Shetland Wools are similar in character to Welsh wools, but slightly finer in fiber and softer. They are used in the manufacture of knitted goods, such as shawls and wraps. They lack felting properties.
Irish Wools possess a strong, thick hair of moderate length and fine color. They are similar in many respects to the Welsh wools, and are often classed with them. They are used in the production of low and medium tweeds—fancy woolen cloths not requiring small yarns or milling qualities.
Mohair is a lustrous wool obtained from the Angora goat, which derives its name from the district of Asia Minor from which it comes. These animals have also been successfully bred in Spain and France. The hair is pure white, fine, wavy, and of good length, and possesses a high luster. It is used in making plushes, velvets, astrakhans, and curled fabrics, also half silk goods and fine wraps.
Alpaca Wool is the fleece of the Peruvian sheep, which is a species of llama. The staple is of good length and soft, but is not quite as lustrous as mohair, the natural colors being either white, black, brown, or fawn. It is used chiefly in the manufacture of dress goods.
How Wool is Marketed. The bulk of the wool of commerce comes into the market in the form of fleece wool, the product of a single year’s growth, and cut from the body of the animal usually in April or May. The first and finest clip, called lamb’s wool, may be taken from the young sheep at the age of eight to twelve months. All subsequently cut fleeces are known as wether wool and possess relatively somewhat less value than the first clip.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Hair is straight and glossy, stronger and smoother than wool, and grows sometimes as long as twenty inches.
[2] Spinning is a process by which long or short fibers are twisted into a continuous thread.
[3] A process of finishing cloth by condensing the fibers so as to make the cloth stronger and firmer.