Why are merinos Noble Fibers?

The little lamb in the photo is not a Merino, presumably a Suffolk, but the shepherdess' smile is too splendid and irresistible not to be published :-).

First of all, a little history. Sheep of breed "Merinos" have a very long and very noble history. According to the Treccani encyclopedia "Merino" derives from the name of the Merinids, arab-Berber Muslim dynasty (Arabic Banū Marīn) that ruled Morocco in the 13th and 14th centuries.

The breeding of this variety was the exclusive right of the court of Spain until the eighteenth century, so much so that the trade in pure specimens was considered a crime punishable by death. In 1723, some exemplars were exported to Sweden, but merinos' first great expedition "Escurial" was sent by Charles III of Spain to his cousin, Prince Xavier the Elector of Saxony, in 1765. Later in 1786, Louis XVI of France, Le Roi Soleil, received 366 sheep selected from 10 different "cañadas"; these constituted the king's flock, at the Royal Farm in Rambouillet.

Between the eighteenth and nineteenth hundred, the Napoleonic Wars almost destroyed the Spanish merino industry. The old cabañas or flocks were scattered or slaughtered. From 1810 onwards, the Merino scene moved to Germany, the United States and the English colonies, especially Australia, SouthAfrica, New Zealand and it is precisely in these territories that the Merinos, expertly bred, found the necessary conditions to express at the highest level the characteristics of their peaks.

Currently the selection of the best specimens has made it possible to produce garments of exceptional quality and high value; just think of the world record of AUD$ 450,000 paid for the JC&S Lustre 53 "ram" sold at the 1988 Adelaide Merino mutton sale in the industry's heyday.

Why are Merinos wools, which are the finest, noble fibers? The reason lies in the fact that, as we will see, they have 3 great qualities:

• Softness

• Moisture management through the recovery rate.

• Temperature control via the thermocoibent effect.

These three characteristics are directly related to the finesse of the fiber; the more fine the fibers make up your dress, the more these 3 features are accentuated. The finesse of the fibers are expressed in microns and, as we will see, they are rigidly regulated by special tables.

In my previous post I indicated to you what are the most correct weights to choose a fabric, but do not forget, in addition to the weight you will also have to pay attention to the finesse of the fiber that makes up your fabric.

• Softness is related to the diameter of the fiber because, the finer the fibers, the more docile they are to bend to the contact of the nerve endings of our body

• The management of the humidity rate relates to the fineness of the fiber through hygroscopicity, the finer fibers can absorb up to a third of their water vapor weight without giving a feeling of "wet"

• Temperature control takes place through the ability of extrafine Merino fibers to trap air between them by slowing down the heat transfer rate. Fresh in summer, warm in winter.

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