Guide · For the trade
Mohair rugs: the goat fiber with a silk luster and where to specify it
Mohair rugs are woven from the fleece of the Angora goat, a long, smooth, lustrous protein fiber that reflects light like silk, dyes more brilliantly than sheep's wool and resists crushing and they are usually hand-loomed or hand-woven as a dense loop, a 1/2 inch cut pile or a long shag, in pure mohair or blended with New Zealand wool. Mohair costs more than wool and is woven by a handful of mills, so it is specified for the room where the sheen and the hand are the point: a primary bedroom, a dressing room, a formal living room, a hotel suite. It has wool's flame resistance and none of viscose's water problem.
This guide is for the designer who has seen a mohair rug and needs to know whether it will survive the client and for the junior reading "mohair" on a spec sheet and wondering whether it is the goat or a nylon that imitates it. It covers the fiber, mohair vs wool, the constructions, mohair carpet, where it belongs and care. The alpaca rugs guide covers the other luxury animal fiber and the specialty fibers collection holds both.
What mohair is: the fiber, not the goat hair rug
Mohair is the shorn fleece of the Angora goat, raised mainly in South Africa, Texas and Turkey and shorn twice a year to a staple of 4 to 6 inches. Adult mohair, the grade used on floors, runs about 35 to 45 microns, similar in diameter to carpet wool, but the fiber's surface scales lie almost flat, which is what gives it the luster, keeps it from felting and makes it feel slippery and cool rather than springy. It is strong, takes dye with unusual depth and is a protein fiber, so it is naturally flame resistant and self-extinguishing like wool. Kid mohair, finer and softer, goes to throws and upholstery. A "goat hair rug" usually means something else: a goat hide, sold like a sheepskin, or a cashmere blend, a goat fiber too fine for a floor.
Mohair vs wool, on a spec sheet
| Property | Mohair | New Zealand wool | Mohair and wool blend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luster | High; reads as sheen across the room | Low to soft | Sheen on the surface, wool body underneath |
| Hand | Smooth, cool, slippery, drapes | Warm, springy, bulky | Soft with some spring |
| Resilience | Good; resists crushing and pilling | Very good; crimp recovers | Very good |
| Color | Deep, clear, saturated | Clear on white wool | Depth from mohair, consistency from wool |
| Water | Absorbs and dries without marking; blot spills | Same | Same |
| Fire | Naturally flame resistant, self-extinguishing | Same | Same |
| Shedding | Light to moderate at first; smooth fibers work loose | Light | Light |
| Price | Above wool; limited supply | The benchmark | Between |
The blend is what most mills choose, because wool gives the yarn bulk and the loop its shape while mohair gives the surface its light. A 100 percent mohair rug has the most sheen and the least spring and it shows shading, the light and dark patches where the pile lies in different directions, more than wool; tell the client it is part of the look.
How mohair rugs are made
Nearly all mohair rugs are hand-woven or hand-loomed. The three constructions are a dense hand-woven loop, often ribbed or basketweave at 1/4 to 3/8 inch, the most durable mohair and the one for a living room; and a long mohair shag at 1 to 1 1/2 inches, which is a bedroom rug and a photograph. AF Rug Designs hand-weaves mohair and mohair-and-New-Zealand-wool in 20 ft widths, so a mohair carpet can run wall to wall or be cut and bound into a 14x20 with no seam. Most of it is made to order in deep solids: cinnamon, charcoal, ivory, bronze, moss, slate.
Mohair carpet: wide widths and custom color
Mohair broadloom is a short list and a long lead time, worth it when the brief is a bedroom suite, a dressing room or a study that should glow in lamplight. The 20 ft hand-woven width means most rooms have no seam and because the mills weave to order, custom colors are a dye lot rather than a program: send a pom or a fabric and a strike-off comes back in 4 to 6 weeks, with production in 18 to 20 weeks for a custom piece, less for a line color. Specify a 1/4 to 3/8 inch dense felt pad under a loop, never a soft rebond and brief the installer to power-stretch it. Samples ship from the mill within 24 hours to approved trade accounts.
Where mohair belongs and where wool should win
- Primary bedroom and dressing room: the first place to specify it, in a cut pile or shag, where it is walked on barefoot and the sheen is seen in the morning light.
- Formal living room: a dense mohair loop or a blend under the seating group, with the traffic path around it.
- Hotel suite or guest room: a hospitality-rated mohair cut pile; the fiber's flame resistance helps on the submittal.
Wool should win on a stair, in a hall, under a dining table, in a family room with dogs and anywhere the client wants a rug that disappears; mohair never disappears. It also costs more per square foot than wool, so a great room is usually a blend, or a wool with a mohair rug layered on top.
Care to hand the client and the names to watch
Vacuum with suction only for the first three months, then a gentle beater bar on a loop only. Blot spills with a white towel; mohair tolerates water far better than viscose and most spills lift. Rotate twice a year, because the luster shows traffic lanes. Professional wet cleaning every three to five years by a wool cleaner and a moth treatment at the mill, since moths like mohair as much as wool. One name to watch: some performance nylon broadloom borrows "mohair" as a style name and the fiber line on the sheet will say nylon. If the spec needs the goat, the fiber line must say mohair, with a percentage.
Questions designers ask
Are mohair rugs durable?
Yes, in the right room. Mohair is strong and resists crushing and pilling and a dense hand-woven mohair loop lasts as long as a good wool rug in a bedroom or a living room. The limits are cost and luster: it shows traffic lanes, so it stays off stairs and out of halls.
Mohair vs wool: which is softer?
Mohair feels smoother and cooler, almost like silk; wool feels warmer and springier. If the client wants a rug to sink into, a mohair-and-wool shag gives the softness with the sheen; if they want a rug that recovers from furniture, wool has more crimp.
Do mohair rugs shed?
A little at first, because the smooth fibers slide out of the yarn more easily than crimped wool and more on a cut pile or shag than on a loop. Suction-only vacuuming for the first months settles it. A mohair-wool blend sheds less than pure mohair.
How do you clean a mohair rug?
Blot spills with a dry white towel, then a little cool water; do not rub. Vacuum without a beater bar on cut pile and shag. Send it to a professional wool cleaner every three to five years. Mohair does not water-mark the way viscose does.
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