About 12,000 years ago, people in West Asia began to domesticate sheep for meat. Then they had hair which was rather like goat hair - short and thick. They also supplied milk and cheese and of course there was the leather from the skin which often had the hair left on it for extra warmth and this was used for clothing and shelter.
Over time people began to make clothes rather than just wearing pelts and sheep hair was seen as a workable fibre but was too coarse to be spun. On the underside of the belly though, the hair was softer and over a period of a few thousand years sheep were bred for this softer hair.
By about 5000 BC sheepswool was soft enough to be spun and over the next 2000 years was improved upon by the Persians, Greeks and Romans. Sheep spread throughout Europe and wool became a very valuable trading commodity.
Today, sheep are still being bred to improve the wool for the many and varied uses that it has. When making Hikers Wool, for example, we need to source wool that has a particular length of staple and most importantly a micron thicknes that is suitable.
Wool has come a long way since those very early times!
