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Wool, the fibrous coating from sheep, is the most important animal fiber used by the textile industry. It has been used continuously for several thousand years, the earliest type of fabric made from wool probably being a felt. Although the relative importance of wool as a textile fiber has declined with the increasing use of synthetic fibers, it remains important in some sectors of the market. This article discusses raw wool specification, fiber growth, its complex morphological and chemical structure, and the physical properties that make wool unique among textile fibers. Also discussed are the processing steps used to transform raw wool into consumer products, namely, scouring, carbonizing, carding, spinning, setting, dyeing, bleaching, printing, and treatments to reduce felting shrinkage, insect damage, and flammability. A novel textile fiber made from wool (Optim TM , CSIRO) is also described.

Wool, the fibrous coating from sheep, is the most important animal fiber used by the textile industry. It has been used continuously for several thousand years, the earliest type of fabric made from wool probably being a felt. Although the relative importance of wool as a textile fiber has declined with the increasing use of synthetic fibers, it remains important in some sectors of the market. This article discusses raw wool specification, fiber growth, its complex morphological and chemical structure, and the physical properties that make wool unique among textile fibers. Also discussed are the processing steps used to transform raw wool into consumer products, namely, scouring, carbonizing, carding, spinning, setting, dyeing, bleaching, printing, and treatments to reduce felting shrinkage, insect damage, and flammability. A new textile fiber made from wool (Optim™, CSIRO) is also described.

Wool is unique among clothing fibers; it is not only the oldest, it is also the only fiber to have been used continuously and universally. The relative importance of wool as a textile fiber has declined as synthetic fibers are increasingly used in textile production. This article discusses raw wool specifications, fiber growth, and morphology, physical and chemical properties, processing, spinning, and dyeing.

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Single bowl experiments were used to study the effects of the conditions of scouring on the removal of nitrogenous contaminants from raw wool. The scouring effectiveness was compared with the scouring effectiveness of wool grease. For both contaminants scouring effectiveness was improved by increasing the temperature of scouring, by adding a builder (preferably alkaline), or by adding a proteolytic enzyme. The optimum

Some characteristics of the protein contaminant layer (PCL) extracted from a typical Australian Merino wool have been studied. The PCL was separated into water-extractable and particulate fractions, the overall yield being 4.1 %, of which 45% was soluble in water. Amino-acid analyses showed that the particulate PCL was mainly skin flakes and the water-soluble PCL was similar to the peptides found in suint.