Guides

Guides appear fortnightly and gather here.

What is published?

Everything so far: 11 guides, newest above.

Every figure links to the page it came from, or is a count of seller pages read on a stated date.

Can you wash a wool pillow without ruining it?

A wool pillow can survive water, but heat and rubbing together often ruin it. A washing machine supplies both. Whether you can wash yours depends on how its wool was treated, how t

What does scouring remove from wool, and how much lanolin stays in a pillow?

Every wool pillow starts as greasy fleece that has to be washed before you can sleep on it. Woolmark puts the grease, sweat salts and dirt in shorn wool at around 35% to 40% of the

How do New Zealand, Australian, and US wool clips differ for a pillow?

The origin fact you see most often on a wool pillow page is a country name. The wool behind them differs. New Zealand grows mostly coarse wool, Australia grows mostly fine wool, an

Why does a wool pillow felt, and what handling prevents it?

A wool pillow that has turned thin and hard has usually felted, and you can't undo felting. It needs water, warmth and movement at the same time, and a classic lab study found untr

What is the difference between wool batting, wool balls, and shredded wool in a pillow?

Three wool pillows can hold one kind of fiber and still behave like three different objects. One maker says pillows made with wool layers may settle 15-30% within the first few mon

Does wool really hold 30% of its weight in moisture, and what does that mean at night?

You have probably seen the claim on a wool pillow listing: wool holds about 30% of its own weight in moisture, which is meant to keep you at a comfortable temperature all night. Th

Why does crimp make wool work in a pillow?

Pinch a tuft of raw wool, pull it straight and let go. It jumps back into a tight zigzag. That zigzag is crimp. It decides whether a wool pillow keeps holding your head up or slowl

How do you read micron, grade, and staple on a wool pillow spec?

The fiber inside a wool pillow decides how soft it feels and how well it keeps its height. The wool trade describes that fiber with three words: micron, grade, and staple. Once you

What makes a wool bed pillow organic, and is it worth paying for?

An organic wool bed pillow is a finished pillow certified organic, with organic wool inside. On a product page, though, "organic" can describe the case, the wool, or both. When we

Is an organic wool and buckwheat pillow worth it for you?

An organic wool and buckwheat pillow puts a soft wool layer over a core of buckwheat hulls. You get firm support you can shape yourself, with a quieter and gentler surface on top.

Is a wool pillow worth it, and how do you choose one?

A wool pillow gives your head a cooler surface and a height you can tune. The fill is sheep's wool in a cotton case, sold in the same 20 by 26 inch standard size as any American be