Yak fiber

Last updated August 13, 2023

Yak fiber is the term commonly used to refer yak fiber wool produced from the coat hair of yaks (Bos grunniens), a long-haired bovine mainly found in the Himalayan region, Tibetan plateau, and some areas of Mongolia and Central Asia.

Types

The coat hair of the yak is composed of three different types of fiber that vary greatly in appearance and characteristics. The quantity of fiber produced by one yak is dependent on factors such as sex, age and breed of the yak, and the proportions of the different layers vary throughout the different seasons.^[1]

The coarse: Mostly used by nomads in tent making, this fiber has a size range of 79–90 microns forming the outer coat of long hair that characterizes the appearance of the yak.
The mid-type: With a diameter size between 20–50 microns, this fiber is naturally strong but not stronger than the outer layers to make ropes and tents and not as fine as the down fiber for the textile industry.
The down fiber: This is the finest fiber (16–20 microns) and is generally shed by the animal during late spring/early summer period. Therefore, this fine layer needs to be harvested before it is shed in the summer season. Down fiber, and fewer sweat glands, are two examples of how yaks have adapted to survive extreme cold temperatures (sometimes as low as −50 °C, or −58 °F) and altitudes well above 3000 m.^[2]

Properties

Yak wool has similar properties to other animal fibers, including breathability and static-resistance, but has been proven to outperform sheep wool in a number of areas.

Warmth: In woollen garments, air pockets are created between the fibers that reduce the rate of heat transfer. This property combined with lanolin (a hydrophobic grease present in wool fibers) allowing wool to keep you warm when wet. Yak wool is rich in myristic acid, a type of hydrophobic fatty acid.^[3] Independently conducted tests on yak down suggest that it is warmer than Merino wool. Nonetheless, claims vary on how much warmer it is with values ranging between 10 and 40 percent.

Softness: Cashmere is known in the textile industry as one of the softest wools with a fiber diameter of less than 18.5.^[4] The diameter of the down fiber of the yak also ranges 16–20 microns making its softness comparable to that of cashmere. Species-specific DNA probes have been developed to identify yak, which is used to quantitatively test yak-cashmere blends.^[5] Although cashmere has already been firmly established in the market, yak wool has potential to be sold as a luxury product due to its softness and the (currently) sustainable and eco-friendly means used for gathering the fibers.

Breathability: In general, wool's comfort comes from its thermo-balance characteristics. The breathability factor of a material depends on its ability to absorb moisture relative to its weight and then release it into the air. The higher the absorption value the better the textile is at adapting to humidity level changes. Wool can absorb over 30 per cent of moisture, greater than cotton (25 per cent) and far greater than polyester which can absorb only 1 per cent of its weight.

Odor-resistance: Contrary to popular belief, yaks do not have a strong odor. Unless combined with the bacteria that live on the skin, sweat is odorless. The anti-microbial properties of yak fibers prevent bacteria from living on sweat thereby considerably reducing odor.^{[ citation needed ]}

Uses

Traditional

The coarse outer fibers have been traditionally used by nomads to make ropes and tents. In earlier times, the coarse hair was mixed with down hair to make the weaving denser. However, the current increasing demand for the down fiber from the international market means that the fine fiber is mostly sold.^[6] The rarity of the white hair implicates that ropes made out of white and black Yarn is admired for its appearance and uniqueness.^[7] In west Sichuan, China, 34 per cent of the animal fiber comes from yak hair alone.^[8] In Bhutan, the long hair is used for weaving tents, bags, rugs and slings, whereas in Mongolia it is used for clothing tents and bags. To obtain the optimal length, nomads comb the hair and then spin it into yarn. During this process, the loom determines the width of the tent squares and the length of the tent. The tent squares are then sewn tightly together by men.^[9]

Architecture

Although uncommon, yak wool has also been employed as sound proof material by the Dutch artist Claudy Jongstra in the refurbishment of Rem Koolhaas' Kunsthal in Rotterdam, a building that gets 300,000 visitors a year. She made a thick, dense yak hair felt with a graphic design of white lines.^[10]

Related Research Articles

Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool.

Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the only manufacturing method, and many other methods were later developed to form textile structures based on their intended use. Knitting and non-woven are other popular types of fabric manufacturing. In the contemporary world, textiles satisfy the material needs for versatile applications, from simple daily clothing to bulletproof jackets, spacesuits, and doctor's gowns.

Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufactured sewing threads may be finished with wax or other lubricants to withstand the stresses involved in sewing. Embroidery threads are yarns specifically designed for needlework. Yarn can be made of a number of natural or synthetic materials, and comes in a variety of colors and thicknesses. Although yarn may be dyed different colours, most yarns are solid coloured with a uniform hue.

Felt is a textile that is produced by matting, condensing, and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood pulp–based rayon. Blended fibers are also common. Natural fibre felt has special properties that allow it to be used for a wide variety of purposes. "It is fire-retardant and self-extinguishing; it dampens vibration and absorbs sound; and it can hold large amounts of fluid without feeling wet..."

Mohair is a fabric or yarn made from the hair of the Angora goat. Both durable and resilient, mohair is notable for its high luster and sheen, and is often used in fiber blends to add these qualities to a textile. Mohair takes dye exceptionally well. It feels warm in winter as it has excellent insulating properties, while its moisture-wicking properties allow it to remain cool in summer. It is durable, naturally elastic, flame-resistant and crease-resistant. It is considered a luxury fiber, like cashmere, angora, and silk, and can be more expensive than most sheep's wool.

Cashmere wool, usually simply known as cashmere, is a fiber obtained from cashmere goats, pashmina goats, and some other breeds of goat. It has been used to make yarn, textiles and clothing for hundreds of years. Cashmere is closely associated with the Kashmir shawl, the word "cashmere" deriving from an anglicization of Kashmir, when the Kashmir shawl reached Europe in the 19th century. Both the soft undercoat and the guard hairs may be used; the softer hair is reserved for textiles, while the coarse guard hair is used for brushes and other non-apparel purposes.

Pashmina refers to, depending on the source, a term for cashmere wool of the Changthangi cashmere goat, for fine Indian cashmere wool or a synonym for cashmere wool.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shahtoosh</span> Kashmiri shawl, woven of hair of the Tibetan antelope

Shahtoosh, also known as Shatoush, is a wool obtained from the fur of the chiru. Also, shawls made from the wool of the chiru are called shahtoosh. Shahtoosh is the finest animal wool, followed by vicuña wool.

A cashmere goat is a type of goat that produces cashmere wool, the goat's fine, soft, downy, winter undercoat, in commercial quality and quantity. This undercoat grows as the day length shortens and is associated with an outer coat of coarse hair, which is present all the year and is called guard hair. Most common goat breeds, including dairy goats, grow this two-coated fleece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camel hair</span> Natural animal fiber, soft wool of the camel

Camel hair specifically refers to the fur from the body of a camel, but more generally refers to the fibre that may be made from either pure camel hair or a blend of camel hair and another fibre.

The Orenburg shawl is a Russian knitted lace textile using goat down and stands as one of the classic symbols of Russian handicraft, along with Tula samovars, the Matrioshka doll, Khokhloma painting, Gzhel ceramics, the Palekh miniature, Vologda lace, Dymkovo toys, Rostov finift (enamel), and Ural malachite.

A micron (micrometre) is the measurement used to express the diameter of wool fibre. Fine wool fibers have a low micron value. Fibre diameter is the most important characteristic of wool in determining its value.

The manufacture of textiles is one of the oldest of human technologies. To make textiles, the first requirement is a source of fiber from which a yarn can be made, primarily by spinning. The yarn is processed by knitting or weaving, which turns yarn into cloth. The machine used for weaving is the loom. For decoration, the process of colouring yarn or the finished material is dyeing. For more information of the various steps, see textile manufacturing.

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2009 as the International Year of Natural Fibres (IYNF), as well as the International Year of Astronomy.

Animal fibers are natural fibers that consist largely of certain proteins. Examples include silk, hair/fur and feathers. The animal fibers used most commonly both in the manufacturing world as well as by the hand spinners are wool from domestic sheep and silk. Also very popular are alpaca fiber and mohair from Angora goats. Unusual fibers such as Angora wool from rabbits and Chiengora from dogs also exist, but are rarely used for mass production.

A staple fiber is a textile fiber of discrete length. The opposite is a filament fiber, which comes in continuous lengths. Staple length is a characteristic fiber length of a sample of staple fibers. A fiber is made up of natural substances and is known for being longer than it is wide. It is an essential criterion in yarn spinning, and aids in cohesion and twisting. Compared to synthetic fibers, natural fibers tend to have different and shorter lengths. The quality of natural fibers like cotton is categorized on staple length such as short, medium, long staple, and extra-long. Gossypium barbadense, one of several cotton species, produces extra-long staple fibers. The staple fibers may be obtained from natural and synthetic sources. In the case of synthetics and blends, the filament yarns are cut to a predetermined length.

Chiengora, also called "dog wool," is yarn or wool spun from dog hair. The word is a portmanteau of chien and angora and was coined by an American spinner, Annette Klick. Dog hair is up to 80% warmer than wool and is not elastic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Changpa</span> Ethnic group

The Changpa or Champa are a semi-nomadic Tibetan people found mainly in the Changtang in Ladakh, India. A smaller number resides in the western regions of the Tibet Autonomous Region and were partially relocated for the establishment of the Changtang Nature Reserve. As of 1989 there were half a million nomads living in the Changtang area.

Vicuña wool refers to the hair of the South American vicuña, an animal of the family of camelidae. The wool has, after shahtoosh, the second smallest fiber diameter of all animal hair and is the most expensive legal wool.

References

↑ Weiner, Gerald (2003). The Yak in Relation to its environment. Bangkok, Thailand: Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9251049653.
↑ Gurung, G. "Pastoral Management and yak rearing in Manang's Nar-Phu Valley". Annapurna Conservation Area Project, King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation, Nepal. Department of Anthropology, Cornell University.
↑ Menachem, Lewin (2006). Handbook of fiber chemistry (Third ed.). CRC Press. ISBN 9780824725655.
↑ "North American Cashmere Goat Breed Standard". North American Cashmere Goat Organization. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
↑ Menachem, Lewin (2006). Handbook of fiber chemistry (Third ed.). CRC Press. ISBN 9780824725655.
↑ Mandersheld, Angela (May 2001). "The Black Tent in its Easternmost Distribution: The Case of the Tibetan Plateau". Mountain Research and Development. 21 (2): 154–160. doi: 10.1659/0276-4741(2001)021[0154:tbtiie]2.0.co;2 . S2CID 130099254.
↑ Weiner, Gerald (2003). 10 Products from Yak and its Utilisation. Bangkok, Thailand: Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9251049653.
↑ Weiner, Gerald (2003). Yak in Non-Traditional Environments. Bangkok, Thailand: Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9251049653.
↑ Mandersheld, Angela (May 2001). "The Black Tent in its Easternmost Distribution: The Case of the Tibetan Plateau". Mountain Research and Development. 21 (2): 154–160. doi: 10.1659/0276-4741(2001)021[0154:tbtiie]2.0.co;2 . S2CID 130099254.
↑ Brown, Susan (2008). "Cloudy Jongstra: Transmitting Craft Heritage through Contemporary Architecture". Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings. 83.

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[1] Weiner, Gerald (2003). The Yak in Relation to its environment. Bangkok, Thailand: Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9251049653.

[2] Gurung, G. "Pastoral Management and yak rearing in Manang's Nar-Phu Valley". Annapurna Conservation Area Project, King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation, Nepal. Department of Anthropology, Cornell University.

[3] Menachem, Lewin (2006). Handbook of fiber chemistry (Third ed.). CRC Press. ISBN 9780824725655.

[4] "North American Cashmere Goat Breed Standard". North American Cashmere Goat Organization. Retrieved January 26, 2015.

[5] Menachem, Lewin (2006). Handbook of fiber chemistry (Third ed.). CRC Press. ISBN 9780824725655.

[6] Mandersheld, Angela (May 2001). "The Black Tent in its Easternmost Distribution: The Case of the Tibetan Plateau". Mountain Research and Development. 21 (2): 154–160. doi: 10.1659/0276-4741(2001)021[0154:tbtiie]2.0.co;2 . S2CID 130099254.

[7] Weiner, Gerald (2003). 10 Products from Yak and its Utilisation. Bangkok, Thailand: Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9251049653.

[8] Weiner, Gerald (2003). Yak in Non-Traditional Environments. Bangkok, Thailand: Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9251049653.

[9] Mandersheld, Angela (May 2001). "The Black Tent in its Easternmost Distribution: The Case of the Tibetan Plateau". Mountain Research and Development. 21 (2): 154–160. doi: 10.1659/0276-4741(2001)021[0154:tbtiie]2.0.co;2 . S2CID 130099254.

[10] Brown, Susan (2008). "Cloudy Jongstra: Transmitting Craft Heritage through Contemporary Architecture". Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings. 83.

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