Fleece, or wool, is a type of hair found on various animals, including sheep and yaks, that has insulating properties. Shearing takes place in spring, and the fleece is graded and processed into yarn for crafting. Fleece products made from plastic fibers lack the insulation of real fleece. Shearling, a combination of leather and fleece, is used to make waterproof clothing.
Fleece is a type of hair found on sheep, yaks, alpacas, some goats, rabbits, and many other types of animals. Most commonly, this unique hair is associated with sheep and yaks. This hair has a number of properties that make it very distinctive and extremely useful. People have been collecting fleece and weaving it into various fabrics for centuries, and some of the oldest known fabrics in the world are made from fleece.
Also known as wool, fleece is made up of hairs of varying lengths that have a great deal of fluffiness and insulating properties. On the animal, the hair grows together in a mat, with the scales on the individual hairs intertwining. The fur keeps the animal warm and dry, allowing it to live in cold and harsh climates. Since the hair is intertwined, it is also possible to remove the entire fleece, using a pair of scissors or an electronic hair trimmer to quickly cut the mat away from the pet’s skin.
The process of taking the fleece from an animal is known as “shearing”. Shearing typically takes place in spring, when the animals have particularly long hair, and the risk of an extremely cold climate which could injure the sheared animals has passed. Once the hair has been cut, it can be graded by quality, with people rating the length of the hair, the amount of curl it has, the width, and other factors. After grading, the fleece is processed so that it can be spun into yarn for knitting, weaving, and other craft work.
The texture of raw hair is quite characteristic. It is, literally, woolly. The mat of woven fibers that forms naturally on some animals is also artificially imitated by humans to make various “fleece” products such as jackets and blankets. This knockoff is made from specially treated plastic fibers and lacks the deep insulation and loft of real fleece, although it can be quite warm and comfortable in wet weather as the plastic resists moisture very effectively.
When animals with fleece are slaughtered, it is not uncommon to leave the fleece attached to the skin, treating them together to create a special fabric. This combination of leather and fleece, known as shearling, can be used to make waterproof insulating clothing such as shoes and coats. Shearling takes advantage of the durability of fleece and leather, along with their water resistance and workability. It is also considered fashionable in some areas of the world.
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