STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Yes angora is rabbit hair.  IIRC, it is similar to lambs wool.  They basially shave the rabbit for its fur.

Here is a small article I found:

Angora wool is the lightest natural fibre known. The hollow structure of some of its fibres makes it ideal for thermal clothing. ANGORA fibre can only be produced by angora rabbits. (Angora goats produce mohair.) The angora wool fibres measure 10-13 microns whilst the highest quality lambswool is 18 micron - very fine and an excellent fibre to blend with the angora.

-- Edited by HeatherLynn at 21:29, 2005-11-14

Yes, angora is typically a rabbit fur, but there are also angora goats. Just like wool, the fur is combed off the animal and spun into yarn. 

No, they don't kill them. They just shave them or spin directly from the bunny. It's pretty similiar to wool spinning, I think.

this subject piqued my curiosity...

oooh... look at da bunny...

  It’s no secret that the world’s softest garment fiber comes from a docile and adorable animal called the Angora Rabbit. Quiet and calm by nature, these animals have been used in fiber harvest for hundreds of years, and are thought to have originated in Turkey. Turkish fiber markets throughout history have also taken credit for the origination of the Angora Goat (who produce fiber known as ‘Mohair’, not angora) and the forerunner to the Persian cat breed.

     Europeans have bred and mass-marketed Angora wool for centuries, the French being responsible for the popularization of it around 1790. North America would not see the import of these ‘exotic’ rabbits until 1920. The  North American Angora market today is still relatively considered a “cottage industry” with the bulk of fiber producers promoting and marketing their own product.

      Four distinct breeds of Angora rabbits exist today: the English, French, Giant, and Satin varieties all possessing their own unique breed characteristics.

     *The “English” breed is considered to be the smallest, at 5 to 7.5 pounds with a compact body containing few guard hairs in proportion to the wool. The wool of this breed wraps tightly when spun, and is the most popular breed for show because of its amazingly prolific hair/fur on the face and ears. This specific breed of Angora may require daily grooming to keep its fiber free of debris and mats that can appear, causing the wool to lump up. These are sweet and gentled natured rabbits, who are excellent around children, but only with encouragement and parental supervision as to the daily care and maintenance of the hair. This breed is not recommended for anyone who does not have the time to spend in daily grooming.

     *The “French” breed is a larger breed than the English, at 7.5-10.5 pounds. This rabbit has more guard hair ration to wool, which allows for more intense and varied colors in the fiber. Most color on the body of a rabbit is contained in the guard hair, rather than the under-wool that is normally light or white in color. This French Angora breed is considered the “easy-care” breed of Angoras, normally only requiring a once weekly grooming, and is the best choice for novices or youths.

     *The “Satin” Angora weighs in at 6.5-9.5 pounds and has a shiny, satiny quality to its wool fiber. The hollow distinction to the fiber of these rabbits accounts for the intensity of coloration available in the breed, which does also appear in all white. Most spinners prefer this fiber for ease of spinning, and the dense coat is considered a pleasure to groom and harvest.

    *The largest breed of Angora Rabbits is the “Giant” variety, weighing in at 10-20+ pounds! This breed is distinctive as it is only recognized at show in the ‘non’ color - White, and as it is the largest of all the Angoras, produces the most fiber from its superbly dense coat. This breed does not molt, or shed its hair naturally as do the other breeds, and so wool must be harvested by hand shearing.

     Angora wool can be harvested year round, and most fiber enthusiasts do this by holding the rabbit on their lap and either combing out the fiber, or (careful) scissor harvesting. The Angoras notoriously seem to enjoy this frequent attention, and the harvesting process causes them no stress or pain whatsoever. Angora wool harvesting is said to be a calming process for both the groomer and the “groomee”.

     A well-groomed animal will have very little debris in their fiber, and therefore the harvested wool is not required to be washed or carded (the process of removing debris from wool for even fiber texture/continuity prior to spinning). The raw wool is considered pleasing to the spinner because of its strong and yet soft texture, each of the breeds having their own distinct and unique fiber qualities, allowing for quick results in the spinning process. The wool is sometimes left in its natural color, but can be dyed. Angora wool has a superior quality in its ability to retain dye color permanently over all other types of wool fibers.

detroit wrote:

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tri_sarah_tops wrote:
They just shave them or spin directly from the bunny.

lol - I have this visual going... "so, what do you do for a living?" "oh, I'm a bunny shaver" then there's the visual of a bunny on a spinning wheel...

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The spinning bunny visual is funny. Poor, dizzy bunny That angora rabbit is so freakin cute. I have an extreme fondness for bunnies. They are so cute they make me cry. If I "visit" them when we go to Petco I always tear up and a few times I've actually really started to sob. My husband thinks I'm insane and he tries to keep me away from them. The only reason I don't have one is because I couldn't stand to just keep it in a cage. If I had one I'd probably let it run all over the house and for obvious reasons, that's not the best idea.



Oh bunnies, I you.

So cute!!!  Maybe one of those bunnies should be my new avatar

Lisa wrote:

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I hate being the one to rain on the parade, so please no one hate me. No offense to anyone who wears angora, but many of the poor little bunnies are really not treated very well. They are kept in cramped cages and they are not "carefully" shorn. Many of them get cut during the process, and their wounds aren't cleaned, and they get infected and the bunnies die. If you're buying angora, I'd encourage you to know about the brand and their stance on animal cruelty. I'm sure there are brands out there that are conscientious, but I don't think places that produce angora sweaters for $20 are going to be that careful. Again, I hope no one takes offense, but this is something I feel strongly about, and like Jen, I always thought that the bunnies weren't harmed during the process until I did a little research. So I feel compelled to share.

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Lisa - do you wear leather? as in shoes, jackets, bags?

sometimes it's like wearing a cat for me - my eyes get all itchy and stuff.  I have heard that putting your sweater in the freezer for a couple of hours will keep it from shedding.... haven't tried that yet because the thought of a cold sweater seems a bit paradoxical... I also don't know if it starts shedding as soon as it thaws?

detroit wrote:

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sometimes it's like wearing a cat for me - my eyes get all itchy and stuff.  I have heard that putting your sweater in the freezer for a couple of hours will keep it from shedding.... haven't tried that yet because the thought of a cold sweater seems a bit paradoxical... I also don't know if it starts shedding as soon as it thaws?

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You know, I read this in Lucky last month and was wondering if/how it works.  Anyone tried it cuz I'm curious but scared to freeze my sweater!