Mohair fabric source

Seth Swoboda

Seth Swoboda

Well-known member
With absence of any V8 upholstery company, I'm needing to source some mohair fabric for 1937 Ford seats.

Does anyone have any idea on a source for this fabric? Also, would a company such as Classtique in Minnesota have this? They do Model A interiors. Is the mohair the same as say a late 1931 Model A mohair?

If I can source the correct mohair color, I can have an auto upholstery shop sew up seat covers.

Thanks,
Seth
 
See > https://www.hirschauto.com/mohaircard.htm

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I called Bill Hirsch. They can not get brown, tan or black mohair at this time. Seems like mohair is a real problem to obtain.
 
I bought the last of the G-185 rose beige mohair that Hirsch had.
I still needed more and found a good match on EBAY.
It is close in price. I bought 15 yds for the next 2 projects
https://www.ebay.com/itm/125244550787.

These are several sellers on there with mohair, the one I bought is from the Netherlands and is as good as what Hirsch had in color and quality. There are several other sellers with more brown and tan colors as well. This stuff is getting hard to source.
 
There are only two wool mills in Texas that still produce mohair fabric. One is out near Marathon and the other is north of Houston. Texas still has a lot of goat and sheep ranches out in the western regions but times have changed due to the South Africans milling the wool cheaper than what can be done here. Synthetics have taken over the vast majority of the market and there is less call for these luxury textiles than there used to be. There are still a lot of angora goats in west Texas though but I don't know who all purchases the wool.

When a spinning & weaving mill makes up this type of fabric, they make it by the roll and these rolls are likely a lot more fabric than most people want to purchase. In hard times, a supplier may not purchase a roll until they have a lot of orders for the product. Mohair is expensive material to make and the price reflects that no matter where it comes from.
 
Anyone considering doing business with SMS Fabrics should review the Better Business Bureau online complaint file for them.
 
I read several complaints to the BBB as well as SMS responses. They seem to be very cooperative and forthcoming in resolving issues.
 
I cannot speak for those who have had problems with SMS, but I am very pleased with the fabric they made for my Coronation Red 1950 Crestliner. The person who did my interior was able to source it from SMS. Lebaron Bonney never made the maroon fabric, only the Sportsman Green version.

I should point out that the fabric was purchased in 2008.

Ken
 

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52flthed said:
Whats the difference between mohair and broadcloth?
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Mohair is a longer fiber type of wool than sheeps wool. Traditionally, wool broadcloth is milled from sheeps wool but can have other fibers spun and woven in depending on what finish the customer wants for the completed fabric. This type of wool goes through a process of pre-shrinking that can be complicated. The process brings the fibers closer together to make for a dense finish where a person can't see so much of the weave since the fibers are so closely compacted. It's a light to medium weight fabric, depending on how it's processed, that is very strong and resistant to wear and tear. This is why it was popular for automotive upholstery back in the day.

Mohair, which is specific to the angora goat type of wool, can be spun and woven into a relatively dense pattern of weave that has a soft almost fur like nap to it with a sheen that sets it apart from other wools. This is due to the lack of scales on the fiber like sheeps wool has. The angora goats have a long hair look to their wool before they are shorn while sheep have the fleece look before they are shorn.

If folks are looking for Mohair fabric, check with Classtique and see if they have any. A company that uses it will generally sell by the yard but expect to pay a premium price for it if it's available. It's over $300 a yard for the popular colors.
 
I do not categorize an eight month delay to provide some 1" x 2" fabric swatches as "cooperative" or "forthcoming".
 
rotorwrench said:
Mohair is a longer fiber type of wool than sheeps wool. Traditionally, wool broadcloth is milled from sheeps wool but can have other fibers spun and woven in depending on what finish the customer wants for the completed fabric. This type of wool goes through a process of pre-shrinking that can be complicated. The process brings the fibers closer together to make for a dense finish where a person can't see so much of the weave since the fibers are so closely compacted. It's a light to medium weight fabric, depending on how it's processed, that is very strong and resistant to wear and tear. This is why it was popular for automotive upholstery back in the day.

Mohair, which is specific to the angora goat type of wool, can be spun and woven into a relatively dense pattern of weave that has a soft almost fur like nap to it with a sheen that sets it apart from other wools. This is due to the lack of scales on the fiber like sheeps wool has. The angora goats have a long hair look to their wool before they are shorn while sheep have the fleece look before they are shorn.

If folks are looking for Mohair fabric, check with Classtique and see if they have any. A company that uses it will generally sell by the yard but expect to pay a premium price for it if it's available. It's over $300 a yard for the popular colors.
Click to expand...

Classtique is going to send me some samples. It won't be cheap as you mentioned. Gone are the days of an affordable upholstery supplier. Supply chain in this hobby is squeezed and I don't think it ever improves. Full blown restorations are a thing of the past and keeping your V8 running will be all that most will be willing to tolerate.
 
Did you know that one goat must thrive and produce for ten years to provide enough mohair to upholster the average five-passenger sedan.
 
The first time I ever saw a bump gate was at sheep and goat ranch in west Texas. The rancher just drives up and pushes the gate open with his truck and the gate slowly closes behind him. We had cattle guards in Kansas or we got out and opened the gate manually. These gates are common in sheep and goat ranches just about every where in the world that they are raised but we just didn't have any goats in Kansas. There weren't a lot of sheep either so I never knew of such a set up.

Texas goat population has dropped down to a little over 60,000 head as of 2021 so there are still some pretty big herds of them out in the hill country of west Texas. They cut an average of 5 LBs of wool from each goat at shearing time. Most are sheared in the warmer times of the year to give them relief from the heat. Their wool grows about an inch a month so they have to be sheared twice a year to keep them happy. The big problem now is finding experienced workers to shear them. It's not an easy job since a person has to bend over to shear them and I know my back can't take that kind of work any more. Young folks these days aren't lining up to learn that trade any more.
 
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rotorwrench said:
The first time I ever saw a bump gate was at sheep and goat ranch in west Texas. The rancher just drives up and pushes the gate open with his truck and the gate slowly closes behind him. We had cattle guards in Kansas or we got out and opened the gate manually. These gates are common in sheep and goat ranches just about every where in the world that they are raised but we just didn't have any goats in Kansas. There weren't a lot of sheep either so I never knew of such a set up.

Texas goat population has dropped down to a little over 60,000 head as of 2021 so there are still some pretty big herds of them out in the hill country of west Texas. They cut an average of 5 LBs of wool from each goat at shearing time. Most are sheared in the warmer times of the year to give them relief from the heat. Their wool grows about an inch a month so they have to be sheared twice a year to keep them happy. The big problem now if finding experienced workers to shear them. It's not an easy job since a person has to bend over to shear them and I know my back can't take that kind of work any more. Young folks these days aren't lining up to learn that trade any more.
Click to expand...

Sheering a goat or sheep is hard work indeed. The farm I use to work at had the large sheerer that was cable driven from a motor; almost like a flex drive from a Dremel, just much heavier duty.

I could never get it to where I was able to sheer them and have it come off like a coat or blanket like you see in movies. Haha.

I will say this. Working with sheep, I never needed gloves since the lanolin keep your hands in great condition.
 
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