Wool

I am passing along a question from one of our collections staff. As it
falls outside my area of expertise, I would be grateful for any answers.
Thanks in advance.

    Date: 18 Mar 96
    From: Judy Gibson <jgibson [at] cts__com>
    To: San Diego Natural History Museum <libsdnhm [at] CLASS__ORG>

    From time to time I am asked by knitters or weavers how to
    eradicate moths from their stashes of wool yarns or fabrics. I
    tell them to freeze the wool, then seal it in a plastic bag or
    storage container to prevent moths from reinfesting the wool.
    Occasionally this advice is met with cries of "that's the worst
    thing you can do! Wool needs to breathe!" Seems to me that wool
    is dead; why should it need to breathe? Is there any basis for
    this claim?

    Can you find out from your textile conservator acquaintances what they
    recommend for home storage of wool, and if there's a reason it shouldn't
    be sealed up?

    Judy Gibson
    Botany Department
    San Diego Natural History Museum
    Descanso, California

Sally Shelton
Director, Collections Care and Conservation
San Diego Natural History Museum
P.O. Box 1390
San Diego, California  92112
619-232-3821
Fax: 619-232-0248

                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 9:66
                  Distributed: Monday, March 25, 1996
                        Message Id: cdl-9-66-018
                                  ***