Wool & Cotton Fiber Attributes

Many European towns developed around and thrived on the wool trade.

Cotton and wool are both naturally occurring fibers that have been used for centuries for clothing, home furnishings and more. Cotton is taken from the plants of the genus Gossypium, and a number of species of cotton plants are cultivated worldwide. Wool is sheared from sheep, and multiple types of sheep have been bred to produce specific qualities of wool. Both fibers allow moisture to wick away from the body when worn, and both cotton and wool readily accept dyes.

Cotton

The fibers of the cotton plant surrounds its seeds.

Cotton naturally occurs as a white or light brown fiber, and it accepts both aniline and plant-based dyes, reports the Cotton Council. It retains color well even through multiple washings. It is a soft, absorbent fiber, and when knit or woven, drapes well. Cotton can become heavy when wet and lose some of its shape. Drying with heat can help a cotton garment regain the shape it lost when wet. Two textile scientists at the University of Tennessee, Hegde and Kamath, say that a process called "mercerizing" gives the fibers a silk-like sheen. Cotton has some flame-retardant properties; it will cease to burn when no longer held to a flame.

Wool

Wool naturally occurs as a white, black or brown fiber although hybrids and rare breeds may have other colors. Wool accepts aniline and plant-based dyes, and it varies in softness according to breed. Wool drapes well when knit or woven; it has greater elasticity than cotton, making it a good choice for garments that must fit closely. Wool is considered an excellent insulator against heat and cold, and it has some flame-retardant properties, is slow to ignite, and will cease to burn when no longer held to a flame, according to the American Sheep Industry.

Care of Fibers

Cotton can be washed and dried by hand or machine, and it dry cleans well. Cotton clothes are often treated before sale by a process known as pre-shrinking, which prevents the further distortion of the fibers when washed and dried again. But cotton fabric and yarn may not be pre-shrunk, so textile crafters should pre-shrink their fabric prior to use. You can wash cotton in water of any temperature without significant alterations to the fibers; some shrinking occurs, but not to extent that wool fibers shrink. On the other hand, you can wash and dry wool by hand or dry clean it, but it must be specially treated to endure machine washing and drying so that it will retain its size and shape. Wool may be washed with heat and agitation in a process called felting, which raises the scales of the fibers so that they lock together, creating a dense, durable fabric with some water resistance. Felting may shrink an item by 10 to 30 percent, which is why if a wool sweater is washed by machine, the sweater is then too small to be worn. Wool that is treated to endure machine washing and drying without felting is known as "superwash" wool.

Working With Cotton and Wool by Hand

Cotton is soft, and some varieties have long staples, or individual fiber lengths. Cotton's qualities are displayed to great advantage in weaving, tatting and crocheting, where the strength of the fibers helps decorative work keep its shape. Additionally, the absorbency of cotton makes it useful for items created for use in the home. Wool contains lanolin, a type of fat that lightly lubricates the fibers, and the natural crimp of the fibers gives wool fabric an elasticity when woven, crocheted or knit.

References

• Cotton Council International: Natural Cotton
• University of Tennessee; Cotton Fibers; Raghavendra R. Hegde and Atul Dahiya, M.G. Kamath; 2004
• American Sheep Industry: Wool Information