Woolen or wool sweaters are those which are made of wool. Wool is basically a derivative fiber of the hair of mammals in the Caprinae family. Wool mainly comes from sheep but a particular kind of specialty wool can come from a goat too. Sometimes specialty wools also come from llamas found in South America and rabbits. Merino wool, alpaca wool, lamb’s wool, Shetland wool and mohair wool are types of wool used to make sweaters.

Shetland wool is from a pretty coarse fiber, and very good for sweaters. Merino is a much finer and comfortable fiber and it is preferred more than most other wools. Merino wool sweaters itch the least which also makes them more preferable. For knitting sweaters at home, Alpaca wool is recommended. Alpaca wool is a strong variety of wool and the sweaters knitted out of it are also usually found to be of good quality.

Lamb’s wool is a finer wool than Alpaca wool. Lamb’s wool is also softer and much more comfortable than Alpaca wool. However, Mohair wool is the one that is softest to touch from all the other wools. Mohair is also aesthetically beautiful. These both qualities make Mohair wool a very luxurious wool and the most sought after.

It is a common misconception that woolen sweaters are very difficult to be taken care of. The only care you need to take care is about following directions properly and once the directions are followed properly, one can be rest assured that the woolen sweater will be long lasting and remain the same beautiful self as it was when first worn!

Some of the directions are:-

• Shake – To remove settled surface dust and detach fiber clusters, shake the wool sweater. This process should be done after very wear.
• Sunlight – After the shake process, proper sunlight should be given to the wool. By this process majority of the body odor or moisture gets evaporated from the wool sweater.
• Remove fuzz balls – After each wear, one should “remove” all the fuzz balls that are caused by normal wear. This process should be done with the help of a small scissor. “Pulling” the fuzz balls off will only displace the other fibers that are attached and it is advised not to try and pull them off just calmly remove them. This will help the sweaters to not get unbearable in future.
• Do not hang – Once all the above directions have been properly carried out, the sweater is ready to be folded neatly, and properly kept in a cool, dry place. The sweater shouldn’t be hanged else, because of the heavy weight of wool, the sweater will lose shape. Woolen sweaters need to breathe and so, they shouldn’t be stored in plastic bags either.