Merino wool is just one of the many types of wool available for making blankets and other warm textile products. However, there are many reasons that merino wool is the number one choice for these types of products. Take a look at these ten reasons that merino wool is so great:
- It is soft to the touch. One of the main reasons that merino wool is so attractive for products that are going to touch the skin is because it feels so good to the touch! It is a very soft type of wool that is cozy and comfortable. In fact it’s one of the softest types of wool available.
- It isn’t excessively fuzzy. The one drawback of some of the other types of soft wool that you can find today is that they are really, really fuzzy. While they’re nice to the touch, they tend to shed all over everything. This can get frustrating. Merino wool is nice because it has that great soft feeling but isn’t excessively fuzzy and so it doesn’t shed a lot.
- Merino wool isn’t itchy. Many other natural fibers tend to be itchy. This is uncomfortable for adults and can be intolerable for children. This isn’t a problem with merino wool. This type of wool is actually made from keratin, the same thing that human skin is made from, so there’s no uncomfortable itch to contend with. It feels totally natural.
- Merino wool regulates temperature really well. What this means is that an item will be cool when it is warm out and warm when it is cool out. For this reason merino well is sometimes used in the making of exercise clothing! At a more practical level, it means that the blankets made from merino wool tend to be comfortable all year long.
- Merino is a highly absorbent type of wool. It actually can hold a lot of moisture before it begins to feel damp. Even if it does get wet, merino wool won’t get cold (in contrast to cotton).
- It is an affordable type of wool. This means that the products that are made from it can also be affordable. That’s certainly important to most people!
- It can easily be blended with other wools as well as synthetic materials. There are many reasons that this may be done. For example, there is a cashmere-merino blend that is particularly soft and nice for making luxurious items. On the other hand, mixing merino wool with polyester or another synthetic material may make it easier to wash.
- Merino actually has anti-bacterial properties! It contains lanolin, which is where these properties come from. That’s a nice perk for when this type of wool is used to make items for babies and children.
- It is naturally odor-resistant. That means that you don’t have to wash merino wool products constantly because they stay basically clean for a long time even with frequent use. They naturally smell nice!
10. Merino wool is fire-resistant. This is one of the least flammable natural fibers. If you want a blanket that you can set near a campfire with then choose one made with merino wool!
This is a guest post by Kathryn Vercillo who writes Crochet Concupiscence, a blog about all things crochet from high-end designer crochet to crocheting for charity. Her favorite wool to crochet with is a cashmere-merino blend.
