Camel
hair fabric is extremely soft and fine. It is wonderfully light-weight
with warmth and durability. This lustrous fabric is preferred in its
golden tan natural colour though it is sometimes dyed with navy, red or
dark brown. Since it is highly prized, camel hair is usually blended
with wool to make it economical.The camel hair fabric comes from the Bactrian (two hump) camel which is of Camelidae Gray family. It is bred in the extremely cold climates of Eastern and Central Asia particularly in China and Mongolia. The finest camel hair in the world comes from China. The significant producers of camel hair are China, Mongolia, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia, New Zealand, Tibet and Australia.
Camel hair fabric is obtained from hairs shed by the camel naturally in its molting period (during spring). Camel hair fabric is generally left undyed because of the beauty of its color. The natural color of the fabric is usually reddish brown. Sometimes variants from brown to grey are also seen. Camlet and aba are the popular camel hair fabric.
Characteristics of Camel Hair Fabric
- It is a luxurious fabric.
- It is extremely soft and fine.
- It is lustrous.
- It is strong.
- It is light-weight.
- It has long nap and is warm.
- It is waterproof.
- It accepts dye easily.
- The soft and luxurious quality of the camel hair fabric is suitable for making suits, coats, blazers, jackets, skirts, hosiery, caps and robes.
- Since camel hair fabric is warm, it is widely used for sweaters, gloves, scarves, mufflers, overcoats, quilt, etc.
- Camel hair fabric is also used as topcoat, sportswear and sports hosiery because of its light-weight characteristic.
- It is also used felt for the Mongolian yurts (tents), herdsmen's winter coats and carpet backing as it is also waterproof abreast of warmth.
