Uitenhage

At Hinterveld in Uitenhage exquisite mohair blanks and other products are created for both the local as well as the international market.  Throughout the whole process I have shown this week the mohair is white, but it can be dyed at three different stages; after combing, after spinning or after weaving.  Some of the blankets are specially produced for international agents and retailers with their own brand on it while others are produced under the Hinterveld name.  All luxurious and timeless.  The products…

The machines that spin the mohair yarn at Mohair Spinners South Africa in Uitenhage are absolutely amazing.  My mouth hung open when they showed us how clever the machines are.  The moment the thread is broken the specific line would stop, unwind a bit and reattach the two end of the thread so well that you can barely see the place where it broke.  All automatically and very futuristic looking.  Rolls of yarn are available for purchase in the factory…

Mohair on its own is nothing but wool.  Actually, people are wrong referring to it as wool. Its hair.  So for the mohair to be used in anything it needs to be first spun into yarn.  Mohair Spinners South Africa's plant is right next to the Gubb & Inggs plant in Uitenhage.  In actual fact you walk from the one into the other.  The mohair doesn't just become yarn by putting it through one machine.  Its a whole process whereby the mohair gets…

After the washing and drying process the combing process removes the remaining vegetable matter and shorter and irregular sized fibres.  This transforms the mohair into a soft mohair "top".  Some of the mohair gets shipped off to buyers around the world while others move through the next process of spinning the yarns.  After the combing process the mohair that is due to be shipped off gets tied in bundles and packed in small bales.  This guy was busy tying the bundles…

After the mohair has gone through the washing process it gets dried through blowers.  During the wash and dry process the mohair went from being dirty and oily to white and fluffy, looking very mush like cotton wool.  Here after the mohair fibres are positioned in uniform lengths and most of the remaining vegetable matter gets removed.  A sliver or coil of mohair called a "carded sliver" is then produced..Angora goats are sheared twice a year and doesn't get harmed in…

The washing, or scouring, process of the mohair is straight forward yet seemingly very complicated.  The machine doing the washing looks like a bunch of spider or crab legs combing the mohair through the water before it gets blown dry.  The reason for the washing is to remove all excess dirt and oils..The founding of the mohair industry in South Africa came by a stroke of good fortune.  A farmer ordered Angora goats from Turkey in 1838 to try and establish a…

Nelson Mandela Bay is the mohair capital of the world as it is the city where the most mohair moves through on its way to either being graded, auctioned, processed or exported.  I was very fortunate recently to get the opportunity to visit the three mohair related factories in Uitenhage that belong to the Stucken Group, namely Gubb & Inggs where the mohair gets washed and turned into tops, Mohair Spinners South Africa where the mohair is turned into yarn and lastly Hinterveld where some…