The Bactrian Camel
Camel wool is made exclusively from the hair of the Bactrian, a two-humped camel. The more familiar one-humped Dromedary camel lives in hot desert climates, such as Arabia and the Sahara, and has short hair. The Bactrian, on the other hand, lives in the cold high altitude deserts of Mongolia and China. The Bactrian has evolved extremely soft, warm wool to survive the freezing winters of the Mongolian highlands.
Collection of the Fibers
Unlike sheep or goats, which must be shorn each year, camels molt in late spring or early summer, shedding their heavy winter wool. The molting process takes between six and eight weeks. Camel herders still gather the camel wool by the traditional methods: the fallen clumps of wool are simply gathered off the ground during the molting season. Some herders comb their animals to complete the molting process.
The Camel Wool
The gathered wool is usually golden tan in color, but can range from pale cream to a reddish brown. Camel wool is made up of two different kinds of fiber: long guard hairs and the short undercoat.
The guard hairs are thick and coarse, and can be up to 18 inches long. These are not usually exported, but are used by Mongolian herders to make their yurts (tents) and for their rough winter coats. It is sometimes woven into industrial fabrics and used for such things as machine belts.
The undercoat, or down, is the hair used to make textiles. These hairs are shorter, usually between 2 and 5 inches long. These hairs are among the finest and softest natural fibers in the world, similar to cashmere -- which is no coincidence, as the cashmere goat is also native to Mongolia, and both animals evolved their fine undercoats to deal with the harsh Mongolian winters.
Making Fabrics
After the camel wool is gathered, the guard hairs are mechanically separated from the undercoat. The undercoat hairs are carded to align the fibers, and then spun into yarn or thread. Because camel hair is so expensive, it is often blended with sheep wool before spinning to make a fabric that is more economical, while retaining much of the softness of pure camel hair.
The resulting yarn or thread is usually left its natural color, although it is sometimes dyed a darker shade of brown.
Knitters can buy camelhair yarn, but it's more common for the wool to be knitted or woven into cloth, usually at factories in China. The resulting camelhair cloth is then exported all over the world and made into a variety of luxury garments.
Clothes made of camel hair are extremely soft and fine, with a lustrous look. They are extremely warm, but also lightweight and strong -- properties that are just as valuable to us as they are to the camel.