Qiviut

[1] The muskox has a two-layered coat, and qiviut refers specifically to the soft underwool beneath the longer outer wool.

Qiviut is produced by the muskox's secondary hair follicles, which are not associated with sebaceous glands, and therefore is a much drier fibre than wool, having only about 7 percent oils.

The hair follicle density is very high (approximately 42 mm2 [0.065 sq in]) and qiviut is shed in a tightly synchronized spring moulting period.

The qiviut will loosen from the animal's skin and pull away slightly, creating a "spectacled" look around the eyes and becoming visible all over the body at the surface of the pelt.

Bleaching weakens the fibre, however, so many spinners and knitters recommend using only overdyed natural qiviut, which has darker, more subdued colours.

[7] Yarn production was first done soon after the reintroduction by an Alaskan home economics teacher who gathered the fibre and spun it herself.

[8] The Oomingmak Musk Ox Producer's Cooperative was formed in the late 1960s by indigenous women on Nunivak Island, with the help of Dr. Teal and Mrs. L. Schell.

"[citation needed] As of 2016 there were about four thousand muskox in Alaska and raw qiviut fibre was sold at $1.2 per gram ($35/oz), approximately twice the price of cashmere.