What are animal fibers?

Answer 1

There are a wide range of animals that produce fibers that can easily be spun into yarn from the widely known Merino sheep to the more exotic including the Guanaco and vicuna. At present we have only a partial listing of the animals that fit this description, if you know of one that should be included, please contact us. These definitions are continuously being updated.

Answer 2

Animal fibers are natural fibers that consist largely of particular proteins. Instances are silk, hair/fur (including wool) 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.

Not all animal fibers have the same properties, and even within a species the fiber is not consistent. Merino is a very soft, fine wool, while Cotswold is coarser, and yet both merino and Cotswold are types of sheep. This comparison can be continued on the microscopic level, comparing the diameter and structure of the fiber. With animal fibers, and natural fibers in general, the individual fibers look different, whereas all synthetic fibers look the same. This provides an easy way to differentiate between natural and synthetic fibers under a microscope.

Answer 3

Silk, sinew, wool, catgut, angora, mohair and alpaca are all examples of animal fibers.