Mecerized Wool

Dangles · 09-22-2007, 02:21 AM

Went for a quick trip to Walmart with my family and found my self in the yarn section ... and saw "Silky Mercerized Wool".

Has anyone used this?

cecile77 · 09-22-2007, 07:07 AM

I've never heard of mercerized wool. Sounds interesting...

Braden · 09-22-2007, 10:58 AM

I've never heard of it, either. I have heard of mercerized cotton, though.

suecq · 09-22-2007, 12:47 PM

So how is the look and feel of this mercerized wool?

Dangles · 09-23-2007, 12:01 AM

it was squishy and soft ... sounds like a loaf of bread

i was thinking of getting it to use for DH's toque.

Originally Posted by suecq

So how is the look and feel of this mercerized wool?

Songbirdy · 09-23-2007, 08:31 AM

Mercanizing, I believe, is treating the 'threads' with some sort of chemical to make them shinier.

It can potentially wash out.

It can also yield a yarn that is easier to work with, will split less and runs more smoothly through your fingers.

I didn't double check, but I believe that is what mercanizing does.

dana_renay · 09-26-2007, 02:18 PM

Mercerizing cotton is a process by which cotton fiber is placed under tension while it is bathed in an alkaline solution (like caustic soda), washed and dried. The process of Mercerizing causes chemical changes in the structure of the cotton fiber, making it stronger, straighter, smoother and more dye absorbent.

Mercerizing wool still involves the caustic soda bath, but no tension. Mercerizing wool does not cause chemical changes in the structure of the fiber, but does fuse the scales on the outside of the fiber together. Mercerized wool is, in effect, superwash, and can't be felted. Mercerized wool is also stronger, smoother and more dye absorbent than non-Mercerized wool, albeit for a different reason than the treated cotton.

True Mercerizing can't be washed out because it chemically alters the treated fiber.

More than you ever wanted to know about this subject can be found in the book The Textile Fibres: Their Physical, Microscopical, and Chemical Properties which is available to view online through the Google book search thingie.

candicane · 09-26-2007, 02:39 PM

Was it 100% wool, did it come in nice colors, what was the brand?

I may need to go to Walmart.

candice

Dangles · 09-26-2007, 05:40 PM

Yes it was 100% wool, as for colours I don't recall, my DS beckoned before I can see them all. I believe the brand was "Georga"

MellieThePooh · 09-26-2007, 05:41 PM

As opposed to mercenerized cotton, which requires mercenary lambs...