What do wool grades have to do with anything?

 

Wool grades are a grade that every sheep wool in the world can be plugging into.

    1. Fine grade

    2. Medium grade

    3. Coarse grade

    4. Very coarse grade

    5.  Primitive breeds or dual coats  

Knowing the grade of wool can direct us in the way we scour and process the wool. For instance, if you man-handle fine grade wools like you can coarse grades it might felt.  Fine grade wool is a little more sensitive to harsher soaps that the medium grade and up can handle.

All fine grade wool will tear if you put them through a picker, and some finer grades can make nepps when drum carded. Whereas the larger micron in the fine grades might do fine in a drum carder.  This is why if you send a fine grade wool to a mill instruct them not to pick the fiber.  I would also encourage you to ask them to sample it carded and see if it's up to your standards.

Fine grades do beautifully when combed into combed top.  You can do that with wool combs or find a mil that makes combed top.

Medium grade and above can be picked with no issues, combed or drum carded.  That's if the wool staple is sound to begin with. 

You can sort of eyeball the grade of a wool breed just by looking at the crimp.  The best way would be to send it in and have the micron measured, but one can't always do that.  Watch this video to see what I'm talking about.

If you are new to fiber and have no idea what breaking wool is or how to test it I can help.  Learn all the nuances of scouring wool, alpaca and mohair in my book the Art of Washing Wool, Mohair and Alpaca. You will learn how to assess fiber pre and post scour, the importance water plays in the scouring process and tips and tricks along the way to have excellent outcomes.  CLICK HERE to see the book.

You can also take my online workshop and learn everything a new spinner and fiber person needs to learn to get started with a strong foundation.  CLICK HERE to see the courses at the Camaj School of Fiber Arts