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{{Sources|date=January 2025}}{{Restructure|date=January 2025}}[[File:Wool.www.usda.gov.jpg|thumb|200px|two different types of wool.]]{{wiktionary}}'''Wool''' is the [[hair]] of certain [[Mammal|mammals]]. Most wool comes from [[sheep]] and [[Domestic goat|goats]], while also being taken from [[Camel|camels]], [[Llama|llamas]] and certain [[Rabbit|rabbits]]. 
Wool is a [[Natural fibre]]. People use wool [[fiber]] to make [[clothing]], [[Blanket|blankets]] and other items to keep one warm. It is usually used to make outer clothing but is also used to make blankets, socks, sweaters and fine clothing. Rabbit wool is called angora wool. [[Cashmere wool]] and mohair come from goats, qiviut from [[musk ox]]<nowiki/>en and other types of wool from [[Camelid|camelids]].
== Properties ==
Wool has several qualities that distinguish it from hair or [[fur]]: it is crimped and [[Elasticity|elastic]]. Wool fabrics can be cleaned easily. Wool also absorbs [[moisture]] and [[Insulation|insulates]] against heat and cold. Wool can be spun or made into [[yarn]]. Wool is usually carded before it is spun. Carding is a way of making the wool straighter, using two brushes.
== Yarn ==
The yarn is used to [[weave]] [[Textile|fabric]] or material.  The yarn of wool can also be [[Knitting|knitted]] or [[Crochet|crocheted]] into fabric or clothing like [[Jumper|jumpers]].  [[Alpaca]], mohair, angora, camel, [[cashmere]] and vicuna{{clarification|date=January 2025}} are all separate types of wool. Wool can also be made into felt after it is [[Boiling|boiled]] in hot water and rubbed together.
== Felt ==
Felt is a kind of fabric that is not woven. Wool can also be [[Needle felting|needle felted]]. Felt can be used to make clothes to keep warm in cold [[weather]]. Rag is a sturdy wool fiber made into yarn and used in many rugged applications such as gloves. '''Worsted''' is a strong, long-staple, combed wool yarn with a hard surface. Woolen is a '''soft''', short-staple, '''carded''' wool yarn typically used for knitting.
== Production ==
Wool is produced by follicles which are small cells located in the skin. These follicles are located in the upper layer of the skin called the epidermis and push down into the second skin layer called the dermis as the wool fibers grow. Follicles can be classed as either primary or secondary follicles. 

Primary follicles produce three types of fiber, Kemp (wool), medullated fibers and true wool fibers. Secondary follicles only produce true wool fibers. Medullated fibers share nearly identical characteristics to hair and are long but lack crimp and elasticity. Kemp fibers are very coarse and shed out.
== Countries ==
[[Australia]] is the world's largest producer of raw wool, growing about 30 percent of the total world supply. Less wool is produced than in the middle 20th century, because people use more synthetic fibers. Sheep were domesticated (tamed) in southwestern Asia about 11,000 years ago and now about 1 billion are now widely bred around the world.

== Wool Media ==
<gallery widths='160px' heights='100%' mode='traditional' caption=''>
File:Royal Winter Fair Wool 2.jpg|Sheeps Wool

File:Sheep eating grass edit02.jpg|Unshorn [[Merino|Merino sheep]]. This breed of sheep is known for its fine wool.

File:Sheep at Llanddewi Brefi, in Ceredigion, Wales.jpg|Ewes shorn of their coats, in Llanddewi Brefi in Wales. Nant Coli can be seen descending the hill opposite.

File:Hogget fleece.JPG|Champion [[Glossary of sheep husbandry|hogget]] fleece, [[Walcha, New South Wales|Walcha]] Show

File: Wool fleece and top.jpg|Fleece of fine New Zealand [[Merino]] wool and combed wool top on a wool table

File:Merino shearing.jpg|Fine Merino shearing in [[Lismore, Victoria]]

File:CSIRO ScienceImage 11160 Siroscour.jpg|Wool before and after scouring

File:Wool samples 2.JPG|Various types and natural colors of wool, and a picture made from wool

File:Tibetan spinning wool.jpg|A 1905 illustration of a Tibetan man spinning wool

File:Sheep club2.jpg|A [[World War I]]-era poster sponsored by the [[United States Department of Agriculture]] encouraging children to raise sheep to provide needed war supplies
</gallery>
== References ==
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{{commonscat|Wool}}
[[Category:Fibers]]
[[Category:Sheep]]
[[Category:Basic English 850 words]]
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