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- felt
- reused wool
- reprocessed wool
- virgin wool
- carpet wool
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wool
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What is wool?
Wool is an animal fiber that makes up the protective fleece of sheep and other mammals like goats and camels. Early humans used sheepskins for clothing and eventually learned to create yarn and fabric from the fiber. Through selective breeding, the long, coarse hairs were eliminated, leaving the soft, fine undercoat.
Wool is obtained by shearing fleece from living animals. The wool fibre consists mainly of the animal protein keratin. The resilient fiber can return to its original length after stretching or compression, which gives fabrics the ability to retain their shape and resist wrinkling.
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Which animals produce wool?
Wool is an animal fiber that makes up the protective covering, or fleece, of sheep and other hairy mammals like goats and camels. Wool is mainly obtained through shearing, though an inferior type called pulled wool comes from slaughtered sheep pelts.
There are hundreds of sheep breeds that produce wool, generally classified as medium wool, long wool, or fine wool. Examples of sheep that produce wool are the Merino, Rambouillet, and Corriedale.
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How is wool collected from animals?
Wool, a valuable animal fiber, is mainly collected through shearing the fleece of living animals like sheep, goats, and camels. However, an inferior type of wool, known as pulled wool, can be obtained by treating the pelts of slaughtered sheep to loosen the fiber.
The process of cleaning the fleece removes "wool grease," a fatty substance that is then purified to produce lanolin, a by-product used in cosmetics and ointments.
Alpacas are sheared every two years. Suris yield fleeces of about 3 kg (6.5 pounds) per animal, and huacayas give around 2.5 kg (5.5 pounds).
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What are the main uses of wool?
Wool is an animal fiber that is obtained from the fleece of sheep and other mammals.
Wool has many uses, including:
* Clothing and textiles Wool is used to make a variety of clothing, including suits, dresses, and sweaters. It is also used in blankets and felt.
* Industrial applications Wool is used for vibration isolation, wicking, polishing, sealing, insulation, and packaging.
* Home furnishings Wool is used in carpets and upholstery.3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Why is wool a good material for clothing?
Wool is a good material for clothing due to several properties. Its crimp helps the fibers cling together, making even loosely twisted yarns strong. Both crimp and resilience allow the manufacture of open-structured yarns and fabrics that trap heat-insulating air, and its low density makes for lightweight fabrics.
Wool can also absorb a good amount of moisture (as much as 18% of its weight), and as it absorbs moisture from the air, it becomes warmer to the wearer. Because moisture absorption and release happen gradually, wool doesn't feel damp quickly and doesn't chill the wearer through rapid drying.
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How does the quality of wool differ between animal breeds?
Wool quality varies significantly among sheep breeds, influencing its use. The Merino, originally from Spain, produces excellent, fine, soft fleeces, while long wool breeds like Lincoln and Cotswold yield coarse, long fibers suitable for carpets and rugs.
Medium wool breeds, such as Hampshire and Suffolk, provide acceptable wool alongside fine mutton. Other animals such as the cashmere goat and Angora goat are known for their wool, with the Angora goat producing mohair, which differs from wool because of its smoothness and luster.
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wool, animal fibre forming the protective covering, or fleece, of sheep or of other hairy mammals, such as goats and camels. Prehistoric man, clothing himself with sheepskins, eventually learned to make yarn and fabric from their fibre covering. Selective sheep breeding eliminated most of the long, coarse hairs forming a protective outer coat, leaving the insulating fleecy undercoat of soft, fine fibre.
Wool is mainly obtained by shearing fleece from living animals, but pelts of slaughtered sheep are sometimes treated to loosen the fibre, yielding an inferior type called pulled wool. Cleaning the fleece removes “wool grease,” the fatty substance purified to make lanolin (q.v.), a by-product employed in cosmetics and ointments.
Wool fibre is chiefly composed of the animal protein keratin. Protein substances are more vulnerable to chemical damage and unfavourable environmental conditions than the cellulose material forming the plant fibres. Coarser than such textile fibres as cotton, linen, silk, and rayon, wool has diameters ranging from about 16 to 40 microns (a micron is about 0.00004 inch). Length is greatest for the coarsest fibres. Fine wools are about 1.5 to 3 inches (4 to 7.5 centimetres) long; extremely coarse fibres may be as much as 14 inches in length. Wool is characterized by waviness with up to 30 waves per inch (12 per centimetre) in fine fibres and 5 per inch (2 per centimetre) or less in coarser fibres. Colour, usually whitish, may be brown or black, especially in coarse types, and coarse wools have higher lustre than fine types.
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Single wool fibres can resist breakage when subjected to weights of 0.5 to 1 ounce (15 to 30 grams) and when stretched as much as 25 to 30 percent of their length. Unlike vegetable fibres, wool has a lower breaking strength when wet. The resilient fibre can return to its original length after limited stretching or compression, thus imparting to fabrics and garments the ability to retain shape, drape well, and resist wrinkling. Because crimp encourages fibres to cling together, even loosely twisted yarns are strong, and both crimp and resilience allow manufacture of open-structured yarns and fabrics that trap and retain heat-insulating air. The low density of wool allows manufacture of lightweight fabrics.
Wool fibre has good to excellent affinity for dyestuffs. Highly absorbent, retaining as much as 16 to 18 percent of its weight in moisture, wool becomes warmer to the wearer as it absorbs moisture from the air, thus adjusting its moisture content and, consequently, its weight, in response to atmospheric conditions. Because moisture absorption and release are gradual, wool is slow to feel damp and does not chill the wearer by too-rapid drying.
Wool that has been stretched during yarn or fabric manufacture may undergo relaxation shrinkage in washing, with fibres resuming their normal shape. Felting shrinkage occurs when wet fibres, subjected to mechanical action, become matted into packed masses. Wool has good resistance to dry-cleaning solvents, but strong alkalies and high temperatures are harmful. Washing requires the use of mild reagents at temperatures below 20° C (68° F), with minimum mechanical action. The performance of wool has been improved by development of finishes imparting insect and mildew resistance, shrinkage control, improved fire resistance, and water repellency.
Woolen yarns, usually made from shorter fibres, are thick and full and are used for such full-bodied items as tweed fabrics and blankets. Worsteds, usually made from longer fibre, are fine, smooth, firm, and durable. They are used for fine dress fabrics and suitings. Wool that has had no previous use is described as new wool, or, in the United States, as virgin wool. The limited world supply results in the use of recovered wools. In the United States, wool recovered from fabric never used by the consumer is called reprocessed wool; wool recovered from material that has had use is called reused wool. Recovered wools, employed mainly in woolens and blends, are often of inferior quality because of damage suffered during the recovery process.
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Australia, Russia, New Zealand, and Kazakhstan lead in fine-wool production, and India leads in the production of the coarser wools known as carpet wools. Leading consumers include the United Kingdom, the United States, and Japan.