Avowed Inframaterialist

Carpet wool, as the name implies, is a term for the wool from sheep specifically, intentionally bred for centuries to produce wool that is ideal for carpets (historically meaning rugs or, less often, heavy outer blankets, not just carpet like the modern stretched kind stapled to the floor.)

The ideal fiber for an item that is going to be put on the floor and walked on needs to be durable and easy to clean, therefore each strand needs to be long, relatively thick (yes, that means coarse,) and not prone to easily felting.

What it DOESN'T need to be is particularly "soft." The long fibers will make a smooth enough surface to not irritate the soles of your feet and you're not generally going to be wearing a rug right against very sensitive skin all day where you can feel the prickly ends. "Carpet wool" breeds, also known as longwool breeds, have wool fibers that perfectly meet those criteria.

A rug made from wool from a hair sheep or some meat sheep that is coarse but also brittle and short is going to wear out and fall apart ao quickly it's not worth the effort to make it. Therefore, despite being coarse and "scratchy," it is NOT CARPET WOOL. Use that for stuffing pillows or compost it for fertilizer.

A fine, soft, Merino rug is also going to be a felted, pilled, worn-out mess in such a short time it's not going to be worth the effort to make. Save that for a beautiful lace scarf that's going to be directly against the skin of your neck all day. Judging by what's best for rugs, Merino is actually the "garbage" wool.

Anyway, humans spent millenia developing different fibers for different applications, and also words mean things and don't mean other things. Can we please stop calling Lincoln or Wensleydale wool "garbage" because it makes scratchy socks and can we also stop calling Katahdin or Dorper hair "carpet wool" please.

Also, the sheep that grow the wool are absolutely rocking the look.

#i've never personally encountered this problem (though i believe it exists)

#but there's no reason a course wool should be scratchy if properly prepared #i'm thinking of tog vs thell sheep

#a good worsted spin should be smooth and durable #you just can't do a fluffy airy woolen spin

I almost exclusively spin worsted (combs my beloved), so from experience I can say that this would definitely not solve the problem for me. As much as I love wool of all sorts, a lot of it just is scratchy to me. The example with tog and thell is a great example because in my experience, icelandic wool poses a particular challenge for me. I absolutely adore working with icelandic fleece. It's GORGEOUS and the variety is so fun. I have three icelandic fleeces in my basement right now.

But it's also very...how to put this? Hairy? Not in a literal hair/kemp way, but it halos and the halo fibers are stiff and poky against the skin, and this has been true even when working with the soft undercoat, albeit to a lesser extent, moreso than with other wools I've worked with. When I sampled the thel and made a knitted square, it was really soft on the hands but absolutely itchy on my neck or inner elbow.

can't format a work email? templates

don't know how to write a resume? templates

writing a thank you card or a condolences card or a wedding invitation? templates templates templates

not sure how to format your citations in MLA or whatever format? citationmachine.net

summary of something you're reading for school/work? cliffsnotes.com

recipe based on ingredients in your fridge? whatsintherefrigerator.com