Angora vs Merino vs Silk
This is something I have wondered about for a while. What is the difference in volume between Angora wool and other fibers. Different types of fibers have different thickness (measured in microns) but also different density, and different mass. What that means is that an ounce in weight will actually give you different amounts of fiber for your projects. In the extreme, a pound of shoe laces vs a pound of metal chain will yield you two very different lengths of those products.
When choosing what fiber to use in your project, plenty of other factors will play into deciding what you wish to use. Sheep wool has superior elasticity to angora or silk and is better suited for projects in which you want to use a more bouncy yarn. But if all you care about is making something soft, which of the soft fibers do you pick?
Of course the other consideration is cost. Ethically collected Angora is a very labour intensive and hands on process. Majority of commercial mills can not process Angora because it is too soft to be ran through industrial wool equipment. That leaves only small artisan operations. Without the mass production, you don't get the mass production discounts. Ease of availability aside, when people look at the price per ounce of premium fibers, Angora is often the most expensive choice. That makes it seem like you will get a better bang for your buck choosing a different fiber. But is that really the case? If different fibers have different mass and density, you're not getting the same amounts of them when only considering their weight.
This is by no means a scientific comparison and the methodology is far from ideal. It is purely the result of a mental itch that got spontaneously scratched one afternoon while playing with my fiber stash. I thought that the results were interesting enough to share. I wish I had some Alpaca to add to this comparison but unfortunately I didn't have any on hand. I did my best to squish and compact the different fibers into the measuring cup as much as possible.
First up, recycled Sari Silk Roving from the Olive Sparrow. This is priced at $8.25 per 50g. 50g equals to 1.7637oz which means this works out to be $4.68 per oz. Now for some creative math to put all of this in perspective. I'm rounding this as measuring 2 cups in volume. Therefore that works out to be $2.34 per cup.
$13.50 per 50g works out to $7.65 per oz
At 1.5 cups that.'s $5.10 per cup
Super fine Merino roving from Olive Sparrow
$7 per 50g works out to $3.97 per oz
At 2.5 cups that's $1.58 per cup
English Angora, I used roving made on my drum carder so the fibers would already be as compressed as possible. Angora on average sells for $15 per oz. I had a feeling that it would end up having more volume over the Merino but I was surprised that it was by this much! I'm counting this as 5 cups which puts Angora at a cost of $3 per cup.
Satin Angora wool is slightly finer and lighter than the wool from an English Angora but the difference at this scale was imperceivable. If you are lucky enough to find some for sale, it is usually priced higher than the other Angoras because it does have the added benefit of that mesmerizing satin sheen and this breed does produce noticeably less wool compared to the other Angora breeds.
To summarize the above numbers:
Sari Silk $4.68/oz and $2.34/cup
Mulberry Silk Top $7.65/oz and $5.10/cup
Fine Merino $3.97/oz and $1.58/cup
English Angora $15/oz and $3/cup
In conclusion, when measuring by volume of fiber instead of by weight, a new pricing hierarchy emerges. At least based on this limited sampling of products. Now, Angora instead of being almost 4 times more expensive than Merino is only twice as expensive. Instead of being twice as expensive as the Mulberry Silk Top, Angora is now almost half that cost. That was probably the most surprising part of this. I already absolutely adore the wool I get from them, but this makes me appreciate my Satin Angoras that much more!