Crimping of Wool Fibers

Abstract

By employing differential staining under controlled conditions and by experiments on resist ance to chemicals, it is shown that wool possesses an inherent bilateral structure which runs the entire length of the fiber from root to tip. The similarity in behavior of wool, as shown in this study, to the formation of crimp in viscose rayon indicates that structural asymmetry may be re sponsible for the coiling and crimping nature of the wool fiber. Isolated single wool fibers show a pronounced tendency to coil; however, when movement is restricted by the proximity of other fibers in a lock or in mass, the result is the formation of crimp.