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Good stuff. I'm interested to see data on other cotton garments, particularly buttondown shirts. Cotton is just a lousy fiber. On the other hand, wool is a str

Good stuff. I'm interested to see data on other cotton garments, particularly buttondown shirts. Cotton is just a lousy fiber. On the other hand, wool is a strong and resilient fiber. It also never needs to be washed provided it isn't stained. My wife knit a wool sweater for a close friend of mine who spent 6 months as a bosun on the tallship the Lady Washington (the Interceptor in the Pirates of the Caribbean). Fresh water is scarce on a tallship so showers were infrequent. He came home during Christmas and I smelled the sweater which he claims he never washed and it smelled fresh. Surprisingly, it also kept him warm and dry on the open ocean. I later learned that Irish fishermen have been wearing wool sweaters at sea for generations. Wool is the fiber of the past and future.

andor 11y ago
"Cotton is just a lousy fiber. On the other hand, wool is a strong and resilient fiber. It also never needs to be washed provided it isn't stained." You're mixing things up. Cotton is stronger than wool, cotton shirts last many years longer than wool shirts. It's less noticeable with sweaters simply because their fabric is thicker. On the other hand, wool can be more comfortable to wear because it retains more heat and absorbs moisture better.
- jkereako 11y ago
  > You're mixing things up. Cotton is stronger than wool Turns out cotton is actually stronger than wool. I suspected that since all my cotton shirts are perpetually wrinkled the fibers are weak. https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:bZuKb5YznrcJ:https://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2008/Projects/J1207.pdf+&cd=10&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:bZuKb5...