Jantzen Kharafleece Sweaters

I've seen the term "Kharafleece" in many Jantzen ads and on the labels of lots of their sweaters. I've often wondered what the term meant. I finally got a clue when reading the ad above from 1954. In the 1950s, sweater companies would name their exclusive yarn blends as a marketing strategy. Garland had "Dreamspun", Nan Dorsey had "Fabulon", Darlene had "Melospun", etc, etc.

What is "Kharafleece"? It was Jantzen's exclusive blend of lambswool, Vicara, and nylon yarn that was mothproofed by Mitin. Here's an earlier post of mine about Mitin. Vicara was a fiber produced by the Virginia-Carolina Corporation. It was made from the extruded plant protein Zein, which comes from corn. Vicara was soft as cashmere, washable, and took dyes well. It had to be blended with other fibers, though, as it was not as durable. Vicara production was discontinued in 1958 due to the advent of better performing synthetic fibers. If you have a Kharafleece sweater by Jantzen, you can properly date it prior to 1959.