All about wool

Wool is the oldest textile material known to man and sheep and goats are one of the first domesticated animals. For example, the famous Bockstensman, who died around 1350 in Sweden, was dressed in homespun, a kind of processed wool, and it says something about how popular the material has always been and how long it has been used. And no wonder, wool has been a natural part of all humans during thousands of years and is a material with several fantastic and unique attributes.

Since the wool helps protect animals such as sheep, goats, lamas and alpacas against wind and weather, it has developed many good qualities. It binds both air and water and is therefore both heat insulating and moisture repellent. It is also temperature controlling and insulates when it is cold, while cooling off when the weather is warm. The wool can thus regulate both heat and cold.

In addition, wool is naturally self-cleaning and has antiseptic properties, so it keeps dirt and Odor away without additives. Therefore, the material is easy to keep clean and fresh year after year. The wool fibre has a natural protection thanks to its lanolin grease and only needs to be ventilated between the uses and not washed very often, if not at all.

With all these fantastic properties, wool is also one of the world’s most durable materials and is biodegradable. It is 100 percent natural and decomposes when it gets into the wild.

Stackelberg’s blankets are made in the finest mohair wool.

Stackelberg’s blankets are woven from mohair wool that comes from goats, living in the open air in a part of South Africa called Karoo. Mohair fibre is well known as lean, soft and with a naturally beautiful lustre. It is a first-class material and is used for example as carpets in the most exclusive cars. Thanks to its unique properties, the mohair fibre can also be used for the surface at the bottom of Nordic skis.

The softness of the mohair roll depends, among other things, in which season of the year the goats are cut and how old they are. The softest mohair roll comes from the lambs, so-called kid mohair, while most of the wool comes from adult goats that are cut twice a year. The wool from one goat is enough for one blanket.

Our blankets are manufactured in South Africa where most of the world’s total mohair wool is produced. The animals are managed in the best possible way – both on the farm where they graze freely, as well as in the sheering process. Washing of the wool, spinning, dyeing, and weaving is done in a careful manner with a profound respect for the material. All dyeing is of course Oeko-tex certified and in most cases the production can be traced back to the farm where the goats were brought up.

A Stackelbergs blanket has a rolled fringe which gives an extra nice finish and is one of our main features. The weaver separates about ten threads from each end and rolls them together into a fringe. This is done entirely by hand on our most exclusive plaids. When the mohair is finished woven, it is brushed up to give it a soft and light feeling. Should the brushed wool fall off a bit when you get it home, just use a mohair brush and simply brush the blanket one extra time and ventilate and shake the blanket in the fresh air, and excess wool will disappear. It is due to an excess after brushing and is a natural part of the manufacturing process.

If you want to know more, contact us at www.stackelbergs.se or call +46 08 667 12 00.