Simple Four-Point Guide When Buying Mohair Fibers!

Fiber Classes for Mohair are somewhat confusing. Terms traditionally used in Texas, which produces 90% of the total US mohair, include kid, yearling, fine adult, and adult, with variants reflecting whether the fiber is from a fall or spring shearing.  The Mohair Council of America uses the terms superfine kid, fine kid, good kid, superfine yearling, good yearling, superfine adult, and adult to span a range from 24 to 39 microns.  The Australian Mohair Marketing’s grades go from finer than 23 microns to 36 microns with superfine kid, kid, strong kid, young goat, and adult.  These grading systems cannot be neatly lined up next to each other. 

A simple guide that is easy to remember:

1.     Kid mohair is fine (as fine as Merino)

2.     Yearling mohair is medium (like the many midrange wools)

3.     Adult is the heaviest (corresponding more closely to the English Longwools)

4. Kid, yearling and adult are all sleek and shiny and drape well!

Reference:

• The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook, D. Robson & C. Ekarius, 2011