From Bunny to Finished Yarn

Angora Fiber Fractal Technique

Meet Luna!  A few years ago, my sister was smitten by this little lady at a craft festival in upstate NY and became her forever home. Twice a year Luna sheds her coat, and I am the lucky recipient of the fluff she doesn't need anymore!  Luna is an English Angora Bunny, and her fluff is incredibly fine, light, and warm. 

 Because her fluff is so fine, it can be difficult to work with.  I like to blend the Angora with other fibers for durability, comfortability when wearing it, and to make it easier for me to work with.  Also, Angora fiber doesn't take dye as well as other protein fibers, so blending it with colored wool is a quick and easy way to alter the color of the Angora.  

 

If you're new to working with Angora, or if you need some tips on blending, check out my Angora Blending Technique here:

    How to Blend Angora with Wool Using a Drum Carder

I was inspired to try blending Angora fiber with different kinds of sheep's wool, and even with silky plant fibers to see which blend accented the Angora the best.

 

Equal parts Lavender Merino wool and Luna Angora Fiber, blended together on my drum carder into batts.

Merino is a wonderful compliment to Angora.  Their staple lengths (length of each fiber) are similar and marry well.  Angora and Merino, each soft in their own right, come together to become even softer and cloud like.  Colorwise, the Angora softens the Lavender giving it lovely heathered look.

A Mint Green blend of Merino wool and Mulberry Silk, and Luna Angora Fiber, in equal parts blended together on my drum carder.

Just as with the Lavender Merino, the Green Merino and Mulberry silk blend complimented the Angora beautifully.  The addition of the Mulberry silk gave the cloud like softness an added silky sheen which is just to die for!  Again, the Angora made the vibrant Green softer and more heathered in color, so pretty!

         

Equal parts Bubblegum Pink Corriedale wool I hand dyed myself and Luna Angora, blended together on my drum carder.

        

Equal parts Baby Blue Corriedale wool I hand dyed myself and Luna Angora, blended together on my drum carder.

Corriedale wool is slightly courser that Merino and has a longer staple length, which makes it a more durable companion for the incredibly fine Angora fiber.  They don't marry as nicely together because of the different staple lengths, but the addition of Angora to the Corriedale softens it exponentially to create a really lovely and wearable blend.  Again, mixing in the Natural Cream of the Angora to both the vibrant blue and pink softens it and gives the color that beautiful heathered look.

Equal parts Mint Fiber and Luna Angora, blended together on my Drum Carder

Mint fiber is a biodegradable cellulose fiber that is infused with mint powder extracted from peppermint leaves. The texture is lofty and smooth, plus it has natural cooling and antibacterial properties.  I was so excited by the sheen that the Green Mulberry silk gave the Angora that I wanted to take that up a notch.  I think this blend takes the cake - It's indescribably soft, silky, and lustrous.  It has an amazing drape and will act like silk when it's worked up.  Cellulose fibers are very durable as well, so this blend is a win on all counts: durability, comfortability, eco friendly properties, drape, and texture.  I'll have to use this more often!!

So inspired by the textural beauty of these different blends, I decided to combine them and spin them together using a fractal technique.   Basically a two ply yarn, where one ply has long stretches of color, and the second ply has many short bursts of color, creating a self striping yarn that appears to shift in color gradually from start to finish comprising of stripes within stripes.

Here is my fiber prep!  The large nests of Angora blend will comprise the first ply, and the small nests of fiber will comprise the second ply.  Each large nest of color will be plied with two color sets (green through natural angora) of the smaller nests to achieve the stripes within stripes effect.

  All the nests spun up on the wheel, and ready to be plied!

The Angora blends were like butter to spin, a real pleasure. The Angora and Mint Fiber blend is by far my favorite.  The silky softness and luster of the fiber slid through my fingers like a dream.  The textural sensation is what I find so soothing about spinning, and if you haven't experienced this blend yet I highly recommend you try it!  It's incredibly relaxing and satisfying :)

And the piece de resistance:

Here is the finished yarn, after being soaked in hot water and Lavender Wool Wash!  You can just make out the fractal pattern in this side section of the skein.  It starts with the Green on the left, and moves through Pink, Lavender, Blue and White on the right - but within each section of color you can see the smaller variations of color.  I love fractal skeins - so fun to work with, every inch is unique a true feast for the eyes!  The angora content of this yarn will ensure a super soft, super warm experience <3

See the finished yarn here in my Etsy shop!

'Unicorn Variations' Angora, Wool, Mint Fiber Hand Spun Yarn

Thank you so much for reading, and I sincerely hope I've inspired you in your own fiber experiments!

Happy Crafting!