Yak wool
The yak's undercoat grows before winter and falls out by itself in early summer. If it is not combed out, it is lost to pasture and scrub.1 Our scarves and blankets are made from this fibre – in the colour of the animal, undyed, woven by hand in Nepal.
Where the fibre comes from
The domestic yak lives between 2,000 and 5,000 metres.1 Nepal keeps yaks in eighteen alpine districts; in summer the animals move to high pastures without supplementary feed, in winter to sheltered valley locations.1 The main product there is milk, not fibre – the wool is the by-product of an animal kept for milk and meat, and the herders' income from fibre is correspondingly small.1
This form of husbandry is shrinking. In 1961 Nepal counted around 200,000 yaks and hybrids;1 today there are about 48,000 animals in fewer than ten thousand households.3 The reasons given are the migration of young people, changing weather, smaller grazing areas and the loss of access to Tibetan pastures.3
Our workshop names the high altitudes of Manang and Upper Mustang as the origin of the fibre.11 This is the workshop's statement; we have no independent confirmation.
Altitude at which the domestic yak is kept.1
Yak population in the whole of Nepal, kept by fewer than ten thousand households.3
The fibre is a by-product; milk and meat provide the income.1
Combed, not shorn
The fine undercoat sits beneath the coarse guard hair, and it sits there so densely that the one can be separated from the other without taking the animal's protection away. It is harvested by hand during the spring moult – in the weeks when the animal sheds the fibre anyway.1 2 What this looks like in detail is shown here:
Over several rounds, a fully grown animal yields about half a kilogram of undercoat a year. Depending on breed, age and method, the figures range from a good 200 grams to over a kilogram: keepers give 8 to 20 ounces per adult animal,5 the FAO country report for Mongolia 1,310 to 1,750 grams of total fibre, of which around half to just under two thirds is undercoat.4 This refers to the combed undercoat before burr removal.
A word of context: combing during the spring moult is also the usual method for the cashmere goat and the one required by industry standards.2 Anyone claiming an animal welfare advantage for yak would have to prove it for their own supplier, not for the species. We do not claim it.
What makes the fibre
Range of tested fine yak undercoat; on average it is about 18 µm.6 7 There is no test report of our own for our goods; the workshop states 16 µm.11
Combed undercoat of a fully grown animal, 200 g to over 1 kg depending on breed and age.4 5
Undercoat, without guard hair and without blended fibre – that is the whole point with yak.11
Little grease means gentler preparation: the fibre needs to be washed less aggressively before spinning.1
This is how many yaks have white hair. Anthracite, brown and grey are the colour of the animal.2
Why the guard hair has to come out
There is a measurement on this, and it is clear: yak undercoat conducts heat less well than yak guard hair – 2.08 versus 2.63 (×10−4 cal/cm·°C), and the difference is statistically significant.6 The finer the fibre, the better it insulates. Keeping warmth means not conducting it away; the fine undercoat does this better.
Then there is the appearance: medullated coarse hair takes dye less well and shows up in the finished fabric as a lighter, harsher single fibre.1 Whatever guard hair remains in the yarn can be seen – and felt.
The colour comes from the animal
Only about one in ten yaks has white hair; the rest are black, brown, grey or piebald.2 In our pieces, anthracite, greyish brown, beige and black are the colour of the animal, not of the dye bath.
There is a reason why no light pastel shades come from this: pure white and clear light shades could only be achieved with 100 percent yak by bleaching, and with this fibre bleaching costs hand and strength – it is the subject of dedicated textile research precisely because it is difficult.10 We do not bleach.
From yarn to piece
The weaving is done in the same small workshop where our cashmere pieces are made – by hand, on a hand loom, one after the other. A yak wool blanket of twelve-ply yarn at 14 gauge takes 28 to 30 days on the loom.11
What comes before and after is just as much handwork: winding the yarn, drawing in the warp, and at the end twisting the fringes by hand. The same hands that weave our cashmere also weave the yak wool – only the fibre is different.
Yak or cashmere?
Both are in the same price range with us, and both are woven by hand in the same workshop. The difference lies not in quality but in purpose – and it goes both ways.
A point that is regularly misunderstood when it comes to price: the fact that raw yak fibre costs about a quarter of cashmere7 is not due to abundance – the quantities are smaller than for cashmere2 12 – but to the dark colour and to the fibre being harder to spin.7 8
So that it stays this way for a long time
Washing+
Air rather than wash. If washing, then by hand in cold to lukewarm water with a mild wool detergent; blankets on the wool or delicates programme at a maximum of 30 °C. Do not rub, do not wring, do not tumble dry – dry flat.
A point that belongs to this fibre: in a comparison of the three fine animal hairs yak, cashmere and camel, yak had the poorest acid and alkali resistance.9 Aggressive detergents and household remedies such as vinegar or soda harm this fibre more than others. Mild wool detergent, nothing else.
Pills and fluff+
The scales of the yak fibre lie flat against the hair shaft; the fibre catches less readily than wool and is correspondingly slow to felt.1 We have no measured comparison of pilling between yak and cashmere – if pills do form, they can be removed and are not a defect.
Storage+
Store dry, airy and protected from moths, lying flat rather than hanging. Air before storing; a stain that is put into storage attracts moths.
What this fibre cannot do
A lot is claimed about yak wool. Much of it cannot be proven. What we do not say, and why:
"Warmer than cashmere."There is no series of measurements comparing yak, cashmere and merino at the same weight. Anyone quoting thirty or forty percent is passing on a manufacturer's claim.
"Softer than cashmere."The opposite has been measured: on technically identically constructed fabrics, cashmere felt the softest,8 and the cashmere fibre is finer.7
"The fibre is hollow."Only the coarse guard hair has a medulla – precisely what has to come out. Fine undercoat has no medulla.1
"Absorbs more moisture than sheep wool."The only measurement found says the opposite: yak undercoat 7.4 to 7.7 percent, sheep wool 9.4 to 11.8 percent.1
"Self-cleaning."What is proven is a water-repellent fibre surface.6 Self-cleaning is something else.
"Certified."There is no mark of origin or quality for yak wool from Nepal. The collective mark of the Nepal Pashmina Industries Association applies to cashmere from the Chyangra goat, not to yak.
Sources
- Wiener, G., Han Jianlin, Long Ruijun (2003): The Yak, 2nd edition, FAO, Bangkok – fibre types and diameters, hair density per square centimetre, combing before shearing, wool grease, moisture absorption, fleece weights, husbandry in Nepal.
- Petrie, O. J. (1995): Harvesting of Textile Animal Fibres, FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin 122, Rome – timing of harvest, colour distribution of the animals, quantities.
- Nepali Times, 15.06.2024: When yaks go, so does culture – yak population in Nepal and number of households keeping yaks.
- FAO (2003), country report Mongolia in The Yak: 1,310 to 1,750 g of total fibre per adult animal.
- North American Yak Association: keepers' figure, 8 to 20 ounces of undercoat per fully grown animal per year over several combing rounds (association figure, no independent testing).
- Danzan, B. et al. (2021): The relationship between fiber diameter and performance of yak wool. Mongolian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 33(2), 20–24 – thermal conductivity of undercoat and guard hair, fibre diameter, wettability.
- McGregor, B. A. (2012): Properties, Processing and Performance of Rare Natural Animal Fibres, RIRDC 12/150 – diameter ranges of yak and cashmere, scale height, price ratio.
- Gürkan Ünal, P., Atav, R., Ergünay, U. (2023): Determining the Permeability and Handle Properties of Wool, Yak and Cashmere Hand-knitted Fabrics. Journal of Natural Fibers 20(2) – handle testing and spinnability.
- Liu, C., Xie, C., Liu, X. et al. (2018): Properties of Yak Wool in Comparison to Cashmere and Camel Hairs. Journal of Natural Fibers 15(2), 162–173 – strength and acid and alkali resistance in a three-way comparison.
- Yan, K., Höcker, H., Schäfer, K. (2000): Handle of Bleached Knitted Fabric Made from Fine Yak Hair. Textile Research Journal 70(8), 734–738 – bleaching worsens handle and damages the fibre.
- Workshop information: origin of the fibre, fibre fineness, composition of the yarns, weaving times.
- Discover Natural Fibres Initiative: global quantities of raw cashmere fibre (association figure, own sources FAO 2009 and DNFI 2020).
As of: 17.09.2026. This page will be updated when new measurements or test reports become available.
With every item sold, the women who wove it are paid. What remains after deducting all selling costs contributes substantially to the work of Namaste Kids e. V.
