Pet peeve of the day is the way many fiber artists use “carpet wool” as a catchall derogatory term for any wool that is coarse and scratchy, with the implied meaning carpet wool=garbage wool. That is not what carpet wool is.
Carpet wool, as the name implies, is a term for the wool from sheep specifically, intentionally bred for centuries to produce wool that is ideal for carpets (historically meaning rugs or, less often, heavy outer blankets, not just carpet like the modern stretched kind stapled to the floor.)
The ideal fiber for an item that is going to be put on the floor and walked on needs to be durable and easy to clean, therefore each strand needs to be long, relatively thick (yes, that means coarse,) and not prone to easily felting.
What it DOESN’T need to be is particularly “soft.” The long fibers will make a smooth enough surface to not irritate the soles of your feet and you’re not generally going to be wearing a rug right against very sensitive skin all day where you can feel the prickly ends. “Carpet wool” breeds, also known as longwool breeds, have wool fibers that perfectly meet those criteria.
A rug made from wool from a hair sheep or some meat sheep that is coarse but also brittle and short is going to wear out and fall apart ao quickly it’s not worth the effort to make it. Therefore, despite being coarse and “scratchy,” it is NOT CARPET WOOL. Use that for stuffing pillows or compost it for fertilizer.
A fine, soft, Merino rug is also going to be a felted, pilled, worn-out mess in such a short time it’s not going to be worth the effort to make. Save that for a beautiful lace scarf that’s going to be directly against the skin of your neck all day. Judging by what’s best for rugs, Merino is actually the “garbage” wool.
Anyway, humans spent millenia developing different fibers for different applications, and also words mean things and don’t mean other things. Can we please stop calling Lincoln or Wensleydale wool “garbage” because it makes scratchy socks and can we also stop calling Katahdin or Dorper hair “carpet wool” please.
Also, the sheep that grow the wool are absolutely rocking the look.
Imagine telling these lovely Wensleydale ladies their hair isn’t glam!
people saying “write what you want to see in the world!” and that’s always a good sentiment but this post isn’t really about “oh no there’s no content for my ship”, more the feeling of “i looked up something that i thought was so obvious that surely plenty of more seasoned ao3 perverts would have thought of it already, but apparently i’m the weird one”
shout out this super cute suspender skirt and turtleneck outfit Mamie van Doren wears for a bit in the movie Girls Town (1959). Look at the twee little minnie mouse buttons!! the hair twirlies 🌀
