We are wool

You’d be hard pressed to find a company that loves wool as much as we do. All of our products, like our woollen slippers, are made from wool. Why? That’s all thanks to the rich history wool has and thanks to its many unique properties. We also love how sustainable wool is. Thanks to this naturally renewable fibre we are able to make the most comfortable and eco-friendly felt shoes and other woollen products.

The history of wool

Wool has an important role in human history. Our ancestors used the pelts of wild sheep to keep warm and to insulate their homes. The Mesopotamians became the first people to domesticate sheep and use their fibres for all kinds of means. They traded their sheep all over the world. This is why we can find sheep in a great number of countries nowadays. Sheep can thrive wherever they find their home and its thanks to these sheep that we can make our woollen products.

The unique properties of wool

Wool has always been and will always be a fibre that has wonderful qualities. It’s often called a magical fibre thanks to its organic structure and the properties it has. Let’s take a better look at why wool is so very magical.

Did you know that wool is both cooling and insulating? A sheep’s wool is naturally wavy and because of how wool is structured the follicles in wool create air pocket. These pockets trap air in the fibre. The trapped air keeps you warm when it’s cold outside. In the summer wool traps the moisture in the air and on your skin. This allows the moisture to evaporate and cool your skin.

Thanks to the lanolin in wool (the waxy substance naturally found in the fibres exterior) wool naturally repels liquid. If you spill something on a felt slipper it won’t sink into the fibre immediately. This gives you enough time to wipe the liquid off. On the inside wool is hygroscopic. It attracts moisture and absorbs 30% of the liquids weight without feeling wet.

Felted wool and wool felt

Once we have sorted and cleaned the wool we get from our sheep it’s time to further process the wool and use it for our products. You can create many different types of textiles from wool. The two main ones we use our felted wool and wool felt. These two textiles sound alike but there are some differences. Felted wool is when wool is spun into a cloth that is then churned in hot water and dried on high heat. This process creates a woollen fabric that is strong whilst still being fully malleable. Because our felt specialists use a traditional technique that has been around for hundreds of years our felted wool looks very authentic.
Wool felt is made by pressing layers and layers of wool roving together onto a mould. By alternating the angles on which the layers are laid upon one another we can create a strong textile. During this process we use only hot water and soap. The hot water makes the fibres malleable and the soap helps the textile to keep its shape.

Is wool sustainable?

The short answer to this question is “Yes”. Wool is sustainable. And not just because products made from wool can be kept in good condition for years and years. Of course wool is durable because it doesn’t need to be washed as often as other fibres and won’t end up in a landfill as quickly as synthetic fibres, but there’s more.

Wool is a natural product that is produced by sheep. Because sheep need to be shorn yearly and then regrow their fleece naturally wool is a naturally renewable source. Shearing isn’t something that’s done to gain wool for human usage. It’s something that needs to be done to keep sheep comfortable and clean.

Why we love wool?

Wool truly is our unchallenged favourite when it comes to fibres. Wool has so many qualities that we love: from how good it is for the environment to its traditional heritage to its technical properties. We wouldn’t dream of working with a different fibre!