Banner Sponsors

lmcadmin Jun 3, 2011

I need to hair some goat heads using fabric backed Mohair.  These are just your everyday looking goats and will closely resemble the following image

As you can see in the picture, the hair is very short with a blend of colors primarily brown, black and white

I've been looking for some teddy bear supply companies online that are selling Mohair of various kinds.  I know alot of people here are experienced hairing bears and it's very similar to what I need to do.  However, the biggest difference will be my goats will have a latex form and the fabric will be glued to the latex as opposed to stitched together and stuffed.

What would you recommend as type of mohair with reference to the goat pictures I have in the link : dense, sparse, length of hair, colors etc? 

Recommendations of online mohair suppliers that carry a good stock and quick delivery.

Can you airbrush most mohair?  Because of the blend of colors in the goats,  I can dye the hair to a base color, but will need to airbrush in some of the pepper and blended colors.  Is this possible with straight acrylics or do I need to use oils or some other type of paint?  Is there a need to seal the paint?

Thanks for any suggestions.  This is a quick project, so don't have alot of time to order something out of stock or from a company that might take a few weeks to get me the product.

karenaus Jun 3, 2011

Most mohair suppliers are pretty good, I don't think anyone would make you wait a few weeks for your order. Before anyone can really recommend anything tho, they probably need to know what size you're making them? The 'look' of the finished piece is affected greatly by the pile length and size of the piece which will need to be in proportion
    I doubt you'd have to go further than Teddy Talks sponsor, Intercal though. Have you been and looked at their photo gallery page? That might help you out with your decision.
   In answer to your airbrush question tho, I haven't come across a mohair that couldn't be airbrushed. Yet, lol.. I think youll need a very basic mohair so i dont think youll have a problem. The medium used varies with who you ask, some use Artists Acrylics thinned down for the airbrush, I prefer to use Dye Na Flo dyes.

lmcadmin Jun 4, 2011

Thanks for the response Karenaus.

Good point, don't know why I didn't mention the size of the project.  In fact it will be normal goat sized if slightly bigger.  The reason it is on a latex base is it will be wearable as a mask for a companies promotion.

I will check out the supplier you recommend.  Do you (or anyone else reading this post) have a recommendation on pile length and type of mohair to use?  I prefer fabric backed over having individual hair due to the time constraint.

      thanks

Donna Jun 4, 2011

When I first saw your goat pictures I thought of viscose.  Edinburgh Imports has some rayon that would work.  I think I would get the distressed or the regular in the rayon.  This fabric has a cotton nonstretch backing.   Also LouBear has some fabric that would look good on the goat.  Having been around goats a lot I would choose a straight pile not over 1/2".  I would want one with a nice luster.
Good Luck with your project.
Donna

dangerbears Jun 4, 2011

When I first saw your goat pictures I thought of viscose.  Edinburgh Imports has some rayon that would work.

That's an interesting thought. I was scratching my head over this since the Nubian (?) goats in the pictures have very sleek-looking fur, and most types of mohair I'm familiar with would look too fluffy, perhaps.

I'm also wondering if a synthetic might work well. Edinburgh is lacking photos for this one, but the texture seems right: http://www.edinburghimports.com/shoppin … 12347R=117 (I'm not sure what sorts of paints work on this kind of fur, however.)

Becky

Donna Jun 5, 2011

I think I have the perfect fabric for you.  It is not the short shiny fabric like I first thought ( I still like the idea of the viscose or rayon).  What I am thinking now is Edinburgh's (Schulte) alpaca LG09.  It is 9/16" pile that lays flat.  It is somewhat sparse and has something like guardhair but not really.  It is very realistic looking.  I think it would work great for you.  They have it in white which you can airbrush to the colors you need.
Donna

lmcadmin Jun 5, 2011

Thank you Donna and DB.  Looks like some good suggestions.  Let me dig around with what you recommended and see if I have any more questions.  Looks like Edinburgh is the site to shop from.