To a certain extent yes, but this is rather oversimplified. Fibers can be sorted by staple length before spinning, but they aren't always. Woolens are not necessarily spun from just the shorter fibers - mixed fibers can also be used. The preparation of the fibers before spinning - whether they are forced to lie parallel or not - has a very large effect on whether the resultant product is classified as woolen or worsted (which I see as more of a spectrum than a black and white classification), regardless of staple length. While fulling, napping, and shearing is one finishing process for a woolen cloth, there are other options - cloth might be simply fulled; fulled and napped but not sheared; etc. Worsteds can also be fulled, although of coarse to a much lesser extent. The degree of 'worsted-ness' limits the amount of fulling that is possible.
Wool is really a quite sturdy fiber. Water and detergent won't hurt it much, as long as there's absolutely no bleach. Of course any garment will last longer if can avoid repeated washings, but wool's not any worse about this than most fabrics (and better than some). - Catrijn _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
