Mohair is almost always used together with another yarn, not on its own. It adds halo, that fine fuzzy layer around the stitches, plus warmth without weight. One ball of mohair held with a merino completely changes how the same pattern looks, without making the garment heavy. The yarns here are super kid mohair blended with silk, the finest version of the fibre: soft, lustrous and without the roughness of ordinary mohair.
Almost always held with another yarn. On its own it makes a very airy fabric with no structure, which loses shape easily. Held together with a merino or a wool, mohair adds halo, the fine fuzzy layer around the stitches, plus warmth, without weighing the garment down. Many patterns call for exactly that: a base yarn plus a strand of mohair.
It is mohair from the first shearing of young angora goats, the finest and softest grade of the fibre. Primo Tynn Silk Mohair and Pearl Mohair are super kid mohair. The finer the fibre, the more delicate the halo and the more pleasant it feels on the skin.
It depends on the grade. Super kid mohair is fine and soft, and the silk blend in Tynn Silk Mohair and Pearl Mohair makes it gentler still. It is nevertheless a fibre with a long halo, which some people feel on the neck even when it is soft. If you are knitting something worn directly against the skin, order a free sample and check first.
You need roughly the same length of each yarn, because the two are used up in parallel. Mohair yarns have a high meterage per ball, so in practice you end up using fewer balls than of the base yarn. The yarn calculator accounts for held-together yarns and tells you exactly how much of each you need.
If you hold it with another yarn, choose the needles for the base yarn and the gauge the pattern asks for. If you knit mohair on its own, it is usually worked on needles thicker than the yarn would suggest, precisely so the fabric stays airy. Either way, knit a swatch before you start the garment.
With difficulty. The halo makes the stitches cling to each other, and pulling them back breaks the fibres. That is why the swatch and counting twice are worth the time. If you do have to rip back, put the piece in the freezer for a few hours: the fibres stiffen and cling less.
By hand, in lukewarm water, with wool detergent, no rubbing and no wringing. Dry it flat. Once dry, shake it gently to bring the halo back. See also all our knitting yarns if you are looking for the base yarn to hold with the mohair.
