The Awesomeness of Wool
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This post was last edited/updated March 2021.
Update 2021: I tried to edit out the unnecessary weird over-the-top stuff from here. I was still new to blogging and finding my “voice” while writing this piece. I’m still learning. There is at least one correction, and I included links to a few additional resources. If I missed any - please excuse my weirdness. I promise the message of the post is still a good one. Wool is still amazing.
Last week I talked about different terms/definitions of wool that you might come across when you go to purchase your felting supplies. Well, today I want to share all the AWESOME things about wool to begin with (not just because it's an amazing art/craft medium), why it's one of my absolute favorite materials ever (the other being linen), and why I'm always on the hunt for it. On occasion, if the topic of wool comes up in conversation and I mention how much I love it, the response is "really? Isn't it scratchy?" My answer to that is always "you're getting the wrong wool." Unfortunately , there are some people who are allergic to wool, but wool allergies are more than just contact dermatitis from wearing a coarse wool sweater against the skin. The allergy comes from the wool alcohols, also known as lanolin, which present in wool, and therefore those with allergies are allergic to many wool products, not just clothing. Lanolin is the primary ingredient of natural nipple creams for breastfeeding mothers. It’s present in moisturizers and lip balms. Those with wool allergies cannot use any wool or wool-derivatives, and using them results in swelling, hives, difficulty breathing, etc. They are the primary reason why I wrote the first of what I hope to be several “vegan needle felting” posts (I chose the word vegan because I assume that will be the most useful search term - although vegans can certainly benefit as well).
If your only experience with wool is a scratchy wool sweater, you haven't been buying the right kind, or you’re not wearing the right underlayers to go with it. I do have a really cozy coarse wool sweater that used to be my father’s - I wouldn’t wear it bare-skinned, but if I need to stay warm while also not sweating to death (because wool is effective at helping you to regulate body temperature), that sweater is one of the warmest ones I own. Pay attention to the type of wool used in your garment. If it just says 100% wool, it's likely going to be scratchy since it's probably a blend of coarser (cheaper) wools. If it says 100% merino (or cashmere, which is from a goat by the way), it's going to be SOFT. They'll always tell you if it's a fine wool because that's a selling point. Merino/cashmere and other fine wools are microscopically thinner than wool from gotland, corriedale or norwegian c1- this is measured in microns. The thinner it is (lower micron count) the softer it's going to be. In fact, human hair is five times thicker than merino wool. Anything measuring 30 microns and up is not going to be something you want to wear directly against your skin. And then there's virgin wool, which is from the first time a lamb is sheared - the wool will also be softer. P.S., the finest wool in the world apparently comes from Hillcreston, which sells superfine and ultrafine wool measuring at 13-17 microns and holds the world record for having sold the finest wool at 11.6 microns. To give you an idea, merino comes in at 19-24 microns, and human hair is 40-50 microns. Moving on...
It's a renewable resource. Granted, if we're ever allowed to grow hemp again, that would be awesome, but have you ever read about the damage that growing cotton does to the land? Or the practices that go into it? Did you know that cotton is one of the most heavily pesticide ridden products on the market? What about the pollution involved in creating synthetic fibers? Not to mention the fact that it's (at least when it comes to polyester or nylon) a byproduct of our oil industry, which is not a renewable resource. And being made from an oil byproduct, it's not biodegradable, but at least you can do your part and donate your rags to places that recycle the fiber. Linen is a wonderful choice, and used to be the European’s primary fiber material for plant-derived clothing material before “exotic cotton” (which was easier to process), became more readily available thanks to colonialism and the slave trade (and then the industrial revolution), and became a booming industry. Europe already had access to cotton before the American cotton industry thanks to importing it from southeastern Asia, but it was expensive, and bans were occasionally placed to reduce competition with the local textile industry - the American cotton industry changed that. Bamboo is a newcomer, but it's also heavily processed in order to turn it into a fiber, so not really as eco-friendly as one might think. Same thing goes for Rayon. Point is, wool comes off the sheep, gets washed, dyed and can get spun right into fiber, no heavy processing required. You can use it as filling for your pillows and quilts, or just get wool blankets themselves. I'll get into the awesomeness of that in a minute. I think of all the different fiber available, I'd say hemp, linen (flax) and wool (especially wool that comes from small farms that use sustainable agricultural practices) are your best bets for being eco-friendly and renewable (I'd also add corn and soy to that list but those are hard to find). A single sheep can produce anywhere from 2 to 30 lbs of wool annually, and they live 10-12 years (though the world record holder was a Merino sheep that lived for 23 years). Unlike leather, you don't need to kill a sheep to get the wool, and they'll thank you for helping them cool off during the summer. Yes, they need it. When certain organizations say things like “sheep don’t need to be shorn - farmers bred sheep for wool and meat” - they fail to mention that this has been going on for thousands of years, much like the domestication of pets. Unless you have hair sheep, or one of only a handful that will naturally shed their wool (a few that come to mind are shetlands, soay, romanov, dorper… that’s pretty much it), if they’re not shorn, their wool keeps growing until it would eventually kill them. What these organizations don’t tell you is that the sheep that don’t need to be shorn are the ones bred for meat, not wool. Killing the wool industry wouldn’t kill the sheep-meat industry. You’ll just have less wool, and we’d probably lose a few wool breeds in the process, since we already have a number that are critically endangered. If you don’t buy wool, the farms that raise woolen sheep still have to shear them, but all that wool goes to waste (like thrown out). These organizations alone aren’t causing most of the problem - the petroleum-derived materials industry is responsible for the worst of it.
It's breathable and helps regulate temperature. This has to do with the ability to absorb moisture, wool being the most absorbent at 35% of its weight as compared to cotton (24%), nylon (7%) and polyester (a measly 1%). If you're trying to figure out what that has to do with regulating temperature, think of all the moisture-wicking sports clothing out there. It will wick away the perspiration, keeping you cool, meaning that yes, you could wear a 100% wool sweater in the middle of summer and possibly still be comfortable. In fact, there was a study done on men wearing wool suits. And while I'm at it, here's a link about the benefits of using it in bedding. This is something I learned once I had kids, and my son has a set of merino wool jammies and a sleep sack, both which can be worn year round. Update 2021: both held up wonderfully, and I was able to resell them at a good price so another family gets to enjoy them now. I also know, because of how well wool absorbs moisture, it is often used as what is known a soaker cover for those of us moms who use cloth diapers. It's breathable, so you don't have to worry about diaper rashes like you would from non-breathable waterproof covers, but despite the fact that there's nothing directly preventing liquid from escaping, it soaks it all up. Which means it keeps the jammies and bedding dry. But won't it get gross? NO! And here's why!
Wool is antimicrobial. Update 2021: apparently that isn't true, but wool is much less smelly than other fibers, and there's a reason for it. I couldn't find any studies, but some claim that lanolin has antibacterial and antifungal properties, and that would give it those antimicrobial properties, except that by the time you get a wool garment, most of the lanolin has been processed out. That being said, people who use wool soakers do get lanolin treatments to replenish the lanolin content in the garment. Either way, while airing garments is a good idea and will extend the life of your item between washes, you should still clean them from time to time, because they will get gross eventually. Yes, I do wash our wool clothes, you can do so if you're careful.
It's also water repellent. Because of the microscopic structure of wool, in particular the waxy cuticle of the fiber, light rain will just bead and roll off. But, if it gets soaked, the moisture goes into the core of the fiber so the outside still remains dry. So not totally water repellent but enough that a dusting of snow or a spritz of rain is not an issue. In fact, if you get soaked while wearing wool in the cooler months, you'll be warm - which is why it's used in fishermen's sweaters, and why it's an excellent material for both outerwear and underwear.
Wool is naturally flame retardant. Did you ever wonder why hearth rugs are made of wool? (Also, if you have babies, this is another great reason to have wool jammies... no chemical fire retardants in clothes.) When you hold a flame to wool, it will singe and char, which is why you can use a burn test to test the fiber content of materials (kind-of, blended fibers make it a challenge). If it does catch fire it burns slowly and then goes out. It also used to be a popular home insulation material - you can still use it as such, but it’s not as insulating as other flame resistant materials out there (I think rockwool, aka mineral wool made from rock, tops the list for best insulation, but it’s also extremely pricey). Of course, the wood framing in homes is still flammable.
Wool is durable. While it's about the least durable when it comes to tensile strength, it is durable when it comes to bend and Martindale (abrasion) tests. When it comes to bend tests, wool can be bent over 20,000 times before breaking. Cotton doesn't even come close at 3,000 times, and rayon (which is why your favorite rayon shirt barely lasts a season if that) comes in at a sad 75 times. That's known as stiffness testing, although silk which is quite drapeable can be bent 2000 times before breaking. With the Martindale tests which is used on textiles, the fabric is rubbed in a figure-8 pattern with a piece of worsted wool, and one figure-8 pass is one martindale cycle. This makes me think of those product durability testing machines at Ikea, lol. Anyway, highest number I've seen for cotton textiles is exceeding 35,000 martindale cycles, while at the same time I've seen wool textiles that can exceed 100,000 martindale cycles. I wonder if, once reaching 100k they just gave up? The fact that it even uses worsted wool to do the test should tell you something about the durability of this fiber.
Update 2021: I remember researching this for the post, but I wish I had linked the papers. So I would like to add that abrasion/bending are only some of the factors involved in the wear of material. Even cotton can vary quite a bit between manufacturers , like how some shirts hold up better than others even if they’re technically made from the same fiber. Cheaply made products will wear faster. When it comes to wool, how you treat it absolutely plays a factor. If you’re using abrasive chemicals while washing your garments, for example, and you wash them frequently, your wool garments won’t hold up. Garments from certain breeds pill more easily than others. Because of what I mentioned earlier, how wool can go longer between washes, you won’t need to wash them as frequently as certain other materials. Petroleum-derived materials should probably be washed every single time you wear them, not worn more than a day, and if worn for strenuous activities would still likely need a good long soak in vinegar - in the cleaning group I’m in, the stench of athletic wear is a frequent topic. That being said, treat it well, treat it with care, and it will last you a long time. By the way, I deleted the rest of this post because it was just more useless, weird blabber.
