Wool: Best Fabric for Infants

Lamb's wool are the best for newborns. The two are the same - tender, squeezable and delightful.

Science have yet to discover how to replicate the most multifaceted of all fabrics, wool. Its history of who thought first that the wool from the sheep might be used first is uncertain. I can only imagine it must have been a mother living in an extreme climate of cold, and by watching these amazing creatures got the idea that it would also keep her baby warm and dry. Some of the oldest and finest woolen fabrics are dated fifth century B.C. and were found in a Greek colony. However, the earliest surviving textile is dated 1500 B.C. and found in a Danish bog.

Even though the sheep lived in an environment where temperatures can go to extremes, they were able to adjust because of their ideal and dense woven coats. Wool is a fabulous material. The strong woven wool fibers has many air pockets that insulates them from extreme temperatures. 25% of the wool's weight can hold moisture. The outer cells of the fibers repel water while the inner cells absorb moisture. It is a fire inhibitor because of its ability to hold in moisture. It gradually dries so the wearer stays warm. The fat in wool, which is lanolin, causes it to discard water. Wool also rejects dust mites and bacteria and has an innate ability to disinfect itself. The wool's positive features make it a perfect fabric for baby garments, bedspreads and crib covers. And because of its absorbent nature, wool will take on dyes revealing richer, deeper colors. Countries that have the largest production of wool are Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina.

In its beginning, the sheep's 'hair' wasn't, as we know it today as the thick wool fleece. It was more of the same coat of a goat or deer, it was rasping. It's appearance has developed into what it is today through cultivation. It was approximately 10,000 BC that West Asians started training sheep. Long time ago, as natural as they must have been, sheep were treasured in Babylon. They were cared to yield food, milk and cheese. In an endeavor to spin the sheep's hair into a fiber, thousands of years was exhausted in producing sheep with the finest hair. But around 5,000 B.C., people were spinning wool for clothing. When sheep reproduction progressed, between 3000 and 1000 B.C., the Persians, Greeks and Romans were the reason of sheep dispersed all over Europe. It was in Winchester England in 50 A.D. where the earliest wool factory was instituted. England's wool textiles export comprised two thirds of its overseas trade by the year 1660.

As the business flourished, the wool spinning task was designated to the eldest single daughter, and that is where the term 'spinster' originated. While the yarn spun, it encircled around a rod known as a 'weasel' and made a rotating, bursting noise. Does that remind you of something? That is where the term 'Pop Goes the Weasel' came from. But it was inventions like the spinning jenny that catapulted the industry forward.

Treat your baby with all natural woolen blankets, crib covers, even car seat covers. It is gentle and comfy. Just like the mothers of long ago, we are the same. We try to keep our children safe as possible as we can, as a mother should do. As a grandmother, I assure you my grandchild has a wool fleece blanket in her crib, one on the floor and one when she travels. What a beautiful site seeing her sleeping so soundly and peacefully surrounded by one of nature's most wonderful fabrics.