Wool is the fiber derived from the hair of domesticated animals, usually sheep.
History of Wool As the raw material has been readily available since the widespread domestication of sheep and similar animals, the use of wool for clothing and other fabrics dates back to some of the earliest civilizations. Prior to invention of shears - probably in the Iron Age - they probably plucked the wool out by hand or by bronze combs.
In medieval times, the wool trade was serious business. English wool exports - which bordered on European monopoly - were a significant source of income to the crown. Over the centuries, various British laws controlled the wool trade or required the use of wool even in burials. In 1699 English crown forbade its American colonies to trade wool with anyone else but the England itself.
Australia and New Zealand are leading commercial producers of wool. Most of the wool comes from the Merino breed of sheep when breeds of Lincoln and Romney produce coarser fibers that are usually used for making carpets. In the United States, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado also have large commercial sheep flocks and their mainstay is the Rambouillet, or French Merino. There is also a thriving 'home flock' contigent of small scale farmers who raise small hobby flocks of specialty sheep for the handspinning market. These small scale farmers may raise any type of sheep they wish, so the selection of fleeces is quite wide.
Processing of Wool
Wool straight off a sheep contains a high level of grease which contains valuable lanolin, as well as dirt, dead skin, sweat residue, and vegetable matter. This state is known as "grease wool" or "wool in the grease". Before the wool can be used for commercial purposes it must be scoured, or cleaned. Scouring may be as simple as a bath in warm water, or a complicated industrial process using detergent and alkali. In commercial wool, vegetable matter is often removed by the chemical process of chemical carbonization. In less processed wools, vegetable matter may be removed by hand, and some of the lanolin left intact through use of gentler detergents. This semi-grease wool can be worked into yarn and knitted into particularly water-resistant mittens or sweaters, such as those of the Aran Island fishermen. Lanolin removed from wool is widely used in the cosmetics industry, such as hand creams.
After shearing, the wool is separated into five main categories: fleece (which makes up the vast bulk), broken, pieces, bellies and locks. The latter four are pressed into wool packs and sold separately. The quality of fleece is determined by a technique known as wool classing, whereby a qualified woolclasser groups wools of similar gradings together to maximise the return for the farmer or sheep owner. Prior to Australian auctions all Merino fleece wool is objectively measured for micron, yield (including the amount of vegetable matter), staple length, staple strength and sometimes color and comfort factor.
History of Wool As the raw material has been readily available since the widespread domestication of sheep and similar animals, the use of wool for clothing and other fabrics dates back to some of the earliest civilizations. Prior to invention of shears - probably in the Iron Age - they probably plucked the wool out by hand or by bronze combs.
In medieval times, the wool trade was serious business. English wool exports - which bordered on European monopoly - were a significant source of income to the crown. Over the centuries, various British laws controlled the wool trade or required the use of wool even in burials. In 1699 English crown forbade its American colonies to trade wool with anyone else but the England itself.
Australia and New Zealand are leading commercial producers of wool. Most of the wool comes from the Merino breed of sheep when breeds of Lincoln and Romney produce coarser fibers that are usually used for making carpets. In the United States, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado also have large commercial sheep flocks and their mainstay is the Rambouillet, or French Merino. There is also a thriving 'home flock' contigent of small scale farmers who raise small hobby flocks of specialty sheep for the handspinning market. These small scale farmers may raise any type of sheep they wish, so the selection of fleeces is quite wide.
Processing of Wool
Wool straight off a sheep contains a high level of grease which contains valuable lanolin, as well as dirt, dead skin, sweat residue, and vegetable matter. This state is known as "grease wool" or "wool in the grease". Before the wool can be used for commercial purposes it must be scoured, or cleaned. Scouring may be as simple as a bath in warm water, or a complicated industrial process using detergent and alkali. In commercial wool, vegetable matter is often removed by the chemical process of chemical carbonization. In less processed wools, vegetable matter may be removed by hand, and some of the lanolin left intact through use of gentler detergents. This semi-grease wool can be worked into yarn and knitted into particularly water-resistant mittens or sweaters, such as those of the Aran Island fishermen. Lanolin removed from wool is widely used in the cosmetics industry, such as hand creams.
After shearing, the wool is separated into five main categories: fleece (which makes up the vast bulk), broken, pieces, bellies and locks. The latter four are pressed into wool packs and sold separately. The quality of fleece is determined by a technique known as wool classing, whereby a qualified woolclasser groups wools of similar gradings together to maximise the return for the farmer or sheep owner. Prior to Australian auctions all Merino fleece wool is objectively measured for micron, yield (including the amount of vegetable matter), staple length, staple strength and sometimes color and comfort factor.