What is made from sheep wool: types and classification of fibers, products

Wool is widely used in many areas of life. This material has firmly taken its rightful place among the most useful materials that surround a person. It is difficult to list all the things that are made today from sheep's wool. Products made from this fiber reliably protect us from the cold. Soft and fluffy garments in a variety of colors cheer us up. Useful properties are used in the treatment of diseases.

History

Scientists believe that wool fiber appeared before linen. Our ancestors learned how to process sheep skins before mastering textile technology.Archaeological research suggests that the Egyptians tamed the animal several thousand years ago. A sample of wool fabric found on the banks of the Oka River proves the appearance of a loom in ancient times.

In ancient Rome, in time immemorial, they already learned how to cross sheep. The result was a Merino breed called Tarantino. The fiber was used to make clothes.

Material specification

Woolen products have useful properties. This is due to the fact that the fiber mainly consists of the keratin protein. Users note the following positive properties of the material:

1. Ability to absorb human sweat while maintaining natural body temperature. Sweat escapes into the atmosphere.
2. Self-purification property. Natural fiber does not accumulate germs and harmful bacteria.
3. Healing properties. Sheepskin is used to make lanolin. It heals wounds, removes diaper rash and relieves inflammation. Wool normalizes blood pressure and sleep, soothes muscles and joints.

The fluffy thin fleece is the most valuable. It is this product that underlies the production of environmentally friendly branded clothing.

Production, processing, sorting

The fiber production process has several steps:

1. Shearer is engaged in shearing sheep. In recent years, mechanical scissors have been replaced by electrical devices with removable nozzles. They greatly facilitated the work of the master and ensured high productivity. The fleece is removed carefully so as not to harm the animal and not to spoil the fiber. Dirty sheepskin should be removed immediately.
2. The sheared fiber is sorted according to length, color, thickness and waviness. The best is the spring haircut fleece.
3. Washing should not be accompanied by fiber damage. Therefore, this work is entrusted to knowledgeable people.
4. After washing, the material is passed through the combing machine. To fix the lanolin, the fiber is treated with oil.
5. Wool is combed with brushes. Then they are passed into the machine in equal strips to obtain a thin thread, which is called the roving. It is sent to the spinning machine, where several threads form one.

Another loom is used to produce finished fabric for the manufacture of various goods.

Directions in woolen animal husbandry

Sheep wool can have such qualities as shine, color and others. They depend on many conditions and parameters:

• sheep breed and age;
• cutting period;
• feeding and grazing conditions.

There are 4 directions in woolen sheep breeding. Basically, breeds differ in fiber thickness.

Fine fleece

Fibers of fine-wooled animals have their own classification. They are divided into two types:

1. The thinnest - within 10-14 microns.
2. Thin - from 15 to 25 microns.

The fiber length should be 75-100mm. Such material is obtained from wild sheep, merino. The undercoat of some coarse-haired breeds also has the properties of a fine-fleeced fiber. Merino breeds of sheep are bred in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa. For them, the conditions of deserts and steppes are suitable. The standard of quality is Australian and New Zealand merino fiber with a thickness of not more than 16.9 microns. The elasticity of the material allows it to withstand up to 20,000 bends.

Fine-wool fiber is used to make branded clothing. One Merino sheep can produce up to 6 kg of fleece. This is enough to knit up to 5 sweaters.

Semi-Fine Fleece

Similar raw materials are obtained from sheep bred in a mild, humid climate. These include:

• Qigai breed;
• new Russian breeds;
• rocks Romney March, Lincoln from England.

This includes crossbreeds of some fine-fleeced and coarse-haired breeds. Fiber thickness - from 26 to 40 microns.

Semi Coarse

The fiber thickness of semi-coarse breeds ranges from 41 to 60 microns. Raw materials with such parameters will be obtained from sheep raised in the mountains. These are coarse-haired and some varieties of long-haired breeds. The fiber of these sheep is coarser than merino, but differs in strength and sufficient length (20-25 microns).It is convenient to spin it. Products made from such raw materials are distinguished by a silky sheen.

Roughhaired

The habitat of coarse-wooled sheep breeds is deserts and semi-deserts. Coarse fiber is also obtained from meat and meat and dairy animals. The fiber thickness reaches 61 microns. The raw material is used to make outerwear, felt and rugs, which are durable.

Using wool

Sheep wool is widely used in various fields. It is used in the manufacture of many products, namely:

1. Carpets. Manufacturers use wool for the base, and the surface is made fleecy. Such carpets are distinguished by their high density and beauty.
2. Bedding. Six is used in the manufacture of hygroscopic blankets, pillows, blankets.
3. Clothes. Socks, stockings, sweaters and other items of clothing are sewn and knitted from woolen fiber. Wool is great for keeping warm.
4. Towels. The material absorbs moisture well and provides comfort after bath procedures.

For all its advantages, woolen fabric has some minor drawbacks. Some fibers have a biting habit.

How is sheep wool made into clothes?

Clothes from this material have learned to make hundreds of thousands of years ago. If earlier these were simple capes made of poorly processed skins, now the most modern clothing designs are made from woolen fiber.

The loom has made a real revolution in the production of wool products. New technologies make it possible to create the finest threads for the manufacture of exquisite goods. Production processes are mostly automated and allow for production in huge quantities.

Subtleties of processing at home

The process of processing wool has undergone major changes over the past decades.In the 1990s, Russian sheep breeding fell into decline. The orderly system of fiber procurement fell apart. The number of livestock dropped sharply. Gradually, the technologies for cultivating raw materials began to become a thing of the past.

Over time, the situation began to change for the better. There were farms and peasant farms. The need to recycle their own products has made villagers remember the craft of the recent past.

Cattle breeders have realized that selling wool immediately after shearing is unprofitable. Moreover, sheep breeding has acquired the character of a family business. In the conditions of advanced technologies, it is not necessary to speak of a full cycle of processing raw materials on site. Primary processing is justified and includes the following steps:

1. Sorting. The process is boring and responsible. Fibers even from one animal differ in quality, length, purity.
2. Cleaning. Raw materials have to be cleaned of plant debris, pieces of manure and other unnecessary elements.
3. Flushing. Mandatory procedure that brings the material into a presentable form. For washing use special means. For each kg of raw materials add 250-300 gr. powder. The washed wool is rinsed in hot water. The number of treatments depends on how dirty the fiber is.
4. Drying. Raw materials are laid out on a grid in a thin layer. The thickness should not exceed 1.5 cm. Otherwise, the wool will dry for a long time.
5. Combing out. This work is done in two ways. The most popular carding method is based on combing with brushes with frequent bristles from thin but elastic metal wires. The second method is called combed, but it is almost never used.

From the finished fiber you can make yarn with your own hands. Almost no one uses the old spinning machines anymore. To obtain high-quality thread, electrically driven machines are used.

How to make your own sheep wool blanket?

Blankets are made from wool with their own hands. The process is simple but laborious. It consists of several stages:

1. Purchase of material. On the market you can find both clean and unwashed wool. Washed material is more expensive, and it will take 2 times more. For a blanket for an adult, you will need 2.5 kg.
2. Interrupting fiber. For this work, you need to prepare a long stick. Wool should be spread out, lightly sprinkled with water and beaten on it, regularly turning over. The amount of material should visually increase by 2 times.
3. Preparing the cover. It is made from chintz or calico. One side is left open. The product is turned inside out.
4. Laying wool. The material is laid out on open gauze. The fiber should be smoothed by hand and rolled up at both ends. After that, you need to take hold of the unsewn edge of the cover and pull it onto the roll.Then turn the cover in the opposite direction. The wool will be inside. Carefully smoothed out, the blanket is completely sewn up.
5. Quilting a blanket. For this work you will need a thick cotton thread and a large needle. You need to retreat 10 cm from the corners. The blanket must be pressed to the ground so that it lies motionless. Stitches are made at a distance of 10 cm. As the thread is completed, it is increased.

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