Wool fibers
From Floor Coverings
Contents |
What are Wool Fibers?
Where do wool fibers come from?
Wool is a natural animal fiber that comes mainly from the fleece or coat of a sheep, but it can also be derived from other animals like goats, llamas, rabbits and certain types of dogs. The fleece is sheared off the sheep’s body and cleaned of its oil and dirt content. Skin cells in the animals, called follicles produce the hair-like fibers, but wool is not considered hair or fur. The hair part of the fleece of a sheep is called kemp. Wool has a different texture than the kemp, it is crimped and elastic and it grows in clusters. The kemp and other animal furs do not have this texture. Wool texture is determined by something known as crimp. The type of crimp is determined by wool separators that measure bends per inch. Fine crimp has many bends in the fiber, up to a hundred per inch and are usually thinner. Coarse crimp is the opposite with possibly only one or two bends per inch and much thicker.
What are crimp wool fibers?
Fine crimp wool fibers are spun into fine yarns that end up as expensive garments and coarser crimp wool fibers are used in making sturdy products such as carpets. Because of these crimps or bends in the fibers of wool, they give the fabric more bulk and so have a tendency to hold air. This quality makes wool fibers excellent insulators, both to keep heat in or out as needed. The kemp parts of the fleece have no crimp and so therefore are difficult to bind into yarn. Different breeds of sheep have varying percentages of kemp to wool in their fleeces and for this reason, certain breeds are more desirable or valuable than others for spinning purposes. Wool fibers easily absorb moisture, up to a third of its weight, but it releases moisture just as easily.
What color are wool fibers?
Are wool fibers used in Area Rugs?
Wool fibers are white in their natural state, although some breeds do produce colors of brown, black or silver. Wool fibers are naturally fire and flame resistant and they won’t melt or drip when burned. When wool fibers are used in carpets and then the carpet is burned for some reason, either accidentally or to destroy it, the burning process will release less toxic fumes and gases than other flooring products when they are burned. In addition, the material has a tendency to self-extinguish and for all of these reasons, wool is the required fabric for the protective clothing of fire-fighters.
Are wool fibers hypoallergenic?
Wool fibers are also considered hypoallergenic and they resist static. This is because of the fact that wool retains moisture preventing the build up of static electricity. For this reason, car seat covers are sometimes made with wool to protect a user from electric shock, should they come in contact with an object that grounds them. Carpets made with wool fibers also share this benefit of not building up static when you walk across it. This quality makes wool carpets a good choice to install in an home office with computers, because static charges cause problems for electronic equipment. The finest wool fibers come from New Zealand and Australia.
