Hello from a complete newbie weaver!
I am exploring weaving 2-4" wide bands to be used for making horse tack, particularly breast collars. For the non-horsey people, something like this: http://www.horsecollaborative.com/mohair/ If you scroll down the page you'll see the breast collar on the horse. However, I want to make these with proper woven bands rather than the cords that are typically used. I have a little rigid heddle lap loom which has been kicking around in our family for at least 50 years without ever being used (I think mom bought it as a project for us as kids...) and to try it out I used some knitting yarn I had lying around to weave a simple scarf. Other than the heddle being a bit too fine for the weight of the yarn, it worked perfectly and I think it will do exactly what I need it to do. My problem is the following:
Horse stuff is made typically of mohair, as the heat, sweat and friction from the material rubbing against the horse would cause anything made of sheep's wool to felt. BUT I don't seem to be able to find a suitable mohair yarn to purchase. I can find mohair already turned into cord for cinch weaving. I can find very fluffy mohair yarns for knitting that I am pretty sure will be hell to weave with since I will need mohair warp as well as weft. (I am expecting the first projects to be warp faced.) I can find mohair blends with all sorts of other stuff. What I can't find is a fairly tightly spun, relatively smooth mohair yarn of a weight suitable for typical band weaving. I can find literature references to Navajo mohair warp yarns, but no one seems to have it. Any leads??? I could also use pointers for what weight of yarn would be best and what size reeds to buy for it.
Thanks
Maria on Vancouver Island, Canada