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Aviva · Senior Member

Post on mohair

Dee · Guru

Aviva, thanks for the info, your babies are so cute, I think I want to make twins when I finish the 3 kits That I have or maybe just order another one of the ones I already have. smile

mkhammy1 · Senior Member

Aviva, thanks for you info on the mohair! I ordered some from a goat farm in Texas, and it came prewashed, but not combed. I've been combing pieces at a time (what a pain!), then dyeing, drying and combing again! Accckkk! Gonna try your way on the next one. I did find a website on dealing with raw mohair, and it suggested using a dog mat brush (the one with the fine wires) to comb, and it works the best without as much waste. I'll post pics of my latest baby as soon as I finish and you can see her hair which I dyed black. Hugs, Melinda

Buffington · Guru

That mohair looks pretty nice and shiny. You said one Faith is alittle bit darker from the mohair dye... I usually wet the mohair first and leave it on a white paper towel to see if it's colorfast and if no stains or color comes on the towel I use it. Otherwise I will wash it again to remove the extra dye.

I tried 2 of those little doggie brushes and it was ok except too slow as I couldn't do a lot of hair, only small bits. Then I got some actually carding brushes from one of my teachers and they work just fine! She said sometimes you can find them cheap on ebay.

But I have several boxes of natural mohair (not dyed, cut but not combed, with original goat oils and debris still in it) and I have to get some time to wash, dye, comb and condition before I can use it. Or maybe I'll just sell it as is. I think I have a few pounds of it (for sure a half pound). I also have a large 3 foot sack of baby llama hair in 3 natural colors that I need to process also. So thanks for the info also :)

mkhammy1 · Senior Member

Pat, where do you find llama hair? Is it much different from goat hair? Thanks, Melinda

Play Days Dolls · Guru

Yes, Pat .... inquiring minds would like to know. How does the llama hair compare to the mohair?

Aviva · Senior Member

Yikes..now I haven't tried to dye hair...wait...yes I did and it came out kinda looking like a big brownish looking rat....for real..... bleh

So gross and I had to pick it up by it's tail...(yes..it had a tail too hehe) and throw it away. I don't know what to do with all this white hair I have. I mean not my white hair...that's not a whole lot...anyway. the mohair is a chocolate brown like you saw on my little twins. It worked that way and also on the little Moby baby which he's been dubbed Baby LOVE by a friend. lol

Now that back shot was where I'm learning to get the swirl going and I used some watercolor pencil on his head and it makes it look dirty. I'll wash it pretty good before I do anything with him. My favorite cashier at walmart watches for me and she said she thought that this little boy was her very favorite. lol

-- Edited by Aviva on Saturday 19th of September 2009 03:48:07 AM

Play Days Dolls · Guru

Aviva, you have the gift of humor. I laughed out loud reading about your tail/tale of mohair. LOL. I haven't dyed any mohair, but I can just imagine what it must have looked like.
And... your swirl is looking very good..

Buffington · Guru

Ok ladies... as I said, I have a large bag of baby llama hair but...
I don't know where to buy it, I don't even know if it's different than goat (although my goat hair is still on the hydes) but I've heard it is quite different. I'll try to post pics.

I got the bag of llama hair from my oldest daughters friend. It contains 3 bags of 3 different colors. Apparently he knew someone that sheared llamas. I have heard that it is baby soft but doesn't get quite as long as the angora goat. I just haven't had time to do all this hairy stuff but I thought I would this past summer and I had carpal tunnel surgery instead. It's so nice to be able to do things without my fingers falling asleep or firey pains running down them!

So, I will try to get to the baby llama hair soon (? lol) and I'll post some piccies of my goat hydes with the hair still on them. That is how I actually dye my own goat hair, on the hyde, but I have boxes of it loose still too.

In the pics, the hydes are from full grown goats and they were purchased for someone to eat from the goat farmer I know. Every part of the goat was used, no waste. I purchased 5 goat hydes from her over the years and I cut what I need from the hyde (including hair), color it while it's still on the hyde (like coloring my own hair on my head), then air dry and snip what I need for the babies.

I also use a few of them in my displays at the art shows. That way I can show people what I use for the babies hair and tell them a little of how I do it. Works out rather well. Yes, these are pics from one of my shows. :)

-- Edited by Buffington on Monday 21st of September 2009 02:25:17 AM

-- Edited by Buffington on Monday 21st of September 2009 02:30:46 AM