For the Love of Wool 4 “No one uses it”

I’m jumping back to my series on wool, which I started last year but had to abruptly stop because I signed a book contract and writing chapters became a higher priority than posting blogs entries. The titles reflect objections folks have made to wool in my presence, and the blog article addresses that objection.

I hope you enjoy it!

For the love of wool - no one uses it

The author wearing a hand spun, hand crocheted wool cardigan. This garment is comfortable 3/4 of the year in Kentucky

Actually this is thankfully becoming less and less true.

Trade growth for wool in 2022 was higher than the WTO forecast expected.

Part of this is because extreme sports clothing companies are touting wool as one of the best things on the market. Australia’s wool Innovation’s partnership with the brand Prada Luna Rossa has led to over 15 fashion brands jumping on the wool trend. Emergency Service YouTubers are recommending wool for socks year round and other outdoor wear to help keep our service men safe in extreme temperatures. The uptick in the concern for sustainable resources and biodegradable substances has helped wool become much more seen on the international market. Many of us are tired of using oil and plastic products directly against our skin as it has been shown to effect Endocrine health and contribute to our pandemic of chronic illnesses.

Companies are advertising challenges such as ‘wear a wool dress for a month straight and tell us your experience and how it smells by the end of it,’ to prove that wool is a far more preferable textile than other more popular options on the market. Since it has antimicrobial properties, odor is not trapped in wool such as in synthetic fibers and wool is - as previously mentioned - FAR more breathable than most other fibers used for clothing.

The breathability of wool serves humans as well as sheep. It is a big part of the reason why it is a far more SAFER substance to wear in conditions of extreme cold. In my girl scout skiing class, the lecturer was very emphatic about warning us that we ought not to wear anything cotton against our skin. “Cotton Kills” was a phrase she made us repeat several times. The reasoning being that if we overheated during our skiing, the cotton would not breathe or wick our sweat away, keeping the dampness against our skin. Once we cooled down, the moisture would as well and put us in risk of hypothermia. The instructor said synthetic material was better, but wool was the ultimate best product to wear for insulating against the cool in outdoor sports.

Kyle and I have experienced this first hand. The first few winters on our farm were quite terrible for me. My under active thyroid struggles with regulating my temperature - if I get chilled I stay chilled for longer than usual, and if I overheat it takes me a while to cool down. This made outdoor chores incredibly challenging for me, despite layering and my husband investing in name brand outdoor wear to keep me warm. Once we started processing our wool and using up some antique wool from my great-grandmother in the forms of hand knit wool long johns, socks, gloves, hats, scarves, and sweaters, we were shocked. I still FELT the cold but I no longer SUFFERED from the cold. The wool did wonders in allowing my body to maintain temperature homeostasis. Kyle - who is a hot blooded warrior type- did not overheat and sweat and then get chilled like he used to. We’ve both noticed that the more woolens we wear during the winter, the less we get colds or other bugs that go around.

This is a dynamic that has thankfully been discovered by a lot of outdoor brands who are increasing their campaigns for their wool products. When a polar vortex hit Kentucky this last December, the local PD was incredibly present on the roads to make sure folks were driving safely and were warm if their cars stalled out in the -20 degree weather. The Chief graciously suspended dress code, and so Kyle wore several layers of wool of varying colors. While he definitely could tell it was COLD outside, we never worried about hypothermia or frostbite as long as he kept his skin covered by wool. (Now he DID take as many breaks from the outdoors as was feasible, so don’t think he just stood outside his entire shift in that weather. But we weren’t worried about when he DID need to stay visible outside or walk in the elements to preform his duties).

In addition to wool’s life giving properties such as antimicrobial, moisture wicking, insulating, and just a healthier product to produce and wear, wool can be as fashionable as one wants it to be. With the invention of the internet and formation of such websites such as Ravelry or even Facebook and Instagram, creators have had an unprecedented resource to bounce off each other’s creativity and market their own inventions. One can find antique or retro patterns, or one can find delightfully crisp new modern garments being displayed by the most fashionably minded.

I have found it fascinating that whenever I wear a 100% natural fiber such as wool, alpaca or Angora, I am suddenly the most approachable female in the church service and have folks hugging me, rubbing my arms, and smiling at me. Conversely when I wear synthetic or commercial products, folks are still friendly but keep their hands to themselves.

(This doesn’t just apply to clothing. I’ve hand knit stuffed animals from acrylic or wool and acrylic blends and stuffed them with commercial stuffing from hobby lobby and given them to the intended recipient without batting an eye. Kyle has officially stolen his son’s 100% wool teddy bear stuffed with scrap wool and claims vehemently that it helps him sleep better. If I had known it would have had this effect, I’d have knit him a wool teddy bear YEARS ago to help with Night Shift and cortisol induced sleeplessness that plagues all Emergency Service families!!)

I’ve worn a 100% wool sweater knit by my great-grandma for years. It has cables in it but is a dark brown and at first glance is ultimately unremarkable. Its an old-fashioned cut, definitely in the ‘retro’ category of clothing. However it is remarkably comfortable and I have found it works with skinny jeans and scarves, boot cut jeans, even skirts. Additionally, whenever I wear it I discover that my choice in clothing is always verbally complimented by friends or even strangers. There is something subtle about an article of clothing that has been hand made, and something more subtle about wool or other protein fibers that draw the human eye towards it.

I have discovered that the majority of people who discredit wool have either not experienced it themselves, or have had cheap wool garments thrust upon them decades ago by relatives that valued economy over nuance. Lets face it, good fine wool is a lot more expensive.

It is especially challenging in today’s consumer culture to get the point across that less is best. When one invests in quality clothing, one purchases clothing far less often. Kyle and I each get one new sweater per year, because it takes me about a month to knit them. And I’m also knitting and darning socks, spinning wool, caring for the sheep that make the wool, cooking our food, typing blog articles, and trying to maintain a semblance of a social life. We don’t buy a lot of wool clothing - although I will buy some wool undergarments or socks that are thinner than I want to knit (I refuse to knit socks on needles smaller than size 2).

In the olden days, most humans had far smaller and less-frequently refreshed wardrobes than we do today. As landfill waste and pollution levels testify, that may have been a good thing. We don’t need a brand new wardrobe every time the seasons change. We don’t require to have clothing that no one recognizes because we switch it out so often.

All that to say, wool IS growing in popularity, and that is a good thing. Especially for small shepherds like me who can’t bear to downsize our flocks but really do need more outlets to distribute our annual clip of wool than one or two fiber festivals.

Now that I’ve inspired you, hop over to our shop and check out what loveliness our sheep have created in the ‘wool’ section of our shop.