What is the difference between Merino wool and Superwash Merino wool? Yarn Spinning Blog
Super-Wash vs Regular Wool Braids
Video blog for spinners who want to compare experience.
I decided to record and document my expirance spinning yarn in the same semi woolen single strand style with the only difference being a super wash merino braid vs a regular merino wool braid. I was hoping to answer the question What is the difference between Merino wool and Superwash Merino wool? Click below to see the video or read the description.
What is the difference between Merino wool and Superwash Merino wool? Yarn Spinning Blog
I wanted to show the difference between spinning a regular Merino braid and a super-wash Marino braid. I've got them laying here next to each other, and you can see that they have physical differences. The superwash Merino is more kind of heavy and drapey. Whereas the regular Merino is fluffier. They both are beautiful braids and I enjoyed spinning them. You can see the difference here, un-braided the superwash.
The super wash Merino has much more of a shine to it from where the scales on the wool were chemically altered and removed. And then this is the regular Merino is very soft with a nice matte finish and a bit fluffier.
You can see it has a heavier drape to it. It's very smooth. It's very easy to pull apart and it's got a heavier drape. The regular Marino also drafts beautifully and will make a lovely yarn, but it's a little stiffer and it's not going to have the drape that the superwash does, but it's also not chemically altered in any way. So there's the superwash and there are the regulars. So you can see there is a movement difference in just how the wool handles.
With spinning the superwash Merino, which is very smooth, makes for a very smooth spin and a nice even yarn and the final product you could wash and not worry about it, felting or shrinking. And that is due to the chemical altering of the actual wool. Some people are against superwash Merino.
I try to not have things in my life that are too overly altered, but I also live in yoga pants and we have many things in our life that are chemically made. So I probably can't shun it too hard. This is the regular Merino. You can see it also makes a beautiful, consistent braid. It's also easy to draft, but it wasn't quite as smooth as the other. The final yarn from the superwash Merino is very drapey, super soft makes a nice even yarn. The regular merino yarn I got more yardage out of but it is also a next to skin soft yarn with even consistantcy but it's not as " silky" as the superwash.
This image was found online and not taken by me. I though it did a good job of showing the difference after the chemical processing.
