Most people have a vague idea of the generally agreed hierarchy when it comes to wool, 100% wool is good, merino wool is great, cashmere is king. So it has been and so it shall be, praise be to mass production for my bargain lime-green cashmere v-neck that disintegrates after one season’s use. But these should only be considered categories when it comes to wool and not an indication of any inherent quality in either softness or durability. Welcome to The Good Touch, a series of blog posts here on Same Cloth where I’m going to be splitting hairs about what quality means when it comes to different materials. Today we’re going to be kicking off the series by taking a closer look at wool.



There are different attributes when it comes to wool that will be more or less important to you whether you are the consumer, at various stages of manufacturing, or even the supplier. As a consumer the only three that might affect your buying decision making are diameter of the fibers, that is to say how fine the hairs are. Staple length, how long the hairs are. And finally staple strength, how much force the hairs can take before they snap. The main determiner of quality and price when it comes to a wool is the diameter of fibers, diameter is the key factor influencing the softness of a wool. Categories or types of wool, such as cashmere, all have a minimum and maximum diameter and are separated into grades of quality based on their fineness. Cashmere has a diameter ranging from between 14-30 microns, merino wool can be from 10-24 microns, and regular wool ranges from 21-45 microns. Typically only wool finer than 25 microns is used for clothing, while anything thicker is used for blankets or carpeting. While cashmere is usually a sign of quality there is nothing stopping a manufacturer from buying cheap low strength, short staple length, 24 micron cashmere and using their 100% cashmere label to tunnel vision you into purchasing their product. How do you not let that happen? Read on.

Strength

Strength of a fiber can matter more or less depending on what garment the wool is being used in. If you’re looking to buy a pair of wool socks then strength should be high on your list of priorities as they will have to endure the high amount of abrasion that comes from being between your foot and your shoe. Another reason to want a high strength wool is if you want to minimize the little balls known as pilling that appear on your clothes over time. These are caused by the weakest fibers balling up on the surface after snapping or coming loose. Although some pilling should be expected with even the highest quality wool garments and should be thought of as similar to how indigo jeans fade over time. High strength wool is also needed if the manufacturer wants the wool to survive an intensive dying process which usually weakens wool.

The strength of a wool is determined by two factors, diameter/fineness of the fibers and general health and nutrition of the sheep or goat that the wool came from. A very fine, very soft wool with low diameter is generally weaker and more prone to pilling than a more robust wool with high diameter. It’s up to you how soft you want to go and how much pilling you’re willing to put up with. However there is no sliding scale for preference when it comes to health. Malnourished goats and sheep are becoming more commonplace as the demand for cheap wool and cashmere within fast fashion skyrockets. Asides from not being an overly ethical way to treat your animals, the resulting wool of a poorly cared for sheep is brittle and pills easily.

Staple length also contributes towards the strength and durability of a garment. If a long fiber wool is made into clothing then the fibers that are twisted into the yarns are less likely to unravel and form pills. While there are exceptions, a longer staple generally means a less soft touch but a longer life for your money.

Softness

How soft a wool garment feels is dependent on the diameter of the wool fibers and whether the wool has been subjected to any processes during manufacturing that may have made it coarse or brittle (this would have also affected the strength). I can remember customers expressing doubt that two color variants of the same sweater were both made of the same wool and having to explain repeatedly that it was due to the different colors they had been dyed. The lower the diameter of the wool fibers the softer the resulting garment is going to feel. However, if you fly too close to the fluffy fluffy sun and chase that low diameter dragon, you’ll have to be prepared for a lot of pilling as softer wool is typically weaker than rougher wool.

Contrary to current trends, softness is entirely based on preference. Everyone has their own sweet spot of soft enough to not make you itch and strong enough to last an amount of time you’d be satisfied with for what you’re paying for. While soft as possible is the goal for most people I would encourage you to find your middle ground. Cashmere is usually considered the height of softness (asides from other less well known wools I will cover in other posts) but be wary of companies that may be selling cashmere that only passes the minimum requirements for softness and falls short in strength (especially when buying online).

Putting it all together

So now that you’ve made it this far I’m going to show you how to use your new found wool knowledge in order to make more informed purchases and help you get closer to something that’s going to better suit your preferences when it comes to wool.

When looking for quality in wool garments be wary of bright, intense colors. Wool doesn’t take dye as easily as something like cotton and may have had to undergo an intense chemical process to produce those acid green or laser lemon hues. If a garment is soft but bright neon then the journey it took to get there likely made the already fine fibers even more fragile. Most traditional brightly colored knitwear is produced with stronger, rougher fibers like Shetland wool.

Be conscious of where your garment was manufactured as well as where the company sources its wool. Not all cashmere is created equal and some countries have a reputation for poor treatment of their animals as well as poor treatment of the wool during processing. My personal preference is wool from the United Kingdom or Tasmania but I encourage you to do some looking around and find what suits you the best.

Purchase according to your personal preference of balance between softness and durability, and also according to the needs of the garment. Don’t expect 100% cashmere socks to last all that long. Be aware that the most costly factor when it comes to wool is softness and diameter of the wool fibers. So if you find soft soft soft for cheap cheap cheap then they likely made sacrifices in terms of animal cruelty, durability, and environmental impact to bring you the one thing they think defines quality for you.

The last thing I’d advise you to be aware of is whether you’ll be using your wool garment as a layering piece or not. If you plan to wear something heavy or without a smooth lining over the top of your sweater then it might benefit you to choose a wool that can survive all that friction over something softer. For example I’d discourage you from wearing 100% cashmere under a denim trucker jacket, it’ll get minced to bits in no time.

Go out there, try things on inside stores, ask questions, and find brands you can trust to deliver you with the kind of quality you deserve in your wool.