Our Qiviut
What is Qiviut?
Qiviut (pronounced kiv'-ee-at) refers to the soft, downy underwool produced by muskoxen. The insulating warmth of qiviut is one of the principal reasons muskoxen can survive arctic winters. These relics of the last ice age neither migrate nor hibernate to escape the winter. Instead, they live on the open tundra, exposed to the harsh, cold extremes of the polar night. Their pelage is uniquely adapted to arctic winters: an outer coat of long, coarse guard hair protects the underwool from the wind and snow. Snow can rest on the back of a muskox without melting. The guard hair keeps the warmth, trapped in the qiviut, near the body. Muskoxen shed their underwool every spring and grow a new insulating layer during the short arctic summer and fall.
Qiviut is shed in a highly synchronous manner – it lifts from the animal over a very brief period (approximately 2 weeks). Like a thick blanket, the qiviut works its way out through the guard hair. In the wild, the shed qiviut hangs in ragged tatters from the animals. They will rub the qiviut off on the ground or any convenient rubbing post or let the wind shred and scatter it. Enterprising northerners follow muskox herds when they are shedding and collect the qiviut from the tundra. Care needs to be taken though, as qiviut quickly weathers and becomes brittle when exposed to the elements. On the farm, the shaggy appearance means its time to comb.
Our Process
Qiviut can be combed from farmed muskoxen. If handled and socialized with people from an early age, muskoxen, females and castrates in particular, become very tame and easy to handle. Bulls respond equally well to early handling but as adults their behavior changes with the onset of the rut and they must be treated with a great deal of care at all times. Even with tame muskoxen, we comb them in a ‘squeeze chute’, an animal restraint system that is designed to ensure the safety of both animal and handler.
When the qiviut is ready to comb it has already lifted from the skin such that a long toothed comb can be slipped between the qiviut and the skin and the qiviut slowly teased out through the guard hair. Large ‘fleeces’ can be combed from the sides and shoulders such as seen in the pictures below. Two people can comb the prime qiviut (neck, shoulders, side, back, and upper rump) in approximately 1 hour, if the muskox is patient and stands still. Usually, though, the animals are brought through two or more times to get all the qiviut.
A fleece can be ‘graded’ and skirted much like a sheep fleece. Matted, dirty qiviut and qiviut contaminated with vegetation can be easily pulled from the fleece. Combed qiviut is extremely clean – normally very low in oils, it also has very few guard hairs and with good management – it is also free from excessive hay and dirt contamination.
The qiviut harvested on the farm is sent to small custom mills in the ‘lower 48’ for processing into yarn. These small custom mills can process very small quantities and all the yarn we get back is from our animals. Each batch is very different and has an artisanal, hand made quality. Recently, two custom mills have opened in AVÀÇÂÛ̳ and we are working with both of them to help develop a high quality, made in AVÀÇÂÛ̳ yarn
Blending qiviut with other fine fibers improves the spin, uptake of dyes and enhances qiviut properties. Superfine merino wool, for instance, gives strength and elasticity and compliments qiviut’s softness. We also blend with silk (10-20%). Most of our yarns are spun in a 2 ply lace weight (with approx. 200 yds/oz (range: 180-220 yds).
Our Yarn
We offer a variety of blends and colors of qiviut yarn. Our 100% qiviut lace weight yarn is the most popular and comes in the natural brown, as well as a variety of solid colors. We have recently started to carry more hand painted qiviut; each skein is a beautiful and unique blend of three bold vibrant colors. No two skiens are alike, and the result is a beautiful swirl of color in your knitted item.
We also blend our qiviut with different fibers, mostly silk or merino. The blends are just as wonderful, and give the qiviut yarn a slightly different handle when knitting. Our blends also come in a variety of colors, as well as hand painted.
Qiviut resources
Qiviut is well suited to lace knitting and open work. When looking for patterns look for a similar weight yarn (light fingering or lace weight) with the same approximate yardage and gauge. This will help determine how much you will need to complete a project. Always buy 25-50 yards more than the pattern calls for.
For heavier weight projects knitting with 2 strands together produces a wonderfully soft warm fabric suitable for hats, mittens and scarves.
Knitting Patterns
Coming soon!