What Is Merino Wool?

Have you purchased a new item of clothing recently and found that it is made of Merino Wool? If so you may have asked yourself what is Merino wool? Merino wool is a; soft, fine wool which has been shorn from the Merino sheep. It is regarded as the best quality wool available. Merino wool is soft and comfortable and as such is an ideal material to make clothing with. Merino wool also has a natural elasticity and anti-microbial properties. This means it is an ideal material for the production of sportswear. Merino wool is often used in the production of high end ski, cycling and hiking gear, in addition to the garments worn by those taking part in athletics events.

Merino wool is also used in quality home ware, such as; pillows, blankets, drapes and rugs. The wool has a number of properties which make it ideally suited for home use, as it is both fire resistant and water absorbent. Merino wool also helps regulate body temperature and is non-itchy, making it a very versatile material. Furthermore this type of wool doesn’t retain smells and odors and its anti-microbial properties mean that bacteria are unable to find a solid surface to grow on. Merino wool also has advantages over other wools in term of how it reacts to heat when washed. It does shrink, but not to the extent of other wools. You can pull it back into shape quite easily and is some ways it has similar properties to cotton in that respect.

What Is Merino Wool? Origins.

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There are often lots of debate about the true origins of Merino wool, with Australia in particular laying down very strong claims. Australia is fiercely protective of Merino wool, but Merino wool which is a byproduct of the Merino sheep can be traced back to Spain. The Merino sheep is a breed that has developed from selective breeding of the Saxon Merino; which is a breed of sheep first imported into Australia in the 1800’s from Spain.

The Australian breeders in the 1800’s selected the animals based on their quality of wool, unlike other countries that were breeding the animals based on size and production of wool. This meant the Australian Merino’s developed really high quality soft wool, a quality that Australia has been keen to protect. The Australians were so protect of their Merino sheep to the extent that they did not allow export of their animals until 1986. This protectionism is still alive today, in that they only allow the rams to be exported. This means that breeders in other countries have to use their own ewes, which can reduce the overall quality of the wool produced.

So the simple one word answer to the question of what is Merino wool is quality. This wool has been developed over two centuries and now sets the standard in terms of high quality, soft, versatile wool. It can be found in many high end garments and is fiercely protected by its country of origin Australia, who are extremely proud of their export.