Baby camel hair is the down collected from young Bactrian camels in the Gobi region. The fibre is fine, warm and naturally a pale honey colour, and it has long been used by luxury weavers for overcoats. In knitwear it is a rarer speciality that offers cashmere-like softness with greater resilience.
What makes baby camel hair luxury quality
- Fineness: baby camel down at 16–19 µm is far finer than adult camel hair (20–40 µm).
- Colour: usually sold in its natural golden shade or overdyed in camel and brown tones.
- Resilience: the fibre's natural crimp gives knitwear good shape retention.
Care
Hand-wash cool or dry clean; dry flat. See the full care guide.
Houses working in baby camel hair
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One of the world's largest vertically integrated cashmere producers, from raw Mongolian fibre to garment
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Family-run Hawick knitter of dense multi-ply cashmere, Geelong lambswool and camelhair
Baby camel hair: frequently asked questions
What is baby camel wool?
Baby camel wool (or hair) is the soft undercoat combed from Bactrian camels under one year old, typically in Mongolia. At 16–19 microns it is as fine as good cashmere, naturally golden, and used by a small number of luxury knitwear houses for sweaters and scarves.
Which brands make the best baby camel hair knitwear?
Houses in this index specialising in baby camel hair include Gobi Cashmere and William Lockie. Judge any of them on fibre grade, gauge, construction and finishing rather than name alone.