Wool is a natural fiber derived from sheep. The fineness and properties of wool depend on the breed of sheep. Major wool varieties come from Merino, Lincoln, Leicester, Sussex, and Cheviot sheep breeds. Wool fibers are complex keratin proteins made up of amino acids. About 40% of the protein chains form an alpha-helix structure. Sheep are sheared annually to remove their woolly fleece. Wool is compressed into standardized bales for transport and sale after sorting and grading.

1. Wool Fiber
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2. WOOL
Wool is a natural highly crimped
protein hair fiber derived from
sheep.
The fineness and the structure and
properties of the wool will depend
on the variety of sheep from which it
was derived.
Major varieties of wool come from
Merino, Lincoln, Leicester, Sussex,
Cheviot, and other breeds of sheep.

3. World wool production: Clean 2007 (% share)
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4. World fibre production: 2007 (% share)
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5. Virgin wool consumption at retail stage 2007
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6. Wool Texture
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9. Wool polymer
 Wool fibers are extremely complex, highly
crosslinked keratin proteins made up of over 17
different amino acids. The amino acid content and
sequence in wool varies with variety of wool. The
wool protein chains are joined periodically through
the disulfide crosslinked cystine, a diamino acid that
is contained within two adjacent chains. About 40%
of the protein chains spiral upon themselves and
internally hydrogen bond to form an a-helix.
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10. Wool polymer
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11. Wool polymer in alpha helix
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12. Shearing
 Sheep shearing, shearing or clipping is the process
by which the woollen fleece of a sheep is cut off.
The person who removes the sheep's wool is called
a shearer. Typically each adult sheep is shorn once
each year.
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13. Shearing the Rams by Tom Roberts, 1890
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15. Wool bale
 A wool bale is a standard sized and weighted pack
of graded and sorted wool compressed by the
mechanical means of a wool press.
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16. Wool bale
 Wool bales at Devon &
Cornwall Wools Ltd,
South Molton, Devon,
England. Each bale
contains 330 Kg of
graded wool (approx.
110 fleeces), wrapped
in plastic and tied by
wire. Dimensions: 43" *
28* * 41"
Wool bale
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