Mostly the fibre. Fine merino, silk, mohair, alpaca and cashmere are softer, lighter or more lustrous than everyday wool or acrylic, and they are produced in smaller quantities. Blends combine those strengths: Gazzal Exclusive mixes 60% superwash merino for softness, 30% mulberry silk for sheen and drape, and 10% super kid mohair for a light halo, with 200 m in a 25 g ball. Simple stitches let fibres like these show best.

Most people find kid mohair comfortable, because it comes from young Angora goats' first shearings, when the fibre is at its finest and softest. Very sensitive skin may still feel a tickle from the halo. Gazzal Super Kid Mohair softens the feel further by blending 47% super kid mohair with 31% superwash merino and 22% polyamide. If in doubt, wear it over a layer, or knit a small swatch and hold it against your neck first.

Yes, that is one of its most common uses. The mohair adds a soft halo and warmth, and one strand moves the fabric up roughly one weight category. You need the same length of mohair as of the main yarn: for a sweater using 1,400 m of sport weight, that is about six balls of Gazzal Super Kid Mohair at 237 m per 25 g. Swatch both strands together to find the right needle size.

Slowly and gently. The fuzzy fibres cling to each other, so pull back a little at a time and tease snags apart with a needle tip instead of tugging. Some knitters chill the piece in the freezer first so the halo grips less, and in lace a lifeline every few centimetres saves a lot of ripping. Needles on the larger side, such as 3.25–5 mm for Gazzal Exclusive, make stitches easier to see and count in the first place.

By hand, in cool to lukewarm water with a gentle wool wash, even when the merino is superwash, because silk and mohair need careful handling. Don't wring or rub: press the water out in a towel, then dry flat away from heat and sunlight. Once dry, fluff the mohair halo with your fingers and store the piece folded rather than hung so it keeps its shape. The ball band of Gazzal Exclusive carries the maker's care symbols.

A small shawlette can take around 400 m, while a large wrap may need 1,000 m or more, so check your pattern. That works out to two to five balls of Gazzal Exclusive at 200 m per 25 g, or of Gazzal Super Kid Mohair at 237 m per 25 g. Open lace stretches a ball further than solid stitches. At VILRITA these two Gazzal blends come in 37 and 39 shades, which makes two-colour pieces easy to plan.