Wool Rugs, Where did it come from?

We often have a wool rug at home to add some beauty and style; do we really know where did it come from? I would like to share to you more about the wool that is the main material in making the ever beautiful wool rugs for our home.

Wool can be mainly obtained by shearing fleece from living animals, but pelts of slaughtered sheep are sometimes treated to loosen the fiber, yielding an inferior type called pulled wool. The wool was being cleaned to wash away the “wool grease,” the fatty substance purified to make lanolin, a by-product employed in cosmetics and ointments. A wool fiber is chiefly composed of the animal protein keratin. Protein substances are more vulnerable to chemical damage and unfavorable environmental conditions than the cellulose material forming the plant fibers.

Wool fibers have a crimp or wave, crimp provides cushioning between the fibers and prevents the animal's fleece from becoming matted., crimp creates air spaces throughout the fleece that regulate the animal's body temperature, enabling it to withstand extreme climates.

Wool fibers provide a better thermo-regulation for the sheep - and the wearer of wool garments. Air trapped in these pockets does not conduct heat - it traps it against the skin and prevents the body's heat from escaping. In cold weather, these pockets allow warm air to remain close to the skin, thus retaining the body's own temperature. In hot weather the air pockets act as an insulating layer and prevent the body from overheating.