Wool refers to various animal hairs that can be spun and woven. The best-known source of wool is the sheep, followed by the goat, rabbit, alpaca and camel.
The wool of a sheep is usually obtained by hand or machine shearing, and in some animals the wool is combed or plucked out (plucking is painless for the animals, as loose hairs are plucked out of the coat). It is then sorted and formed into an untwisted, coarse roving and finely spun. For coarser textiles, the yarn is dyed before weaving; for smooth fabrics, such as a suit fabric, it is only dyed after weaving.
Different qualities of sheep's wool are determined by hair length, crimp and fineness.
Short wool: a soft and elastic product that comes from the first shearing of a sheep (approx. 6 months old)
Merino wool: this comes from the well-known Merino sheep and is characterised by its high-quality wool. It is soft, fine and heavily crimped.
Crossbred wool: this comes from crossbred sheep, a cross between coarse wool and merino sheep. It is medium-staple, medium-fine and not as soft or heavily crimped as merino wool.
Cheviot wool: this is a long-staple, coarse wool. It is used in the carpet industry and in technical applications.
Virgin wool: If a product is labelled as virgin wool, it is a product that comes directly from a living animal. This quality feature excludes the possibility that the product was obtained from old textiles or wool from deceased animals.
In addition to sheep, wool is also obtained from other animal skins:
Mohair: this is the name given to the wool of the Angora goat. It is hardly crimped and has a higher density than sheep's wool
Alpaca wool: with its many microscopic air pockets, alpaca wool is the leader in heat retention.
Angora wool: this is the particularly soft and barely crimped wool of the Angora rabbit.
Quiviut: this is the name given to the hard-to-spin undercoat of musk oxen. Very high-quality wool is produced when process
Properties
Wool clothing has excellent thermoregulation properties, as its fibres consist of approx. 85% air. This makes it possible for a woollen jumper to store body heat in the fabric and for a scarf to protect against the effects of external heat in the warmer regions of the world. Wool absorbs moisture well without feeling wet and the surface repels moisture.
In contrast to synthetic fibres, wool fibres are flame retardant, which is why it is often used in trains and aeroplanes, as well as for firefighters‘ and soldiers’ uniforms.
Wool clothing rarely creases and can be stretched by more than 40 % when wet. When dry, it returns to its original fit. However, this property also depends on the quality of the wool, as poor quality woollen fabrics have less elasticity.
Care
Wool products are hardly susceptible to dirt and odours, which is why shaking out and airing is usually sufficient. If you still want to wash your woollen clothing, you should first and foremost follow the guidelines on the washing instructions.
It is advisable to select the wool wash cycle or the hand wash cycle at a temperature between 30 and 40 °C. A wool detergent or mild detergent should be used. Normally, woollen clothing should not be put in the tumble dryer, but if the washing instructions state otherwise, you should do this at very low temperatures. Otherwise, washed clothes should be dried flat.
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