Editing Wool (section)

==Processing==

===Shearing===
{{Main article|Sheep shearing}}
[[File:Merino shearing.jpg|thumb|Fine Merino shearing in [[Lismore, Victoria]]]]

[[Sheep shearing]] is the process in which a worker (a [[sheep shearer|shearer]]) cuts off the woollen fleece of a sheep. After shearing, [[wool-classer]]s separate the wool into four main categories:

* fleece (which makes up the vast bulk)
* broken
* bellies
* locks

The quality of fleeces is determined by a technique known as [[wool classing]], whereby a qualified person, called a wool classer, groups wools of similar grading together to maximize the return for the farmer or sheep owner. In Australia, before being auctioned, all Merino fleece wool is objectively measured for average diameter ([[Micron (wool)|micron]]), yield (including the amount of [[vegetable matter]]), [[Staple (wool)|staple]] length, staple strength, and sometimes color and comfort factor.

===Scouring===
[[File:CSIRO ScienceImage 11160 Siroscour.jpg|thumb|Wool before and after scouring]]

Wool straight off a sheep is known as "raw wool", "greasy wool"<ref name="AWEX w">Preparation of Australian Wool Clips, Code of Practice 2010–2012, Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX), 2010</ref> or "wool in the grease". This wool contains a high level of valuable [[lanolin]], as well as the sheep's dead skin and sweat residue, and generally also contains pesticides and vegetable matter from the animal's environment. Before the wool can be used for commercial purposes, it must be scoured, a process of cleaning the greasy wool. Scouring may be as simple as a bath in warm water or as complicated as an industrial process using [[detergent]] and [[alkali]] in specialized equipment.<ref>{{cite web
 |title       = Technology in Australia 1788–1988
 |url         = http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/267.html
 |publisher   = Australian Science and Technology Heritage Center
 |year         = 2001
 |access-date  = 2006-04-30
 |url-status    = live
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20060514094411/http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/267.html
 |archive-date = 2006-05-14
}}</ref>
In [[north west England]], special [[potash pit]]s were constructed to produce [[potash]] used in the manufacture of a soft soap for scouring locally produced white wool.

Vegetable matter in commercial wool is often removed by chemical [[carbonization]].<ref>{{cite thesis |author= Wu Zhao |date=1987 |title=A study of wool carbonizing |type=PhD |publisher= University of New South Wales. School of Fibre Science and Technology |url= http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/18809758?selectedversion=NBD5989374 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141030125807/http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/18809758?selectedversion=NBD5989374 |archive-date=30 October 2014}}
</ref>
In less-processed wools, vegetable matter may be removed by hand and some of the lanolin left intact through the use of gentler detergents. This semigrease wool can be worked into yarn and knitted into particularly [[Aran jumper| water-resistant mittens or sweaters]], such as those of the [[Aran Islands|Aran Island]] fishermen. Lanolin removed from wool is widely used in [[Cosmetics|cosmetic]] products such as [[hand cream]]s.