What to look for in WOOL?
 

Germany gets freezing and we had a mild winter this past year. Our house is oil heat and every room has it's own heater we do not leave heaters on when were not in that room. Central heat is not in Germany so I'm trying to make warm quilts before the cold hits again in the fall. We went to a medieval market last weekend and someone was selling yardage of wool. I really wanted to buy some but all felt different and I have no idea what to look for. Even if I just use them for the backs I still want them to be soft. Any help would be appreciated. TIA

For me its a texture thing. I like it soft not scratchy so I usually gravitate to the bamboo wool; it is super soft and in my opinion its a lighter weight. I am making my first wool quilt so I am by no means an expert. In the end as long as its felted and you like the way it feels then go get you some wool.

once you wash your wool in hot water/detergent , cold rinse, hot dryer----it comes out pretty soft-usable-
i buy most of my wools by recycling 100% wool clothing from thrift shops, yardsales.
when i do pick up yardage i generally buy according to the color/texture that appeals to me- here's a pic of my wool quilt- the background squares are black- double sided Benartex Flannel- the appliques are all recycled felted wools, the backing the same wonderful flannel. the batting hobbs wool- which is washable and wonderful to work with- i also love Dream wool- from the dream company- i don't know if these are available in Germany.

sorry about the size of that picture---- i right clicked it to try to resize- when i clicked on it -it showed up for me as a normal size---then i submit it & get this humongus pic---guess i'm not going to show pics anymore- this new (issue) is too frustrating

My friend make almost wool quilts exclusively; once in a while a cotton one but she used recycled wool from clothes from garage sales, 2nd hand shops, etc. She takes them aparts, washes, dries on the line outside. She prefers using larger, simple cut quilts like a "brick" style, turning twenty pattern, trip around the world, etc. She uses 1/2 inch seams and presses open seams. Backing is usually a flannel if she wants a really warm one, otherwise cotton backing. Batting--all depends on what warmth she is looking for. She has also made cotton tops with wool backs. As far as washing after goes, same way like before and dries outside on the line. They are beautiful. Oh, forgot, many are hand quilted with a larger folk like basic straight stitch using pearl cotton.