Long and short hair wool at the South Central Family Farm Research Center in Boonesville, Arizona

Wool section, Walcha show. The creamy fleeces on the left are crossbred wool.

Wool wearing, tacuinum sanitatis casanatensis (XIV century)

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Wool

Wool is the fiber derived from the fur of animals of the Caprinae family, principally sheep, but the hair of certain species of other mammals such as goats, llamas and rabbits may also be called wool. more...

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Wool has two qualities that distinguish it from hair or fur: it has scales which overlap like shingles on a roof and it is crimped; in some fleeces the wool fibers have more than 20 bends per inch.

Characteristics

Wool's scaling and crimp make it easier to spin the fleece. They help the individual fibers attach to each other so that they stay together. Because of the crimp, wool fabrics have a greater bulk than other textiles and retain air, which causes the product to retain heat. Insulation also works both ways; bedouins and tuaregs use wool clothes to keep the heat out.

The amount of crimp corresponds to the thickness of the wool fibers. A fine wool like merino may have up to a hundred crimps per inch, while the coarser wools like karakul may have as few as one to two crimps per inch. Hair, by contrast, has little if any scale and no crimp and little ability to bind into yarn. On sheep, the hair part of the fleece is called kemp. The relative amounts of kemp to wool vary from breed to breed, and make some fleeces more desirable for spinning, felting or carding into batts for quilts or other insulating products.

Wool possesses much greater ability to return to its natural length after being stretched than any artificial fiber. In water or steam, wool can stretch to about twice its length without breaking. Because of elasticity woollen garments may be stretched or crushed without losing their shape. Also, this fiber felts readily. This is brought about by the use of heat, moisture and pressure being applied during the manufacturing processes.

Wool fibers are hygroscopic. This means wool has the power to readily absorb and give off moisture. It can for instance, absorb moisture up to one-third of its own weight. Synthetic fibers can only absorb 2-3 per cent of moisture before they begin to feel wet. Additionally, wool absorbs sound and reduces noise level considerably like many other fabrics. Wool is generally a creamy white color, although some breeds of sheep produce natural colors such as black, brown, silver and random mixes.

Wool is harder to ignite than most synthetic and cotton fibres used in equivalent products (higher ignition temperature); it has lower rate of flame spread; low heat release and low heat of combustion; doesn't melt or drip; forms a char which is insulating and self-extinguishes; and contributes less to toxic gases and smoke than other flooring products when used in carpets. Wool carpets are specified for high safety environments such as trains and aircraft. Wool is often specified for fire-fighter garments.