Physical, chemical and tensile properties of cashmere, mohair, alpaca, and other rare animal fibers

The chapter introduces animal fibres other than sheep wool. These fibres include cashmere, mohair, qiviut (musk ox), alpaca, llama, vicuña, guanaco, Bactrian camel, yak, bison and angora (rabbit). Building on the information for wool in the previous chapter the differences in the chemical and physical properties of rare animal fibres are summarised. The importance of different cuticle scale properties and the presence of medulla on fibre properties such as lustre and friction, textile manufacturing especially dehairing, and textile quality are described. Tensile properties of raw fibre, dehaired slivers, tops, yarns and fabrics are summarised particularly for mohair, cashmere and alpaca. The effect of physical properties on the softness, feltability and dyeing responses of these fibres are examined.