Just because you have more fiber by weight, does it mean you have more volume of fiber? And does it mean you'll get more yarn?

(The experiments are not complete yet, but they are coming soon.
It has been too hot to spin. But 2 ounces should not take long,
as soon as I get the results I'll post them)

 

I'm looking to establish that while German angora fiber may weigh more, it really isn't substantially more fiber by volume. When making garments, it is the coverage in square inches that matters. On a knitted garment, that would mean a certain diameter of yarn, knitted to a certain stitch size, plus a certain amount of "ease" in the knit for fluff, If you don't stop to think about it, you might think that the more ounces of fiber one has, the better coverage, but is it really so?

My plan is to carefully weigh out the same amount of the 2 types of fiber that I have here, English and German. Equal amounts, I'm thinking one ounce would make a nice skein of either. Then I intend to spin each to the same diameter.When finished, I'm betting that the lighter, fluffier fiber, the English fiber goes farther than the German fiber does.

So are these shearing German shearing "records" really so impressive? I intend to find out! Then when calculated according to feed, the cost of feed, and the hours spent taking care of and shearing the rabbit. I strongly suspect the English will surprise people by being a much better fiber producer, in terms of square inches, not weight of fiber, than most people might think.

One factor that makes a German angora seem to be a huge producer is that the fiber itself is heavier, each strand weighing more. While all angora is hollow, it would seem that German angora is less so than English. As noted elsewhere, the guard hair is quite bulky and stiff, it is immediately apparent on the animal, and when spun, the finished yarn is much less soft than yarn made with English angora. English is definitely finer, so that might counteract length (of yarn) in that might take more strands of it to make a comparable diameter of yarn. But I intend to find out!

Now, that does not mean that there are no times when heavier fiber might be desirable. I would think that in felting or weaving, it might be preferable. A heavier specific gravity would give the fabric more drape, especially in a thinner fabric, which could be too light to have a good "hand". It might also be desirable to have a longer staple length, since neither fabric would benefit from the kind of fluff that knitting yarn would. So I do think that the heavier fiber has it's applications. However, most of the people involved in the hobby spin to knit or crochet with the yarn. In that case, I believe there is a strong case to be made for little difference in productivity between the 2 breeds at all. (I am referring to more modern, non-molting heavy producing English, not older style molting English). However, I have to get busy and prove it!

bottom bag was zero'd out, top bag was a heavy one, .4 oz, so real
weight of fiber was 9.3 oz.

One 3 mo. + 10 day shearing of pure English angora rabbit

Meantime, I'm content to enjoy English fiber's nicer, silkier texture, with more sheen and halo than yarn made from German angora.More later.....

 

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