Wool Facts

Facts about Wool

  1. Wool has been used by mankind for clothing and furnishings since the late Stone Age (approximately 3,000BC). Because of its fantastic insulation properties, it has been used worldwide in all climates, from the heat of the desert to the coldest polar regions.
  2. Wool has been discovered in tombs and graves in Egypt, Babylon, Britain and Peru. Spinning, dyeing and weaving wool was considered a high art in many ancient cultures. Native Americans could weave wool tight enough to carry water in their blankets.
  3. Wool, because of its porous cellular structure, can also absorb up to 30% of its own weight in moisture (about 10 times as much as any synthetic fibre), without feeling damp to the touch. This means it can absorb and rapidly evaporate body vapour for dry, comfortable warmth.
  4. Wool strands naturally shrug off dirt because of the overlocking scales in their surface.
  5. Wool is naturally flame resistant and non-allergenic.
  6. Fine wool is regularly used in clothing for athletes. It is not hotter than synthetics but actually cooler.
  7. Wool fibres have an almost permanent ‘memory’. This means they can bend up to 30,000 times without breaking (cotton breaks after 3,200 times, silk after 1,800). This gives lasting durability.
  8. Wool allows less heat to escape from the body than any other textile material. The conductivity figure of wool is only 0.37 – this compares to silk at 0.44 and cotton at 0.56. Wool, therefore, retains bodily heat for the longest period. By keeping in heat longer it also keeps out cold correspondingly.
  9. Wild sheep have been around for about 10,000 years but they don't have any wool. Still found today in Europe, wild sheep have long, stringy hair, and a soft downy undercoat. The familiar woollen fleece our sheep wear today is the result of domestication and selective breeding since the beginnings of human civilisation.
  10. Wool mainly consists of keratin, a type of protein that can link itself together to form strands. It is composed of a cuticle and cortex, with the cortex accounting for most of its mass.
  11. Australia produces over 30% of the world’s wool – the largest single source.
  12. An official American baseball contains 150 yards of wool yarn!