Virgin wool or merino wool: what is the difference?

The question is the wrong way round — and that is perfectly normal, everyone asks it that way. “Virgin wool” and “merino wool” are not two competing materials: the first tells you where the wool comes from, the second which sheep it came from. Merino wool can be virgin; virgin wool is not necessarily merino. Here is how to tell them apart — and which one to choose for a sweater you intend to keep for ten years.

Are virgin wool and merino wool the same thing?

No, but they are not opposites either. “Virgin wool” means new wool, shorn from a living sheep and never used before. “Merino” is a breed of sheep, with the finest fleece in the ovine world. The two words answer two different questions: one asks “has this wool already had a life?”, the other “which animal wore it?”.

In practice all four combinations exist: virgin merino wool (the top of the range), recycled merino wool, non-merino virgin wool (the case of most hard-wearing knitting yarns, ours included), and recycled wool of unknown origin. On a label, then, both terms can appear together without contradicting each other.

What exactly is virgin wool?

It is wool shorn from a living animal that has never been spun, woven or worn. It stands apart from two other origins: recycled wool, obtained by shredding garments or production offcuts, and so-called pulled wool, taken after slaughter. The description “pure virgin wool” is reserved for fabrics made entirely of this new wool.

The difference is not cosmetic. Shredding breaks the fibres: recycled wool is made of short strands that work their way out of the yarn with friction — which is exactly how pilling happens. Virgin wool keeps its long fibres, held in place by the twist of the yarn. That is the first reason a well-knitted virgin wool sweater ages better, and it is what allows us to offer our anti-pilling guarantee.

The virgin wool we knit measures 26.5 microns. Few brands publish that figure, and it places our yarn precisely: at the low end of the range for knitting wools, which commonly reach 30, 35 or 40 microns. It is not merino — it is a straightforward wool, made for dense knit and made to last — but it is a fine virgin wool.

What is merino wool?

The merino is a breed of sheep with an exceptionally fine fleece: its fibres most often measure between 17 and 23 microns in diameter, against 25 to 40 microns for an ordinary sheep's wool. That fineness makes all the difference: the finer a fibre, the more easily it bends, and the softer it feels against the skin.

Merino also shares the qualities of every wool, and pushes them a little further: it regulates temperature (warm without stifling, and still wearable in mid-season), it absorbs moisture — up to around 30% of its own weight — without feeling wet, and it naturally limits odour. That is why you find it in fine knitwear as readily as in technical base layers.

Which one is least itchy?

Merino, without hesitation — and for a mechanical reason, not a chemical one. The prickle of wool is almost never an allergy: it is the stiff end of thick fibres which, instead of bending on contact with the skin, presses on the nerve endings. Beyond roughly 25 to 30 microns the sensation appears; below it, it disappears for most people.

Virgin wool is therefore not “the wool that itches”: everything depends on its fineness and on the quality of the spinning. Ours, at 26.5 microns, sits just at that threshold — a long way from rustic 35 or 40 micron wools, without reaching the immediate softness of merino. In practice: worn over a T-shirt or a shirt, the question does not arise. Against bare skin, very sensitive wearers will prefer merino.

Which is warmest, and which lasts longest?

For warmth and wind resistance, virgin wool in a full, dense knit wins: it is the material of deck sweaters, which keep warming you even when soaked with sea spray. For softness, lightness and ease of care, merino wins. Durability, on the other hand, depends less on the material than on fibre length and knit density — a tightly knitted virgin wool sweater and a tightly knitted merino one will both last for years.

Which one to choose for a sailor sweater?

Here, the question is settled without compromise: our two emblematic models, the Erquy and the Petit Erquy, exist in both materials — same knit, same cut, same workshop. You choose the material, not the model.

• The 100% virgin wool version — the sailor sweater in its historic form: full dense knit, windproof, with a character that takes on a patina over the years. This is the one we recommend for the coast, for sailing and for winters spent outdoors. See the 100% virgin wool sweaters collection.
• The merino version — on the Erquy and the Petit Erquy this is a 50% merino wool / 50% acrylic blend: softer to the touch, lighter, and above all machine washable on the wool cycle at 30 °C. This is the sweater for busy days. See the merino wool sweaters collection.
• Pure 100% merino — a few fine-knit women's models (Alizée, Roscoff) and our Ebihens scarf are knitted in pure merino wool, for a close-fitting wear.

If you are still hesitating between the models themselves — fitted or loose cut, plain or striped, crew neck or V-neck — our sailor sweater buying guide takes the question point by point.

How do you care for each of them?

General rule: wool should be aired more often than it is washed. A night on a hanger by an open window is enough to freshen up a sweater, and every wash avoided is time gained on its life. When washing is unavoidable, our 100% virgin wool sweaters are washed by hand, in cold water, without spinning and dried flat; our merino blend models go in the machine on the wool cycle, 30 °C. The detail of what to do — pilling, shrinking, felting, drying — is in our workshop care advice.

Your questions

Knitted and made in Beaussais-sur-Mer, Brittany, since 1986 — Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (French Living Heritage Company). Our workshop is open to visitors.