After shearing, scouring and sorting the …

Processing fibres into wool:

The wool which is used for knitting sweaters and weaving shawls involves following steps:

i. Shearing: The process of removing hair from the body of a sheep in the form of fleece is called shearing. Usually the hairs are removed during the hot weather which enables sheep to survive without their protective coat of hair.

ii. Scouring: The process of washing the fleece that removes dust, dirt, dried sweat and grease is called scouring. This process makes the fleece of sheep clean.

iii. Sorting:  The process of separating the fleece of a sheep into sections according to the quality of woolen fibres is called sorting.  The hairy skin is sent to a factory where hair of different textures is sorted.

iv. Dyeing: The hair of sheep is white, brown, or black in color. The white woolen fibres obtained by sorting can be dyed in different colors.