Celebrating Natural Fibers

Wool is simply an incredible material. Used to make almost anything you can think of, from compost to cardigans, and more. In celebration of Wool Week, James Meade is looking at some of our best-selling garments made using this versatile material. To include favourites such as the Merino longline cardigan, ladies' knitted waistcoats and lambswool sweaters. And to tackle to great Wool Week debate “Lambswool Vs Merino Wool”!  

Lambswool Versus Merino Wool  

Lambswool is taken from the first shearing of a sheep. The fibres are usually no longer than 50mm. Processing is straightforward as the fibres are very fine and very soft.  

Lambswool can come from any breed of sheep. The wool is not exclusive to just one breed. The lambswool heralds its popularity via its pure softness from the first lamb shear, usually about 7 months old so the fibres are undoubtedly gloriously soft. Once the lamb is shorn its wool is not used again for this category. This exclusivity of the accumulation of these super soft and super warm fibres accounts for the demand. Lambswool is more of a soft knot and has more outerwear uses. 

Ladies Lambswool Knitwear

Ladies Merino Knitwear

Merino Wool, however, is unique to the Merino sheep, who can produce the wool repeatedly throughout their lives.   Although the rarity of gathering this wool is not as exclusive as Lambswool, the location of the fibres is only collected from one breed and therefore quality is always assured.   Merino wool averages around 21.5 microns although the superfine follicles can measure between 15-18.5 microns making it as soft as cashmere. Making Merino wool incredibly versatile and very little of the fleece goes to waste. It works super well for next-to-skin base layer garments. 

Conclusion

So, there you have it, while both types of wool are soft, they are soft in a different way and the properties of the wools make them slightly better at different things. Either way at James Meade, you can always be rest assured of the quality of all our garments. Made to wear and love time and time again.