Angora Yarn | 100% Handspun Angora Yarns

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FAQ of Handspun Angora Yarn

HANDSPUN ANGORA YARNS, HANDMADE HATS, SCARVES, FINGERLESS GLOVES

This yarn weight chart will help you when purchasing handspun angora yarn.    What is ’Yarn Weight’?

’Yarn weight’ does not refer to the weight of the yarn in ounces or pounds or grams, etc. Instead, the term ’yarn weight’ refers to the thickness of the yarn. For instance, the thinnest standard yarn weight is ’lace’ weight. As the name implies, lace weight is very finely spun yarn. Lace weight yarn will yield approximately 156 yards per ounce. If you were to knit with lace weight yarn, you should use a size 1 needle. ’Wraps per inch’ refers to how many times you would wrap the yarn around a pencil to cover one linear inch. Lace weight, as well as the other standard yarn weights, are summarized in the chart below:

Lace Fingering Sport D.K. Worsted Bulky
Yards per ounce: 156 125 93 75 62 40
Knitting needle size: 1 1-3 3-5 5-6 7-9 10+
Wraps per inch: 35+ 19-22 15-18 12-14 9-11 8-

The Spinning Process

This Louet louet-roving-carder-smallcarder is the first step in fiber processing. The just-plucked angora fibers are straightened by the combs on both wheels of the carder. Then, the roving(long section of fiber) is removed from the carder. This roving is much easier to spin than the raw fiber.
The next step is spinning the yarn. To do so, I use an Ashford Traveler spinning wheel. It is a non-electric, pedal-type of wheel, and it provides excellent results for angora yarns. ashtradlg
ashford-niddy-noddy-sampler Then, our yarns may be put onto a niddy-noddy, like the one pictured here. We use this step to count out the yarn into 50 or 100-yard skeins. Once the yarn is counted and cut, we hand wash it with a mild shampoo, and hang it up to dry.
For the next step, we use an umbrella swift. This helps us to untangle any skeins that may have been tangled in washing. It also provides us with a chance to double-check the yard count for each skein. umbrella-swift

Handspun handdyed 100% angora yarn

Handspun handdyed 100% angora yarn

 Finally, the yarn is labeled, and put in our inventory, and on our shop page.

 


What is Angora?

Angora is a type of fiber which comes from angora bunnies. AngoraOnline produces yarns from angora bunnies. Our bunnies are not hurt in any way as they molt their fiber every 3 to 4 months. Sometimes I clipped their fiber off too.

There are four main breeds of angora bunnies: English, French, Satin, and Giant. When fully grown, the first three breeds weigh an average of 7 pounds each. The giant angora can weight up to 12 pounds. Though all four breeds produce angora fiber, the English Angora is known for producing the softest angora fiber with less guard hair, this is the hair or rabbit fiber that the angora fiber grows along it’s shaft. AngoraOnline raises mainly English Angoras.

Angora bunnies are believed to have originated from Ankara, Turkey. French nobles bred them as pets as early as 1723. The bunnies were then exported to the United States and Canada in the late 1920s. The breed began with the English and French Angoras only. However, in the 1980s, Satin and Giant Angoras were recognized as breeds as well.