other natural impurities contained in mohair include sand and dust (i.e.
inorganic matter), vegetable matter (e.g. burr, grass, seed) and moisture. Applied impurities
include branding fluids and dipping compounds. Generally, mohair contains considerably less
grease than wool (4 to 6% on average, compared with an average of about 15% for Merino
wool). Its wax is also more oxidised than that of wool, making it more difficult to remove
during scouring. Mohair from Kids and Young Goats contains more grease than that from
Adults, with the grease content higher in winter than in summer, the average grease content
being 4.5% for summer hair and 5.8% for the winter hair, with a melting point of 39C, and
also higher towards the root (e.g. tip = 2.0%, middle = 4.6% and root = 6.0%).

Some typical chemical constants for mohair grease are given in Table 1.

Table 1: Typical Chemical Constants for Mohair Grease

Characteristics

Value

Wax (grease) content of fleece (%)

Saponification value (mg KOH/g)

125 135

Acid value

14.5

Iodine value

15

Acids (%)

55

Unsaponifiable fraction (%)

45

Ester value

115

Mohair, by virtue of its open fleece structure on the goat, particularly that of Adult goats, is
more exposed to weathering than wool, the tips of the mohair fibres covering the back of the
animal being more prone to damage by sunlight or weathering, especially during the summer
months. This damage has an influence on the dyeing properties of the affected fibre part, as
well as on the fibre strength.

Clean yield (i.e. the percentage of actual fibre plus commercially allowed moisture content in
raw mohair) varies between about 80 and 90% in most fleece classes, but may be as low as
60% in some outsorts, such as lox (locks), the remaining portion being made up of grease,
dirt, dust and sweat. Mohair base (i.e. the amount of clean dry fibre, free from all impurities,
expressed as a percentage of the greasy fibre mass) is converted into the International Wool
Textile Organisation (IWTO) scoured yield. This relates the tested yield to normal
commercial yields for scoured greasy mohair. This yield is calculated from the mohair base to
include all vegetable matter, standard residuals of grease and dirt, which would normally be
retained in commercial scouring, and allows for a moisture regain of 17%, which means that
yields of over 100% are theoretically possible.

Some average or typical values and ranges of various mohair properties are given in Table 2.

Table 2: Some Average or Typical Values and Ranges of Various Mohair Properties
Property
Range

Fibre Density (g/cm3)

1.27 1.31

Average/Typical value

1.3

Diameter (m)

20 40

30

CV (%)

20 33

26

Staple length (mm)

80 180

130

Medullation (%)

0.3 2.8

1.0

Curls per 10cm (wave

frequency)

2.5 6.5

4.5

02

0.3

0.3 0.6

0.45

2.0 8.0

1.8 4.0

2.5

3.3 6.2

5.2

VM (%)
Ash content (%)
Grease (%)
Suint (%)
pH of suint
65 75

70

70 95

85

10 13

11.5

10 24

16

5 12

45 75

60

10 11

10.5

Mohair Base (%)

Scoured/Clean yield (%)
Compressibility (mm)*
Alkali solubility (%) **
Acid solubility (%) ***
Urea bisulphite solubility (%)
Cystine (%)

Crystalline fraction

0.2 0.4

0.32

Swelling in water (%)

36 46

40

Regain at 65% RH (%)

14.0 15.0

14.5

Water pick up (absorption) (%) 36 44

40

Cuticle scale height (m)

0.2 0.8

0.4

Cuticle scale frequency

4-8

(per 100 m)

*SAWTRI Compressibility Test

**0.1n NaOH
***4.5n HCl

Style and character are judged subjectively, high quality style being described as solid
(tightly) twisted ringlets (staples or locks), the curl or ringlet frequency being a measure of
style, while character is described as the waviness or crimp frequency in the staple. Style
without character, or vice versa, is undesirable, a good balance between these two
characteristics being considered to be of paramount importance. Winter hair tends to exhibit a
shorter and more variable wavelength of its curls than Summer hair, the pH of its aqueous
extract also tends to be lower. Nevertheless, no effect of season per s on processing
performance has been observed, season only having an effect insofar that it affects the
measureable mohair characteristics, such as diameter, length, style and character.

Burr and grass seed contaminants of mohair represent a particularly serious problem, and
result in severe price penalties, and, where possible, burrs or excessive vegetable matter in
the fleece have to be removed. Coloured (e.g. black or red) fibres, if present, could affect the
finished cloth, particularly if light shades are dyed, and thereby the value of the mohair. Urine
and certain types of soil and vegetable matter contain substances which stain mohair
permanently, these affecting the dyeing and value of the mohair and the quality of the final
product. Precautions must be taken to limit such stains, particularly urine stains.

Objective measurement

Since the textile processing performance, applications and general quality, and therefore
value and price, of mohair are largely determined by the measureable characteristics of the
raw (greasy) mohair, it is hardly surprising that considerable effort has been directed over the
years towards the objective (i.e. instrumental) measurement of these characteristics in greasy
mohair to replace the subjective techniques traditionally used. As a result, it is possible today
to measure the most important quality related characteristics, such as fibre diameter and
yield, objectively with a high degree of accuracy.

Properties that need ultimately to be objectively measured, to characterise greasy mohair

quality completely, include the following:

1. Fibre diameter and its distribution (variability, e.g. CV)

2. Yield (i.e. amount of clean fibre)
3. Staple (or fibre) length and strength, and their variability
4. Vegetable matter content and type
5. Inorganic matter content (e.g. sand, dirt etc.)
6. Colour
7. Lustre
8. Medullation/kemp (objectionable medullated fibres)
9. Style/character