Adding mohair to a yarn enhances the effect of dyes, while increasing both durability and softness.

We did make this yarn for general purposes so especially the paler and browner shades, which use Manx wool, will be less hard wearing than the darker Hebridean blend. There is always a compromise between the handle people like and the hard wear wanted - so despite the mohair content these yarns are not really suitable for socks, which would be better in one of our rare breed yarns.

We have chosen Hebridean and Manx wool for our blends to make the most of the contrast with the silky white mohair. The hardy Hebridean sheep have very dark brown, almost black, fleeces that gradually grey with age, so the wool is bitter chocolate in colour with occasional silvery hints. The Manx Loagthan is a particularly striking sheep, some having up to six horns. Their fleeces are mid to dark brown but bleach to cream at the tips in the sun, so the colour can range from a full brown to a softer, deeper and more varied shade. Both these natural shades take dye less vividly than the Mohair, lending our finished Mohair Blend yarns a rich depth and lustre.

We’ve named the shades of our Mohair Blend yarns after some of our favourite hiking locations in Cornwall.