Latest Woolen Trends

We all want a little bit of vintage in our wardrobe. Winter woolen trends this year are reincarnating the latest trends from the 70s era. Get plenty of miniskirts in woolen and pair them with long boots to make it as style statement. Skinny jeans have become an eternal part of the fashion trends this season which creates sexy attire for you. A pair of high heels would look absolutely chic with the dark color trousers. Wear the black handbag with the attire to accentuate your figure beautifully. Make sure you buy those outfits that suit your figure as well as the occasion. Opt for only those attires that enhance your natural beauty and persona and don’t make you look like fashion disaster.

Best Choice in winters: Traditional Blankets

Woolen blankets are the classic choice in the winter season. They act as the security blankets for the people to save them from chilly weathers. There are innumerable blankets to choose from in the market today but the best option is Traditional Blankets. Traditional blankets are available in beautiful patterns which are highly appealing. They are manufactured with utmost care and finest quality of yarns. These blankets are regenerated out of wool, having a unique weave pattern. Traditional Blankets are very comfortable and available in variety of solid colors. And also available in Premium Pastel shades, stripes, Plaids, Oxford Checks, Reversible Plain / stripes / checks etc. These blankets are soft and provide Warmth.  They are very economical and one can get in large volumes.

Herringbone - The Warm Fabric

As the winter season starts approaching people fill their wardrobes with various woolen clothes which make them feel cozy. In order to withstand the chilly winters we have to wrap our self with the warm woolen fabrics. The best option to make yourself warm is to wrap up with the Herringbone Fabric. Herringbone fabric is woven from either woolen or worsted yarns. It resembles the bones of herring fish. It has a zigzag twill pattern which makes it more eye catching. It can be used for Coats, Jackets and Suits.

Characteristics of Herringbone Fabric:

•         Easy to sew
•         Has a spongy feel
•         Has a broken twill
•         Has a zigzag pattern
•         Firmly woven
•         Has a nap

How to felt the Wool?

Felting wool requires three conditions — heat, moisture and friction — which can be provided by your home washing machine and dryer. Here are a few tips for successful felting.

• Use a hot-water wash, a cold-water rinse, and the usual amount (per load) of whatever laundry soap you have on hand.
• Set your home washing machine for the load setting that will allow free movement of your goods, but don’t use too much water or they will float at the top and not get enough agitation or friction. If you desire a thicker, more shrunken finish, wash the sweaters in a load with your regular laundry. The weight of jeans and towels agitates the wool and enhances the felting process.
• Dry the sweaters in the dryer on high heat. This step tightens the felt further, and sometimes makes felt that lacks body become full of it!
• If, after one cycle of washing and drying, you still haven’t achieved the desired felted texture, try repeating the process one or twice more.
• After your sweaters have felted enough to hold a crisp edge when cut, remove them promptly from the dryer, smooth them out, and stack them flat to store until you’re ready to use them. This keeps wrinkles at bay and the need for ironing to a minimum. It also allows for maximum visibility of your material palette.

Benefits Of wearing WOOL

• It is a good insulator.
• It is a natural fiber.
• Wool retains its ability to insulate even when wet.
• Wool is less combustible than cotton and synthetic materials.
• Wool tends to return to its original shape when it has been stretched or folded better than cotton and synthetics do.
• Wool is more resistent to tearing.
• Wool absorbs 30% of its weight when it is wet, doing do without feeling damp to the touch.
• Wool, like cotton, is a natural fibre, and thus less processing goes into making it usable.

All About Wool Fabric

There are several ways of describing various characteristics of wool fibers. Some commonly used terms are:

•  Staple length - length of fiber when sheared from   sheep
•  Diameter - fineness or thickness of fiber measured in microns
•  Hand- how the fiber feels, eg. soft, harsh, springy
•  Crimp - waviness along the length of the fiber
•  luster - how the fibers look, eg. shiny, dull
•  Color - ranges from white through tans and browns, also silver through greys to black.

Wool from different breeds of sheep is also categorized in other ways. They are usually roughly  divided by the length of their fiber.

•  Fine, Short
•  Cross-bred and medium
•  Shortwool and Down
•  longwool and luster
•  Coarsewool and Mountain breeds

Types of Wool:

• Merino = is a wonderfully soft, highly sought after fiber. It grows on sheep specifically bred for their    fine, warm fleece. Merino wool is also... flame retardant, odor resistant , stain resistant , water resistant naturally elastic, available in machine washable and dryable forms. Truly incredible and so versatile
• Smart Wool = It's made from only the finest merino fiber. All the thicker fibers (over 30 microns) which may cause itchiness are carefully removed. Basically the same as the merino wool but has been treated so it does not shrink.
• Corriedale = comes from a lovely large sheep. Merino ewes are bred with Lincoln or Leicester males. Fleece should be white…any other color means problem. It is classed as a long staple length and has a definite crimp, which is great for spinning. It has a soft feel and the sheep looks very evenly rounded rather than shaggy. The average micron count for fibers is between 25 and 32. The fiber itself is perfect for needle felting due to the fiber diameter and the springy texture.
• lincoln = is ideal for wefts in weaving as the yarn is smooth, silky, and strong. Woven Lincoln cloth has incredible durability and brightness. It is ideal for outer clothing such as jackets and skirts. It blends well with many fibers, adding strength to the yarn because of its own tensile strength and length. It is the ideal blend for quality mohair spinning as its own lustre compliments that of mohair.
• Border Leicester = they are an elegant long wool breed with highly lustrous fleece. The fall fleeces are much  nicer than the spring fleeces. The wool is long enough that they can be sheared once a year or twice a year. It’s fleece often yields 70% wool after scouring, one of the highest of all.

Quality Fabric of The Month

Harris Tweed goes high-tech in Nigel Cabourn's Dry Wax-coated Lined Cameraman Jacket.

The handwoven tweed cloth that bears the name of Harris, one of the Isles of the Outer Hebrides off of Scotland's northwest coast, is celebrating the centenary of the first stamping of the cloth with the orb and Maltese Cross trademark that certifies the fabric is handwoven using locally dyed and spun virgin wool and finished in the Outer Hebrides. Originally, wool came only from island sheep and was hand-dyed, -blended and –spun.  The cloth has been made for centuries, originally for local use, but it began to receive wider recognition in the mid-19th century, when Lady Catherine Dunmore commissioned local weavers to produce tweeds in her family tartan to make into jackets for workers on her Isle of Harris estate. She also promoted Harris Tweed among her circle of friends and worked to upgrade the production processes. In 1909, the Harris Tweed Association Ltd. was formed to promote Harris Tweed and certify its quality. The trademark was granted in 1910 and the first cloth stamped the following year. 

source:http://www.textileworld.com/Articles/2011/December/Nov-Dec_issue/Departments/QFOM_Harris_Tweed.html