Wool clothes

Wool has all the right messages to appeal to discerning consumers. It is naturally sustainable, biode-gradable, resilient and improves indoor air quality through the absorption of harmful gases. Furthermore, it is non-allergenic, soft and natural, flame retardant, and offers an incredible range of colour and style opportunities.

Process for making wool clothes

Worsted yarn uses only the best fleece from the back of the sheep. It is the longest, strongest and richest in lanolin. The fibres are combed to lie flat and spun in "two ply’s" that when spun together creates a "3 diameter run" piece of yarn. It looks much neater and tighter on a spool than woollen yarn. Since worsted yarn’s fibres are fairly uniform in length there are no short pieces to fail or cause that scratchy feeling. It is considered a stronger fabric.

Woollen yarn on the other hand is spun from all the various lengths of wool fibres found on a sheep’s body, both long and short fibres from the sheep’s back, belly, bottom, legs etc. Since it is not combed to lie flat, woollen yarn has a fuzzy look because the shorter fibre ends stick out of the yarn imparting a dull appearance to the finished product. Clothes of woollen yarn will usually feel rougher or scratchier.

Types of wool yarns

Woollens: A general term describing various fabrics woven from woollen yarn. Woollen yarn is spun from the shorter wool fibres, which are not combed to lie flat as in worsted yarn. Soft surface textures and finishes are produced and the weave of individual yarns does not show as clearly as in worsted fabrics. Woollen fabrics include tweeds, fleeces and meltons.

Worsteds: A general term describing various fabrics woven from worsted yarns containing the longer fibres spun from combed wool. Only the prime, longer fleece is used to produce worsted fabrics. Worsted wool refers to tightly woven, smooth, clear finished goods in a variety of twill and other stronger weaves.

The wool for clothing is spun using the worsted process. It is spun into a single piece of yarn and then two pieces of yarn are twisted together making a 2 ply yarn strand. The 2 ply is then twisted together, making what is called 2/18 diameter yarn. Four pieces of yarn are then woven into the cloth.

Strong demand drives SA Wool market to new Record High

Port Elizabeth – Strong demand and a persistently weak Rand drove wool prices to a record high and the Cape Wools Merino indicator gained 4,7% to close at R140,00/kg (clean). 

This is 25,4% higher compared to the opening sale of this season and up 27,9% compared to the corresponding sale of the previous season. In the Australian market, the indicator increased by 5,0%. The Cape Wools All-Wool Indicator gained 4,6%.

Buyers reported a strong demand for and a shortage of good quality Merino wool on the day and commented on the low levels of the stockholding further along the wool processing pipeline. Seasonal supply concerns also impacted by production showing little evidence of recovery. The weaker Rand played its part in driving market prices to these new record levels.

The Rand on the day traded 1,4% weaker at R12,24 against the US dollar, compared with last

week’s average rate, and weakened 3,7% against the Euro at R13,62. The offering comprised of 6 751 bales, of which 99% was sold. Major traders were Standard Wool SA (3 354), Lempriere SA (1 476) and G Modiano SA (1 466).

The weekly price monitor sample, limited to AWEX type MF5, 70-80mm, VM<=2% wool only, experienced an average price movement as follows: 18 microns were up by 5,4% to close at R149,82/kg, 18,5 microns strengthened by 4,6% to R147,45/kg, 19 microns gained 4,3% to close at R142,30/kg, 19,5 microns rose with 5,6% to close at R142,49/kg, 20 microns gained 7,0% to close at R141,11/kg, 20,5 microns increased with 4,8% to close at R137,91/kg, 21 microns gained 4,4% to close at R136,41/kg, 21,5 microns strengthened by 4,4% to R134,70/kg and 22 microns rose by 10,1% to close at R135,04/kg.

The last sale of the season is scheduled for 10 June where approximately 10 200 bales will be on offer.

Premier Fiber!

The oldest wool textile, found in Denmark, dates from 1500 BC, and the oldest wool carpet, from Siberia, from 500 BC.

Limited supply and exceptional characteristics have made wool the world's premier textile fibre

The world's leading animal fibre, wool is produced in about 100 countries on half a million farms. Major producers are Australia, Argentina, China, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, United Kingdom and Uruguay. 

Depending on the country and region, wool producers range from small farmers to large scale commercial grazing operations.

While the methods used to make fabrics have changed greatly since then, their functions have changed very little: today, most natural fibres are still used to make clothing and containers and to insulate, soften and decorate our living spaces. Increasingly, however, traditional textiles are being used for industrial purposes as well as in components of composite materials, in medical implants, and geo- and agro-textiles.

The fibre

Wool has natural crimpiness and scale patterns that make it easy to spin. Fabrics made from wool have greater bulk than other textiles, provide better insulation and are resilient, elastic and durable. Fibre diameter ranges from 16 microns in superfine merino wool (similar to cashmere) to more than 40 microns in coarse hairy wools.