Facts About Wool

We all know that wool is an immensely enjoyable material to craft with, however many people are unaware about the origins of this material have never considered where it comes from. Here at the Wool and Yarn website we aim to be able to answer all of your wool related questions so we have compiled this handy guide explaining more about wool and its origins.

Wool is actually a fibre that comes from the follicles of animals that belong to the Caprinae family. This family includes sheep and other animals such as goats, llamas and even rabbits. The main thing that distinguishes is from other fibres used in crafting such as hair or fur is that wool is actually crimped and slightly elastic and it is these unique properties that make it so useful for knitting, weaving and general crafting.

These properties are also the reason that wool is commonly used as an insulating material in the creation of jumpers and other clothing; the crimp of the fibre makes it far easier to spin the fleece because the fibres stay together in groups. This means that fabrics and materials made from wool can be very bulky but light due to the large amount of trapped air in the wool itself, and this trapped air makes it a perfect insulator trapping heat and stopping it from escaping.

The type of animal that the wool comes from will determine the specific properties of the wool fabric, fine wools can possess many crimps making it excellent for binding into yarn whilst coarser wools have a very small amount of crimps. Sheep wools are by far the most commonly used type and the hair part of a sheep's fleece is known as kemp. Different breeds of sheep possess different amounts of kemp to wool so different sheep wools are often used for different purposes.

There are many other uses for wool in the modern world. One natural property of all wool is that it is hygroscopic; it can absorb a large amount of moisture and can also give off this moisture again, this makes it excellent for use as an absorbing material when working with liquids and fluids. Wool is also becoming popular as an environmentally friendly insulation for use in houses, and it is also occasionally used in the creation of soundproofing materials thanks to its unique insulating properties.

Wool is also used in the creation of many carpets, particularly in places that require absolute safety. This is because wool actually has a very high ignition temperature when compared to other fibres, especially modern synthetics. This results in flames spreading very slowly if wool does become ignited, and wool also has the advantage of not melting or leaving any harmful residue. When wool is ignited it will usually put itself out and actually releases very few toxic or harmful gases. Because of these unique properties it is often used in the creation of specialist clothing for military personnel, fire-fighters, police and many other high risk occupations that may come into contact with fire.

One major by-product of wool is lanolin, something that is used worldwide in products such as face and hand creams. When it is first sheared it contains a large amount of grease and must be carefully cleaned, traditionally this is as simple as bathing the wool in warm water but in a modern setting more often detergents are utilised to clean the freshly sheared wool. Occasionally a small amount of lanolin is deliberately left in the wool that is then spun into yarn so it can be used to create water resistant clothing such as the famous Aran Island sweaters.

Wool is unique in both the natural and synthetic world and nothing can even come close to approximating the unique properties that it possess. It is used to create everything from jumpers and gloves through to insulation and fireproof carpets and is a completely environmentally friendly and sustainable material to utilise for knitting and crafting. It was one of the first materials used to make clothes as we would recognise them and is just as popular to this day.