SHEDDING? Why does angora yarn shed? First let me assure you that D'Lynn angora yarn does NOT shed excessively. The shedding occurs because the commercial industry uses equipment that is rough on the fibers and tears them. The end result is a yarn with very few angora fibers over 1" in length and most even less than that. Since the angora is so fine it has a tendency for the ends to stick out and form that beautiful fuzzy halo that we love so much. As a result, there is almost none of the fiber to "catch" into the spun yarn and hence it will fall out easily. This is entirely due to it's length and (courser) texture. At mini mills where my yarns and fibers are processed, there is much more care taken NOT to break the fibers. Since they begin with Prime (3") and Excellent (1½-2") angora and little of it is broken, there is much less tendency to shed. But OH! The glorious softness!

PRIME or Non-PRIME? At D'Lynn, we sell ONLY prime, or what I call "excellent" angora fibers for spinning. Just 4 oz mixed with 12 oz of wool makes a beautifully soft yarn with gorgeous halo! I mix prime and excellent for my best yarn, with the most halo, and still non-shedding. I’ve made yarn from prime only and was not happy with it, it didn’t have enough halo for me. However if your ends are too short, the yarn begins to shed. I feel that 1½”-2½´is best, along with wool, and even if I’m spinning pure angora, I mix ½ prime and ½ excellent for the prettiest, most stable yarn.. Click here for a comparison between yarns of all prime and a yarn of only 20% angora, but the angora was what I call "excellent". In other words, 1½-2½ inches.

DANDRUFF or MITES? My angora is of the highest quality. You won’t find second cuts, or mites or dandruff in mine. If there is any matting or webbing on the bunny when I'm shearing, I remove it to a separate bag (useful for "slub" yarn or felting, but NOT spinning). . Of course there are no soiled fibers or mats. There is a powdery dust on it, (NOT due to mites) that is unavoidable and present in all fibers. (In fact, less so in angora fiber than other fibers, plus there is no grease on angora, so the weight you buy is the weight you use.) In most cases, you'll never notice it.

PLUCKED vs SHEARED? Is my angora plucked? The answer is a resounding NO!!!!!!!! I would not do that, even if my bunnies molted (and they don't). Plucked angora is NOT superior to sheared angora. I suggest you buy a small amount of both plucked and sheared. Spin it for yourself. See if you don't strongly prefer the sheared over the plucked as I do. When I first started spinning, I was told (and believed it) that plucked French angora fiber was superior to all other angora fiber. So I plucked my poor English bunnies, and purchased plucked French angora fiber to spin with. But I was never quite happy with the resulting yarn. Then I met a woman at a fiber show and I saw her beautiful yarn. Was I ever shocked when I learned that she NEVER used plucked, only sheared angora. I wanted to go home and throw out all the yarn from plucked animals that I had spun up. So, to suit my tastes, I never, ever pluck any more. I strongly prefer the yarn from sheared angoras. But don't take my word for it. Test it for yourself. If you buy an ounce or two of each, spin it, and then run it in stripes on a nice scarf. You’ll soon know which you prefer.

WHAT BREED? My angoras are German/English crosses. The wool from these angoras spins up into a very soft yarn with a halo to it. It is definitely NOT the furry type of appearance of French angora when spun. French angora has a much higher percentage of guard hairs, and as such the stiffer fibers stick out more (and shed more). Sheared German has just as much sticking out (IMO) as French, but it isn't stiff at all, but forms soft clouds of fiber around the spun yarn. Plus it does not shed as badly. Most of the mill spun yarns have little halo until worked and washed, however. So don't judge it as it comes. Knit it or weave it, wear it and wash it. You'll find unbeatable luxury. (I have samples of each spun and knitted, but I need to take good pictures of it so you can see the difference – I’ll get them up here soon.)

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