Insects, microorganisms, water, fire, and regular old wear-and-tear all destroy fabric ... wool), and two sheepskin capes, the outer one colorblocked with a light wool collar topping a dark-brown ...

Our main picture shows an Egyptian wool bag or "Sprang" hairnet. Sprang is an openwork braiding technique which produces a knitted stretchy fabric ideal for the likes of stockings and hairnets.

from 3,400-year-old Egyptian yarn to fragmentary textiles unearthed in Siberian graves dating from the first century B.C. 5. The process of making wool fabric from fibers was rough going at first — ...