Editing Wool (section)

==Fineness and yield==
Raw wool has many impurities; vegetable matter, sand, dirt and yolk which is a mixture of suint (sweat), grease, urine stains and dung locks. The sheep's body yields many types of wool with differing strengths, thicknesses, length of staple and impurities. The raw wool (greasy) is processed into 'top'. 'Worsted top' requires strong straight and parallel fibres.

{| class="wikitable"
!Common name!!Part of sheep!!Style of wool
|-
|Fine||Shoulder||Fine, uniform and very dense
|-
|Near||Sides||Fine, uniform and strong
|-
|Downrights||Neck||Short and irregular, lower quality
|-
|Choice||Back||Shorter staple, open and less strong
|-
|Abb||Haunches||Longer, stronger staple
|-
|Seconds||Belly||Short, tender, matted and dirty
|-
|Top-not||Head||Stiff, very coarse, rough and kempy
|-
|Brokes||Forelegs||Short, irregular and faulty
|-
|Cowtail||Hindlegs||Very strong, coarse and hairy
|-
|Britch||Tail||Very coarse, kempy and dirty
|-
|colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | Source:{{sfn|Bradford Industrial Museum|2015}} 
|}

[[File:Wool samples 2.JPG|thumb|Various types and natural colors of wool, and a picture made from wool]]
The quality of wool is determined by its fiber diameter, [[Wool classing#crimp|crimp]], yield, color, and staple strength. Fiber diameter is the single most important wool characteristic determining quality and price.

Merino wool is typically {{convert|90|-|115|mm|in|abbr=on}} in length and is very fine (between 12 and 24 microns).<ref name="Australia">{{cite web |title = Merino Sheep in Australia  | url=http://www.merinos.com.au/history.asp
  | access-date = 2006-11-10 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061105005633/http://www.merinos.com.au/history.asp <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2006-11-05}}</ref> The finest and most valuable wool comes from [[Merino]] [[Domestic sheep|hoggets]]. Wool taken from sheep produced for meat is typically coarser, and has fibers {{convert|1.5|-|6|in|mm|-1|abbr=on|order=flip}} in length. Damage or breaks in the wool can occur if the sheep is stressed while it is growing its fleece, resulting in a thin spot where the fleece is likely to break.<ref>{{cite web | title = Wool Management – Maximizing Wool Returns
| url = http://www.midstateswoolgrowers.com/management.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100101063804/http://www.midstateswoolgrowers.com/management.htm | archive-date = 2010-01-01 | publisher  = Mid-States Wool growers Cooperative Association | last = Van Nostran | first = Don | access-date = 2006-11-10 }}</ref>

Wool is also separated into grades based on the measurement of the wool's diameter in microns and also its style. These grades may vary depending on the breed or purpose of the wool. For example:

{| class="wikitable"
|+Merinos
|-
! Diameter in microns!!Name
|-
|< 15.5|| Ultrafine Merino<ref name="AWEX w"/>
|-
|15.6–18.5|| Superfine Merino
|-
|18.6–20||Fine Merino<ref name="AWEX w"/>
|-
|20.1–23|| Medium Merino
|-
|> 23|| Strong Merino<ref name="AWEX w"/>
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+Breeds
|-
!Breeds!!Diameter
|-
|[[Comeback (sheep)|Comeback]]|| 21–26 microns, white, {{convert|90|-|180|mm|in|abbr=on}} long
|-
| Fine crossbred|| 27–31 microns, [[Corriedale]]s, etc.
|-
| Medium crossbred|| 32–35 microns
|-
|Downs|| 23–34 microns, typically lacks luster and brightness. Examples, [[Aussiedown (sheep)|Aussiedown]], [[Dorset Horn]], [[Suffolk (sheep)|Suffolk]], etc.<ref name="D'Arcy">{{cite book|last=D'Arcy|first=John B.|title=Sheep Management & Wool Technology|publisher=NSW University Press|year=1986|isbn=0-86840-106-4}}</ref>
|-
|Coarse crossbred|| >36 microns
|-
|Carpet wools|| 35–45 microns<ref name="AWEX w"/>
|}
Any wool finer than 25 microns can be used for garments, while coarser grades are used for outerwear or rugs. The finer the wool, the softer it is, while coarser grades are more durable and less prone to [[pill (textile)|pilling]].

The finest Australian and New Zealand Merino wools are known as 1PP, which is the industry benchmark of excellence for Merino wool 16.9 microns and finer. This style represents the top level of fineness, character, color, and style as determined on the basis of a series of parameters in accordance with the original dictates of British wool as applied by the Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX) Council. Only a few dozen of the millions of bales auctioned every year can be classified and marked 1PP.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.awex.com.au/standards/1pp-certification.html|title=1PP Certification|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-07-18 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120718231815/http://www.awex.com.au/standards/1pp-certification.html|website=Australian Wool Exchange }}</ref>

In the United States, three classifications of wool are named in the [[Wool Products Labeling Act]] of 1939.<ref name="Freer">Robert E. Freer. [https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_statements/674191/194607_freer_the_wool_products_labeling_act_of_1939.pdf "The Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605081144/https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_statements/674191/194607_freer_the_wool_products_labeling_act_of_1939.pdf |date=2016-06-05 }} ''Temple Law Quarterly.'' '''20.1''' (July 1946). p. 47. Reprinted at ftc.gov. Retrieved 1 May 2016.</ref> Wool is "the fiber from the fleece of the sheep or lamb or hair of the Angora or Cashmere goat (and may include the so-called specialty fibers from the hair of the camel, alpaca, llama, and vicuna) which has never been reclaimed from any woven or felted wool product".<ref name="Freer"/> "Virgin wool" and "new wool" are also used to refer to such never used wool. There are two categories of [[recycled wool]] (also called reclaimed or shoddy wool). "Reprocessed wool" identifies "wool which has been woven or felted into a wool product and subsequently reduced to a fibrous state without having been used by the ultimate consumer".<ref name="Freer"/> "Reused wool" refers to such wool that ''has'' been used by the ultimate consumer.<ref name="Freer"/>