Evolution of the Use of Wool - Term Paper Example

Evolution of the use of wool The utilization of wool began before recorded history. This was when the primitive man first used wool skins that he obtained from wild sheep, which he hunted for food, to cover his body. The primitive man found out that wool was a durable fabric compared to none other since it could protect him from both heat and cold, and rain and wind. It could keep him warm when it is cold, and would keep him cool when hot. He also discovered that it could absorb water and moisture without a wet feeling. Man started domesticating sheep in 10,000 BC (Gleason 16). Because of its uniqueness, and lack of substitute, man became interested in improving and refining it. Since then, man has made efforts to improve and maximize on it by selective breeding of excess wool producing sheep and also incorporating other qualities into the wool fabric, including mothproofing, stain-proofing, durable creasing and pleating, shrink resistance and shower-proofing (Guthrie 145). Science and technology came in to improve the quality of wool and maximize the products keeping it in the fabrics forefront making it suitable for the modern requirements without affecting its virtues. After man started domesticating sheep, he used to milk it, and whenever it would shed its fleece, it would be collected, spun, and used to weave clothes. It then dawned on man that killing sheep for meat only was a waste of resources, material, and food. He then resorted to becoming a shepherd and later on came up with a method of producing clothes from the fleece. He used to spin the wool to produce a thread by taking it in one hand and drawing it out twisting it using the fingers of the other hand. This then resulted to a thick yarn that was uneven. Later on, man developed a crude spindle, where he fitted a clay ring or a stone to a short wooden stick end. The ring made it possible to wound the drawn-out yarn on the spindle. This spinning method was later used for thousands of years. The threads were woven to produce clothes, and the first products were made up of a beam from which warps were hung before being weighted by the stones at the lower end. The yarn was then threaded across the warp in such an action of over and under. This system was also used for thousands of years just like spinning (Gleason 185). After the two implements for spinning and weaving spun wool, the first improvement to be done was on the loom. Instead of the vertical suspension of the warp threads from the beam, they were horizontally laid across the frame. Sticks were then tied to with alternate warp threads, and they would be lowered and raised in turn. A wooden needle that would be carrying the weft thread would then be passed in one motion through the aperture that would form between the two warp thread sets, and thereby the laborious action of over and under would be avoided. An advance was made in hollowing out the needle that it could carry a weft thread reel within itself, just like in the modern loom. Later on, between 500AD and 1000AD, there was the arrival of the spinning wheel to replace the ring and stick. The pulley and spindle was connected to the wheel, and they were mounted horizontally on the frame. Around twenty turns of the spindle would be caused by one turn of the spinning wheel, and this increased the speed of spinning wool (Guthrie 160). The technology of wool processing continued changing so as to suit the growing needs demands and various uses of needs. This also changed so as to reduce the time required for production because of the growing demand. New machines were being invented to produce new developing products for different uses as the product differentiation was also growing. The primitive started by using wooly skins for covering the body before he could realize that he could use only the wool itself to make clothing. That is how he came up with methods of obtaining the wool and weaving it to make clothing. Later on, man invented shears that could be used to obtain wool from the sheep. The wool from sheep was considered the finest as compared to that of cotton. The wool was majorly used for the production of wooly cloth, which expanded trade connections, especially in Europe. This wool trade developed a great deal, and it became the economic engine of Low Countries and the central Italy in the 13th century. To add on that, wool had great importance in the English economy. This is evident in the fact that the House of Lords’ presiding officer sat on a chair that was stuffed with wool commonly known as the Woolsack in the 14th century (Gleason 212). The textile industry began growing massively and during the 15th century, wool trade was international, and there was great competition of skills in the international market. The value of woolen textile was then concentrated on the finishing and dyeing. In the 1970s, there was the production of wool that was treated specially to make it machine washable and possible to tumble-dry. A new wool suit was later developed in 2007 and sold in Japan. It could be washed in the shower, and it could dry off and be ready to be worn. It did not require ironing. This made it possible to make skirts, trousers and suits from the wool, and they could be cleaned at home using domestic shower (Gleason 214). Currently, wool has been utilized in many ways apart from clothing. It is now used in making blankets, saddle clothes, wool insulation, horse rugs, and carpets, felt among others. Wool felt for example is currently used in covering the piano hummers and also to absorb noise in big and heavy machinery. It is also used to make breastplates and helmets. In conclusion, the uses of wool have evolved a great deal, beginning with the primitive man using wooly skin to cover his body after realizing its uniqueness. He started developing technologies that would improve on the production of wool. This was also to suit the growing demand of wool and the product differentiations. Many improvements were also done on the products until the current time where wool products used are convenient and suiting the comfort of man. Works Cited Gleason, Carrie. The biography of wool. New York, NY: Crabtree Pub. Co., 2007. Print. Guthrie, J. F. A world history of sheep and wool. Melbourne: McCarron Bird, 1957. Print. Read More