Fiber↕ | Animal Source↕ | Primary Origin↕ | Texture↕ | Known For↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Merino Wool | Merino sheep | Australia/New Zealand | Ultra-soft, fine (15-24 microns) | Gold standard of activewear wool, moisture-wicking, odor-resistant, next-to-skin comfort, Icebreaker brand |
Cashmere | Cashmere goat | Mongolia/China | Incredibly soft, lightweight | Luxury fiber, 3x warmer than sheep wool, each goat produces only 150g per year, price reflects scarcity |
Alpaca | Alpaca | Peru | Silky, hypoallergenic | Warmer than sheep wool, no lanolin (hypoallergenic), 22 natural colors, Inca royalty fiber, softer with age |
Mohair | Angora goat | Turkey/South Africa | Lustrous, slippery, durable | Brilliant sheen and dye absorption, strongest natural fiber by diameter, fuzzy vintage sweaters, not itchy |
Angora | Angora rabbit | Turkey (originally) | Cloud-like fluff, extremely soft | Lightest and warmest natural fiber, ethical concerns over harvesting, halo effect in knitting, luxury scarves |
Lambswool | Sheep (first shearing) | UK/Australia | Soft, springy, elastic | First ever clip from a lamb (softest it'll ever be), natural crimp, classic British sweaters, affordable luxury |
Qiviut | Muskox | Arctic (Alaska/Canada) | Softer than cashmere | Rarest and most expensive wool, 8x warmer than sheep wool, muskox shed it naturally, limited supply |
Shetland Wool | Shetland sheep | Scotland (Shetland Islands) | Medium-soft, resilient | Fair Isle knitting patterns, heritage breed, incredibly durable, traditional Scottish craft, rugged warmth |
Camel Hair | Bactrian camel | Mongolia/Central Asia | Fine undercoat, coarse outer | Classic camel-colored overcoats, thermally regulating, luxury menswear staple, collected during molting season |
Yak Wool | Yak | Tibet/Nepal/Mongolia | Soft, warm, breathable | Sustainable alternative to cashmere, warmer and more durable, supporting Himalayan herders, growing in fashion |
Vicuña | Vicuña | Peru/Andes | Finest animal fiber known (12 microns) | Most expensive fiber in the world ($1,000-3,000/yard), Inca 'fiber of the gods', wild-caught only, near extinction recovery |
Silk (Mulberry) | Silkworm (Bombyx mori) | China | Smooth, luminous, strong | Ancient Silk Road trade, 4,700 years of production, one cocoon = 1,000m of thread, China guarded the secret for millennia |
Icelandic Wool | Icelandic sheep | Iceland | Dual-coated (soft inner, water-resistant outer) | Lopapeysa sweater tradition, naturally water-repellent, Viking heritage breed, unspun for traditional knitting |
Possum Fiber | Brushtail possum | New Zealand | Hollow fiber, silky | Blended with merino for ultimate warmth, possum is an invasive pest in NZ so it's eco-friendly to harvest |
Pashmina | Changthangi goat | Kashmir/Ladakh | Ultrafine cashmere (12-15 microns) | The original cashmere, hand-spun and hand-woven, Kashmiri shawl tradition, 'pashmina' means wool in Persian |
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This dataset contains 15 entries, each with multiple sortable, filterable columns. The full table is visible on this page and can be downloaded as a CSV, JSON, or Excel file.
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