Haircloth

Haircloth is commonly understood as a stiff, unsupple fabric made from coarse fibre from camelids, bovines, horses, goats, rabbits, hares and reindeers.

[1] Such hair fibres show a convergence in chemical composition, namely in the presence of α-keratin proteins and amino acids, among which Cashmere, wool and Mohair are most similar.

[17] Literary works and illustrations recorded as early as the 12th century reveal a longer tradition of this haircloth veil culture in Iran.

Horsehair underskirts, known as Mamigun, or Maweiqun, were worn by entertainers, military officials, upper class and  civil servants in Ming Dynasty China.

[18] This is attributed to the influences of a shared cultural sphere between Joseon Korea and Jiangnan established through lesser known trade routes.

[19] In Scandinavia, central Europe and Asia, horsehair sieves were crafted by common folk of Sweden, Slovenia and Japan.

It is labelled loosely today as nori-koshi (“paste filter”), but is most often known as koshiki (漉し器) or uragoshi (裏漉し), with many names depending on the region in question.

[21] In 19th century Northern England, haircloth was employed in the drying of malt for brewing in place of perforated metals which would scorch the grain.

[23] Hair is woven into thick threads which are then braided into blankets due to the insulating properties provided by the coarse knotting resulting from its manufacturing process.

[24] Worn as an undergarment closest to the skin, it appears in some French medieval literature as embodied garments of sexuality and romantic devotion.

Elaborate, brightly woven tapestries of vicuña, llama, human hair textiles were found at the Cavernas archeological dig-site of Paracas, Peru, in 1925, by Julio C.

[27] In Hallsatt, Germany, belts of braided horsehair and wool have been found at an early Iron Age site, La Tène.

[28] In Hochdorf, Switzerland, soft badger hair was used for a chieftain’s overcoat, found in a grave dating to the 5th century BCE.

To circumvent this, hairs are often mixed with other materials,[1][23] or spun into thicker threads and yarns as in medieval London, resulting in a coarser texture.

[27] The Arab Bedouin women spin threads by hand, turning the spindle in one arm, while the other rolls the hair against their thigh to make a yarn.