Wool for upholstery

Background
The history of humans and wool goes back over 10,000 years to when our primitive ancestors used the pelts of wild sheep to keep warm.
Most of the wool we use come from sheep however. camels, goats, and rabbits produce hair that is also classified as wool.
Production Process
Shearing the Sheep
Cleaning the Wool
The wool is washed which removes dirt, other contaminants, and natural oils from the wool.
Carding the Wool
Next, the wool fibres go through carding, a process that pulls them through fine metal teeth. Sheep wool is naturally curly; carding straightens out the fibres and makes them soft and fluffy. Originally, carding would be done by hand using two metal combs. Today, most manufacturers use machines to card large batches of wool more quickly. By the end of carding, the wool fibres are lined up into a thin, flat piece.

Spinning the Wool into Yarn
Spinning turns the wool pieces into a material that’s usable. Spinning uses a wheel to spin 2-5 strands of wool together. This forms long, strong pieces of wool that you would recognize as yarn. Different processes create different kinds of yarn that work for distinct final products.

Weaving
The wool is woven to create the finished fabric.

Dyeing
This can be done at any stage of the process.

Blending
As with most fibres, wool may be blended with another fibre. This could be for characteristics as strength or durability. It could also be blended to reduce cost by combining expensive fibers with less costly types, or to achieve special colour or texture effects.

Eco friendly/ Sustainability
Wool requires less energy when processing than synthetic fabrics and hence is more eco-friendly that other fabrics. All that it requires to grow it is air, grass and water for the sheep.
Old wool fabric and fibre can be recycled for many uses including insulation and geotextiles, as well as being an effective compost as it slowly releases nitrogen rich nutrients back to the soil. Some manufacturers do all the processing of their wool on-site in the UK

Wool For Upholstery

Wool is widely used in upholstery, it’s hard wearing strong and resilient. It has a natural springiness which allows it to return to its original shape and does not become flat or hard.

Versatile in appearance
Wool is excellent at holding dye, consequently it can be used to produce fabric in a huge array of styles, colours textures and weaves.

Low maintenance
Wool has a natural resistance which helps in repelling marks and dirt allowing time to clean up spills before they are absorbed. The outside surface of the fibre is made up of a series of overlapping scales. This has the advantage that dirt sits on the surface and can be vacuumed.

Naturally Anti-static
Wool generates very little static electricity. The result is that it will not attract dust and dirt in in same way as synthetic fabrics which generate more static.

Hypoallergenic – Wool is resistant to bacteria, mould and mildew that can trigger allergic reactions in people. Wool also has microscopic pores that respond effectively to changes in humidity making it unfavourable for the growth and breeding of the house dust mite whose allergens are one of the triggers for asthma attacks.

Fire retardancy
Wool is naturally fire retardant, this is due to a high nitrogen and water content. It does not give off fumes neither will it drip or melt unlike some synthetic fabrics.
To comply with current UK fire regulations [Sept 2024].
If the piece was manufactured post 1st Jan 1950, fabric that is over 75% wool can either be used with a fire retardant inter-liner or be treated to meet the regulations.
Page 25 FIRA International Ltd. 2009 updated 2011