ESSENTIAL GUIDE Working with Wool Fabrics

“Wool fabrics come in many forms – from 100% wool tweed to wool mixes and wool felt – and this month we look at ways of using these fabrics in our work.”
– Lin Clements

WOOL FABRICS

For most of us, wool isn’t the first fabric we think of in relation to quilting, but it can be used very successfully, both alone and in combination with cottons and other fabrics. Wool is a natural, animal fibre that is highly versatile. It can be woven or felted or re-processed, and is available in a range of weights, weaves and textures. Pure wool can have various appearances, for example it can be thick or thin, soft or crisp, napped or smooth. You may be familiar with the names of some wool fabrics, such as worsted, woollen, boiled wool, wool coating, tweed, tartan, flannel, mohair and cashmere. In combination with other fibres, such as cotton, acrylic and polyester, different characteristics can be obtained. In this article we will look at ways we might use different wool fabrics. Some templates are provided for your use. Two previous Essential Guides are related to this topic: Blanket Stitch Appliqué (Issue 29) and Hand-Stitched Embellishment (Issue 8).

WOOL FABRICS USEFUL TO QUILTERS

For patchwork and general sewing, wool fabrics or wool mixes that are most useful to quilters are those that are relatively thin and smooth, rather than thick, spongy and chunky. These will be easier to sew, plus