Wool blends

It is cloth in which wool is mixed with other fibres: polyester, viscose, polyamide or elastane. Fine suitings and plain coatings alike are made this way: a blend is not only about price.

Pure wool is lovely but delicate. A blend makes it stronger, so a garment creases less, holds its pleats longer and stands up better to everyday wear.

Fibres are listed from most to least. Wool is WO, new wool WV, polyester PES or PL, viscose CV or VI, polyamide PA, elastane EL or EA.

As a guide: from 50 % wool the cloth behaves like wool, warm and breathable. From 30 to 50 % it is a compromise: it looks like wool and is practical but is less warm. Under 30 % it behaves more like a synthetic.

Pieces often have no label. How to check for yourself is in «Wool or synthetic», including the burn test: ash plus hard beads means a wool blend.

The more wool, the warmer the cloth. But warmth also depends on density: a dense coating with 60 % wool is warmer than a thin pure wool suiting. For a winter coat take a dense cloth with plenty of wool.

Itch depends not on the blend but on the wool fibre itself: fine fibre is hardly felt, coarse fibre prickles. Viscose softens the feel, polyester changes almost nothing. Trousers and dresses in itchy cloth can be given a lining.

Wash gently at 30 °C or by hand, no fast spin, and dry flat, as for pure wool. More in «How to wash wool». Coats and jackets are better dry-cleaned.

Press through a damp cloth on the wool setting. Take pills off polyester blends carefully with a fabric shaver: they will not fall off by themselves.

A wool blend can shrink too, so pre-shrink it before cutting.