Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Mohair processing tutorial


Welcome to my mohair processing tutorial! Ready to get your hands dirty??

This is a box of "raw" curly, 2nd clip angora mohair that I hand selected from the farm. Come with me on a journey to take this mangled mess through the process to create luscious locks for your reborn dolls.

The first step to processing mohair is to sort out the locks. This box full of hair is about 4 pounds of locks but I won't get that weight in completed hair.


From that wad of hair, I hand select locks, sorting them into similar lengths and curl or wave. Then I band the sorted locks together at the cut end of the lock. I usually put 2-3 locks together, depending on the thickness of the locks.

Now it is time to wash the locks. Fill a sink with hot water and Dawn Dish soap. Dawn is important to cut the lanolin/grease from the hair.

Taking one lock at a time, wash the lock by manipulating the water and soap through the hair. Rinse in a clean basin of hot water.
Allow the locks to air dry. When they are dry, comb out the locks, protecting yourself and the floor with a large sheet to catch the debris that falls out during combing.

While the hair is being combed out, I have my acid dye bath on the stove bringing it up to temperature. I keep a bottle of spray cleaner handy to wipe up any spills that might happen.
I get my acid dyes from these two places:

~Mohair Wig.com~

~Mohair by Debbie (Not ME Debbie, another Debbie, LOL)~

I always have problems with the ordering process from MohairWig.com so if you do too, just email them.

I am not going to go over the processes of actually getting the dyes ready and using them as they all differ by company so just read the instructions that come with the dyes.

I've fixed up brown/black dye by combining colors:

Once all the hair is washed and the dye bath is ready, It is time to cook! The dye I am using here takes about 40 minutes to process. You see in the picture above that the water actually was very dark and here, after I've cooked it and added vinegar at the proper time, the water has turned clear and the dye is now soaked into the hair.

I let the dye and hair cool in the pot. When it is cool, it is hand washed again in a hot, Dawn dish soap bath, rinsed, and then conditioned. I used to use Downy Fabric Softener to condition but now am using human hair conditioner. The brand does not matter as long as it is a moisture conditioning formula. The last product I bought was the Kirkland brand from Costco. The conditioner helps to comb the hair out without added loss.

Here the locks are soaking in conditioner waiting to be combed and for the bands to be removed.

Comb the locks again with the conditioner on them. Again you will lose a lot of hair during this process. Rinse and then remove the bands with a small scissors. I cut the whole top of the lock off to the band, leaving just a small section of the light "band" area on the lock so that it is easy to verify that this is the cut end of the lock.

Place the hair on racks and allow to air dry.

Whew....that was a lot of work! Yes, processing mohair IS a lot of work. But doing it right makes it worth it in the end.

Happy mohair processing!

26 comments:

  1. Those cooling racks are good for everything. Please put that on my Christmas list.

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  2. Thanks for the tutorial. That is a lot work!!
    Hugs
    SueAnn

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  3. LOL...Yes they are Nike. Want to come over for some cookies???
    I guess I better start the Christmas list!
    Love you!

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  4. You really work, don't you?
    Elena

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  5. Hi, could you share what comb you use?

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  6. Hi, yes, I can. I use a wide toothed, metal pet comb with a wood handle. I find mine at the Dollar Tree.
    During the final combing, I also add a small toothed human comb...just an average plain-ole comb that we would use on our own hair.
    I hope that helps!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, very much. I recently went through the whole processing of mohair and I felt like I was missing a step. It seemed to be the comb. Getting one from the Dollar Tree is even better!

      I appreciate your help!

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  7. What kind of rack is that?

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  8. does it matter if it is the 1st, 2nd or 3rd cutting? and what does this mean?

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  9. The rack I am drying the hair on is a cooling rack from Pampered Chef. They are perfect as they stack well.

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  10. It DOES matter if the hair is 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc clipping. First and second clips are from kids goats at 6 months and 1 year of age. This age will bring the finest "kid" hair. As the goat ages, so does the hair. It becomes thicker and coarser, of course depending on the quality of feed and care that the goats receive.

    Kid hair is very fine and takes longer to root.

    Yearling hair is the third and fourth clips and anything after that is considered adult hair. Yearling and adult hair are thicker and easier to root but do not have the baby fineness of kid hair.

    I hope that helps!

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  11. Thank you so much for this awesome tutorial!! I'm wondering, out of that 4lbs of raw material, how much do you end up with in the final product? I see it is many locks, I was just wondering how many ounces that is.
    Thanks, Brandi

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  12. Hi Brandi,
    Thanks for the compliments~I'm so glad you found it useful.
    You can expect to lose 1/4 of the total locks in the box as some won't be fit for processing and then you can expect to lose 1/3 of your total banded up product.
    The last time I took a tally on the banded up locks verses the finished product, I had banded up 32.4 ounces of locks and ended up with 20 ounces of net product.
    Hope that helps!
    Debbie

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  13. Hi Debbie,

    Thanks for this great tutorial! I'm considering getting into this for my own dolls. I was just curious as to what I should look for when purchasing raw mohair. I can only buy online so I can't see it in person. But maybe you still have some tips as to what to look for?

    Thank you!

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  14. Hi Roxy,
    Oh boy....this is a hard one! I've never bought raw mohair online before. I guess the best thing to do is to research the seller, see if they have any customer comments or find out if you can view processed hair from the supplier. Look for photo's of the goats to see if they are healthy looking. Ask the seller for samples that you can wash up and feel when it's clean and combed. The actual processing part will not change the structure of the hair at all. I must be good hair before you begin to net good hair.

    Look for a nice layer of lanolin on the raw hair and evaluate it for any stiff hairs. (You don't want hair that has stiff/wirey fibers. Most of these are found near the cut end of the lock.)

    I would ask how often the goats are shorn as well as make sure you are buying kid or yearling hair. The best hair is from the kid goats (6 months and 1 yr old at shearing time) and the goats should be shorn every 6 months.

    I hope that helps!


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  15. Hi ,
    many thx for sharing!!
    I'm trying but I have some problems with rinsing
    I rinse, rinse, rinse ..and again
    I still see dye running from the mohair
    Have you a suggestion?

    thank you!

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    Replies
    1. Hello!
      Are you using acid dyes that you cook on the stove? If so, your temperature has not been accurate. The water actually has to simmer. After 10 minutes of good simmering, you should begin to see the dye being removed from the water and into the hair. At that point, mix up 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar to 1 1/2 cups hot water. Pour about 1/3 of that into the simmering hair and bring back to a simmer. When it simmers, time it again for 10 minutes and repeat the process two more times. At the end of the cooking, there should be no dye left in the water.

      If you are using human hair dyes, even professional ones, you won't ever get the dye from running. I highly do not recommend any human hair dyes for mohair for dolls. It will bleed and fade over time.

      Let me know how it's going! :)

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  16. Hi,
    yes I use Jacquard acid dyes .
    Maybe the temperature or citric acid were not accurate..you are right..
    I'm afraid of hot temperature .

    I will try again and i will let you know.
    Thank you so much for your suggestion and your wonderful blog!!!

    Rosy

    I will try again

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    Replies
    1. Hi Rosy,
      Yes, I would say that the lack of heat is causing your problem.
      Let me know how it works out!
      Dolly hugs~
      Debbie

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  17. Dear Debbie,
    Thank you so much for this fantastic tutorial! Since we sell gorgeous mohair locks and I have a long standing personal interest in reborn dolls I wanted to try processing our locks and offering them for sale as reborn hair. Finally I now have an idea of how this should be accomplished.

    Love your nursery and your story, ... congratulations on all your awards! I will be back to look more at your dolls.

    Yours appreciatively,
    Grey Dove

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    Replies
    1. Good Day Grey!
      I am happy to hear that the tutorial was helpful to you. It is hard work but some days I just miss "playing" with mohair and just MUST process some!
      I wish you great success in your endeavor.
      Thank you for stopping by!
      Debbie

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  18. So what would you use if you want golden or ash blonde? Thanks

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  19. Replies
    1. Hi Debbie,
      I have used the Jacuard dyes but I do not really love them. They do have great pigment and are wonderful for some very bold colors, especially fantasy colors, I just find them hard to get the true baby colors with. It has been a long while since I used them, so I do not remember the process, but instructions come with them.

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