Tag: angora

Found yarn

On By CarynIn Craft

I spun and plied angora rabbit hair back in March. I stuck the small ball of yarn in a project bag and promptly forgot about it. I found it again 8 months later and this time made the swatches from it that I intended to do in March.

Photo description: four ply angora rabbit yarn swatches. Top left: nälbound circle, top right: knit, bottom left: double crochet, bottom right: zoom loom weave

These swatches are made from unprocessed 100% angora rabbit fur. I took what was in the bag I bought from the breeder and spun it, no washing, carding, or combing. The yarn does shed a bit, but not significantly, and did fine especially with the abrasive nature of weaving and nälbinding.

Cable ply

On By CarynIn Craft

I did decide to cable ply my angora hand spun yarn to go from a two ply to a four ply.

Photo description: two ply angora yarn wrapped into a nostepinne style ball
Photo description: 4 strand cable ply angora yarn on a wood drop spindle
Photo description: cable plied angora yarn wrapped into a nostepinne style ball

I am going to let time set the twist, so wrapped the final yarn into a center pull ball. This is yarn spun from raw angora rabbit fur, not carded not combed, not washed. I’ll created my swatches for my fiber book before water touches the fibers, just to see what happens.

Plying angora

On By CarynIn Craft

I’ve two plied the angora yarn I spun.

Photo description: two ply angora yarn on a wood drop spindle.

The yarn is still quite thin, so I think I will ply it again to make a four ply cable yarn. The bumpy texture of cable plied yarn will complement the fluffy nature of the yarn, I think.

Angora rabbit fur

On By CarynIn Craft
Photo description: single spun angora rabbit fur on a wood drop spindle, asphalt in the background

I finished spinning the angora rabbit fur I purchased from a Texas rabbit farmer. I didn’t wash, card, or comb the fiber, just took it out of the bag and started spinning, which resulted in a more uneven spin, but was worth the experiment.

Photo description: single spun angora yarn wrapped into a center pull ball

The next step is to ply the yarn. In preparation, I wrapped the yarn into a center pull ball.

Angora rabbit fur

On By CarynIn Craft

My next spin-and-walk project is with angora rabbit fur. I didn’t card it, comb it, or wash it, I just grabbed handfuls straight out of the bag where the farmer placed the shorn fibers. I wasn’t expecting the short second cuts, but I’m rolling with it and making it into an experiment.

Photo description: handful of white angora rabbit fur with short second cuts (where the shears passed over already cut fur and cut short sections) and guard hairs (thicker longer hairs in the fur)
Photo description: single spun yarn with the second cuts caught in the twist sideways, making it very fluffy

Some of the shorter lengths of fiber get caught sideways when I’m spinning, like a bottle brush. I don’t think all of these will stay embedded in the yarn, but it will be interesting to see what does. It does make the yarn fluffy in a sporadic way.

Photo description: first walk’s worth of spun Angora rabbit fur

Angora is usually blended with other fibers so this is also an experiment on how pure rabbit fur behaves both in the spinning and in fabric.