Softest Wool Blanket – 16 Expert Picks [Out of 51] – 2024 Update

by wool

If you’re looking for a soft wool blanket, close the other tabs and put that phone on airplane mode.

Seriously…because this is the place to be.

My name is Joseph White, and I hold a textile Engineering degree from Colorado State University.

Today, I’ll be your insider in the blanket industry.

What makes this page special?

This is the one spot on the internet that gets into the nitty-gritty of the topic and gives clear recommendations.

You know…pointers on how to avoid wasting your money wasting your money on a blanket that will feels scratchy after a few months.

In other words – we did all the research so you don’t have to.

It’s a cliche but it’s true.

It also sounds cocky but I owe saying to all the people who worked on creating this guide.

What this guide is not…no Vicuna or Qiviut

I decided against included some types of wool.

Specifically, we won’t be talking about Vicuna and Qiviut

The fiber of these can be as fine as 13μm.

I didn’t include these for two reasons:

1 – they’re crazy expensive…I’m talking tens of thousands for a small throw

2 – the fine fibers don’t translate well to blankets softness. In other words, they’re too thin to feel cozy.

These are more decorative throws than a blanket to snug up in.

Some news on wool and sleep

It’s not a secret that uses report better sleep quality with wool blankets and bedding in general, but it was mostly anecdotal…you know, your neighbor telling you to get a light wool throw cause it makes for a great nap.

The studies proving the actual benefits were few and limited and we are seeing a growing body of research proving the difference wool makes.

An example is this study from 2013 that showed less movement and more time spent in deeper phases of sleep.

This refers to the average sleeper.

If you’re having sleep problems because of anxiety, that a whole other ball game – you might need extra help and I suggest you read our guide on the heaviest weighted blankets.

What you’ll see below

  • A short blurb on how we choose –  why should you trust what you read here.
  • Actual blanket reccomendations – 15 of them by type, seize and weight
  • Guide on wool softness and what it means for blankets – for those who like to understand the work behind the words.
wool blanket stack
How we choose the softest wool blankets

The results you see are not based merely on opinion – there are objective ways to measure softness of wool.

We combined those with the subjective “feel” of people who already own the blankets to craft our “wool softness index” or WSI.

You might see it across the internet but there is the home of the WSI.

Timeline & updates

We started the work about 18 months ago by consulting three material technology engineers and combined their expertise on wool softness and quality with statistical analysis of user satisfaction.

We’ll talk more about that in the buyer’s guide after we present the picks.

I know everyone’s in a rush, but if you’d like to understand what gives a wool blanket lasting softness and, to put it bluntly, what you’re paying for, do read this part.

We update this guide every two months to keep it fresh.

The work, the time, the people

The picks that you’ll see in this guide are a result of over 4,000 work hours.

Some of those hours go to a  few of the most renowned names in the industry – both blanket and wool experts.

We made an effort to include different types, designs & sizes of blankets.

So no matter what kind of reccomendation you’re looking for, we’re confident that you’ll find it among our top picks.

Softest wool blanket – Top 16 by type, use, design and size

 
Blanket
 
Type &
info
 
Wool softness index (WSI),
 quality rating,
 
& quick links
 
 
Price reference
 
biddy muprhy irish blanket throw

Biddy Murphy Premium

 
 
 

‣ Type: home, throw
‣ Fabric: blend - 95% merino, 5% cashmere
‣ Size: 54" x 71"
‣ Available colors: 6

 
 
 
WSI - 96

9.8

Click here to skip to all ratings
 
 
$$$+
 
pendleton heirloom classic soft wool blanket

Pendleton Heirloom Classic

 
 
 

‣ Type: classic,
with satin trim
‣ Fabric: Merino Wool
‣ Size: King
‣ Available colors: 1

 
 
 
WSI - 94

9.6

Click here to skip to all ratings
 
 
$$$$$
 
poyet motte merino

Poyet Motte

 
 

‣ Type: home, bed,
with satin trim
‣ Fabric: 100 % wool
‣ Size: Twin,
Full/Queen, King
‣ Available colors: 5

 
 
 
WSI - 93

9.6

Click here to skip to all ratings
 
 
$$$
 
pendleton striped wool blanket
Pendleton Glacier
Striped

 
 

‣ Type: home
& outdoors
‣ Size: twin, queen
‣ Colors available: 1

 
 
 
WSI - 94

9.7

Click here to skip to all ratings
 
 
$$$
 
wooly farmhouse french

Woolly Mammoth
French Country

 
 

‣ Type: outdoors, survival
‣ Fabric: merino wool
‣ Size: 66 x 90 "
‣ Available colors: 6

 
 
 
WSI - 88

9.56

Click here to skip to all ratings
 
 
$$
 
yakima camp

Yakima Camp
by Pendleton

 
 

‣ Type: camping,
outdoors
‣ Sizes: Twin & Queen
‣ Patterns available: 6,
striped

 
 
 
WSI - 88

9.7

Click here to skip to all ratings
 
stargazer brown

Stargazer

 
 

‣ Type: camping, outdoors,
military-style
‣ Fabric: merino wool
‣ Size: 66 x 90 "
‣ Available colors: 4

 
 
 
WSI - 86

9.2

Click here to skip to all ratings
 
ektos military us navy blue

Ektos

 
 

‣ Type: military,
machine washable
‣ Fabric: 100 % wool
‣ Size: 66 x 90 "
‣ Color: Navy Blue

 
 
 
WSI - 84

9.4

Click here to skip to all ratings
 
arcturus military surplus heavy
Arcturus

 
 

‣ Type: military surplus,
machine washable
‣ Fabric: 80 % wool
‣ Size: 66 x 90 "
‣ Color: green & gray

 
 
 
WSI - 84

9.2

Click here to skip to all ratings
 
irish wool blanket john hanly plaid

Highland Tartar throw

 
 

‣ Type: throw,
Scottish style
‣ Fabric: 100 % wool
‣ Size: 59 x 72 "
‣ Color: green
& gray

 
 
 
WSI - 91

9.2

Click here to skip to all ratings
 
putuco thick alpaca wool blanket

Putuco Alpaca
blanket

 
 

‣ Type: alpaca wool
‣ Sizes: Twin,
Queen & King
‣ Available colors: 25

 
 
 
WSI - 92

9.35

Click here to skip to all ratings
 
alpaca throw - red, orange, gray, beige

AndeanSun Alpaca
throw

 
 

‣ Type: alpaca
& sheep throw
‣ Sizes: 65 x 52 "
‣ Available colors: 25

 
 
 
WSI - 90

9.25

Click here to skip to all ratings
 
italian wool military surplus

Italian Military

 
 

‣ Type: Italian wool,
army, 100 %
‣ Sizes: 65 x 52 "
‣ Available colors: 2

 
 
 
WSI - 77

8.8

Click here to skip to all ratings
 
icelandic wool throw

Lake Mono

 
 

‣ Type: Icelandic
wool yarn, knitted
‣ Size: 51 x 59 "
‣ Colors: off-white

 
 
 
WSI - 84

8.4

Click here to skip to all ratings
 
icelandic wool heavy blanket

Icewear Astros

 
 

‣ Type: Icelandic
100 % wool
‣ Colors: 1 pattern

 
 
 
WSI - 90

9.0

Click here to skip to all ratings
 
heavy chunky wool blanket

Acarpo Chunky

 
 

‣ Type: chunky
‣ Sizes: 8
‣ Colors available: 10

 
 
 
WSI - 89

9.0

Click here to skip to all ratings

Last updated: January 2024

Biddy Murphy Premium Blend

I’ll try to tell the story of the Biddy Murphy on two levels – personal and professional.

The personal is simple – if I was in the market for a soft wool blanket, this is what I’d spend my money on.

The professional level

If you asked 100 wool experts about the softest material option for a wool blanket, most of them would say merino…and some of the would say cashmere.

Here’s the gist of that argument:

  1. Cashmeer is absolutely softer than Merino. I don’t think you’ll find an expert who’ll argue otherwise.
  2. Cashmere is also not the best material for a blanket because of the extra high loft (loft descibes how mjuch air is between the fibers).
  3. Cashmere is too expensive.
poyet motte merino wool blanket

What that means for you and this Biddy

Let me try and siplify my point here – the optimal way to balance the two materials in a blanket that’s aiming at softness and cozyness is to make a blend that’s majority Merino and 3-10% cashmere.

Here’s why…

We’re viisual creatures and a lot of that impression of softness is actually a combination of touch and visual input.

It’s easy to just go with the “softest material.” That would make my job of writing this guide very easy – look at the fibre and pick a blanket.

If that was the case, the cashmere products would have the hhighest user satisfaction rates.

They don’t because, for some people, they don’t deliver the full experience of softness.

The good stuff about Biddy

Biddy Murphy gets that parity just right – it pairs Merino and Cashmere to get the best of both worlds – the softness and the loft.

It scored off the charts in our tests for subjective feeling of softness.

Bottom line

This is teh kind of blanket that splits time into before after getting it.

If I had to guess the price knowing what I know about the inustry, I’d guess at least 50% more.

Read more:

 
button read more on amazon here

  • Wool quality 97% 97%
  • Finish / Softness 98% 98%
  • Durability / longevity / shape retention 95% 95%
  • User satisfaction 96% 96%
  • Value for money 96% 96%

Softness runner-up – Pendleton Heirloom Classic

The Pendleton heirloom Classic is the runner-up the list for three reasons:

  • Merino wool makes for the softest blankets (if you had to choose one wool type).
  • Pendleton does the best job at crafting 100% merino blankets.
  • It has more heft (higher loft) than the Biddy Murphy, which means it’s a better fit if you want an everyday blanket.

The next blanket on the list (Poyet Motte) is also a great everyday blanket. The choice will come down to heft and taste.

poyet motte merino wool blanket
  • Wool quality 95% 95%
  • Finish / Softness 96% 96%
  • Durability / longevity / shape retention 95% 95%
  • User satisfaction 96% 96%
  • Value for money 92% 92%

Bottom line

The WSI of the Pendleton Heirloom Classic comes it at just over 94.

The balance between weight and fine fiber is just right to maximize the subjective feeling of softness.

It’s a classic design with satin bounds. The medium weight means it’s not too warm (as some of the upcoming picks), The softer fibers have more “drop.”

In other words –  it’s snugglier and moves less.

Read more:

button read more on amazon here

Softest wool blanket with a high loft – Poyet Motte Aubisque

If you’re looking for a classic soft wool blanket with more heft to it than a John  Atkinson, the search begins and ends with Poyet Motte.

It is company with tradition dating back to 1839 and it’s the leading European manufacturer of premium blankets, including soft, thick wool.

With a Poyet Motte, the softness is more about the manufacturing practices than the wool alone.

If you don’t know much about interpreting the label, it’s easy for company to engage in imprecise advertising (at best) and misleading at worst.

Typically, the more precise the fact sheet is, the higher the quality and heat retation, which is reflected in the fact that the Poyet Motte has been our top pick in our guide on warmest blankets for winter for a dozen updates now.

poyet motte merino wool blanket

There are 4 key aspects to look for here:

poyet motte blankets stack
  • how fine the fibers are – crucial for softness of the wool
  • what’s the density (GSM – grams per square meter)
  • whether the wool is virgin or recycled
  • tightness of the weave – you can judge it by comparing the GSM and the thickness of the fibers
Poyet Motte is very precise about all 4
  • Fine fibers – 33 micron
  • Weight and density – 500 GSM
  • Virgin wool

All the reputable companies will typically list the latter two, but it’s rare to see a precise listing of how fine the wool fibers are.

In that aspect, Poyet Motte is an exception the most positive sense of the word.

Loft of Poyet Motte compared to classic wool

side by side comparison

Bottom line

The one downside that we can think of here is the scarcity of Poyet Motte – we’ve seen them go out of stock a few times while compiling this guide.

It goes without saying that this kind of work quality is more expensive than competing products but, in our opinion, if you end up being a proud owner of a Poyet Motte, it won’t take long to forget the few extra dollars invested.

You can see whether your preferred color and size is currently available and read what owners are saying about Poyet Motte by following the links below.

button read more on amazon here

Pendleton Glacier Striped

Pendleton Glacier striped
  • Wool quality 96% 96%
  • Finish / Softness 98% 98%
  • Durability / longevity / shape retention 95% 95%
  • User satisfaction 97% 97%
  • Value for money 97% 97%

Woolly Mammoth

  • Wool quality 96% 96%
  • Finish / Softness 92% 92%
  • Durability / longevity / shape retention 96% 96%
  • User satisfaction 94% 94%
  • Value for money 97% 97%
Read More:

button read more on amazon here

Yakima Camp

yakima camp - voted best wool blanket for camping
  • Wool quality 95% 95%
  • Finish / Softness 93% 93%
  • Durability / longevity / shape retention 95% 95%
  • User satisfaction 97% 97%
  • Value for money 96% 96%
Read More:

button read more on amazon here

Woolly Mammoth Extra Large

W oolly Mammoth is a company specializing in wool-products and this blanket is one of their most popular items.

We rarely see user satisfaction this high and we’ve been reviewing and testing sleep-related products and blankets for over a decade now.

It’s a 80% Merino wool (virgin), meaning that the wool used is not recycled.

This is an important point to make any to see a company not explicitly listing that the wool is a virgin, it probably means that it’s been recycled.

stargazer camping wool blanket outdoors
stargazer outtdors merino wool blanket color choices - us navy blue, green, brown and gray

The fact that it’s not 100% wool is not a minus in this case, because the small amount of weft and acrylic added is there so that the blanket can better retain shape and be easier to clean.

Each of the blankets from the series is brushed which adds a soft, lofty finish.

Bottom line

As mentioned above, blankets with user satisfaction this high (currently 93%) are scarce, and when you do find one, the cost much more than the this Woolly Mammoth.

That’s why the blanket is rated at 95/100 in the value for money category and 94/100 overall.

It measures 66 x 90 “and it’s available in six colors. Orange is my favorite, hands-down.

Read More:

button read more on amazon here

EKTOS 100 % military

The runner-up in the category of outdoor use is EKTOS.

The main difference between the Ektos and the Company Explorer we talked about above is that Ektos is 100% wool and the finish is a bit more rugged. It’s large, thick and heavy, but to with a soft finish (66 x 90 “, 5.5 pounds).

Finally, this heavy military piece is washable (hand or machine).

ektos military wool blanket navy blue

Along with the Company Explorer, Ektos is one of the most popular blankets for outdoor use.

You can see the experiences of the owners by clicking on one of the two links below.

Read More:

button read more on amazon here

Softest in the military suprplus category – Arcturus

When we labeled the Company Explorer as “military”, we also explained that it doesn’t come from the surplus and promised to recommend one that does.

Our top pick here is the Arcturus. Being a surplus means that the price point of this military wool blanket is lower compared to similar products.

Military grade wool quality – dense, kinda soft

It goes without saying that surplus grade wool is second to none in terms of wool quality (550 GSM density), but what stands out about the Arcturus is the appearance and the soft finish.

This is what makes it a great choice for both home and camping use. It’s 88 inches long , 64 inches wide and weighs slightly over 4 pounds.

arcturus military heavy wool blanket surplus
army surplus wool blankets gray and green
Read More:

button read more on amazon here

Softest wool throw blanket
The Highland Tartar (Scottish style)

Our top pick for the softest wool throw blanket is the premium Highland Tartar (100% sheep wool).

The company making it (Prince of Scots) advertises the Highland Tartar as a blanket made to be a family heirloom. It’s made and imported from England.

All the designs currently available are checkered (plaid), ranging from vibrant color combos of red, yellow and green to calming grays and browns.

If you’re looking for a picnic blanket or an accent throw for your sofa, your search probably ends here. We found no better quality to price ratio.

highland tartar scottish wool throw
Read More:

button read more on amazon here

Softest Alpaca Wool blankets – Putuco & AndeanSun

I f you’re looking for genuine alpaca piece, you should be especially careful because there are many counterfeits out there.

A company may advertise their blanket as “alpaca wool” but include other (cheaper) fabrics. That’s why you should read the fine print.

It’s also the reason why we had a hard time in this category and found very few products that we can recommend with a straight face. Among them, the AndeanSun stands out both in price to quality ratio and user satisfaction.

putuco alpaca blanket gray - king size

Our top pick among full-size alpaca wool blankets (Twin, Queen and King) is that the genuine Peru-made Putuco, while our recommendation among alpaca throws is the AndeanSun.

You can see the designs below, followed by links to the original products.

putuco soft thick alpaca wool blanket
read more on Amazon here
andean sun alpaca wool throw
read more on Amazon here

Swiss Army and Italian – NOS surplus military

The category of Italian wool gave us a bit of a hard time since the weren’t many high-quality products available.

There were blankets with the words “Italian” in the name, but as soon as you did a bit deeper you’d find that the products are not the real deal.

The company

Out the blankets that turned out to be genuine Italian wool, our top pick is a product coming from a company counter-intuitively named “Swiss Link”. It might sound odd while it’s anything but. Swiss Link specializes in products of this type (army-related).

For us, it doesn’t come as a surprise since we know the company from the time we researched ghillie pants and jackets. They only sell a handful of products and their staples are a few Swiss Army blankets and this Italian military surplus.

italian wool blanket military surplus
swiss link military blanket

This blanket is imported, it’s super heavy and 100% wool. The current user satisfaction percentage is 88, and our overall rating is 89/100. It doen’t really qualify as your average soft blanket, but those who know what to expect from suprplus will understand. This does belong to the softer range within the type.

You shouldn’t take our word for it, but do your own rereading on it.

You can do so by clicking on one of two links below and reading more about what the owners are saying (we’re also providing doing to their Swiss army style blanket).

Read More:

button read more on amazon here

John Hanly

This category was straightforward because there was one product that obviously stood out from the get-go.

It’s the John Hanly Irish blanket.

We say “obvious” because none of the other Irish wool products we looked were finer or softer and they didn’t come close in terms of the user satisfaction percentage – 92 %. The John Hanly plaid is Ireland-made and it’s as genuine as they come.

The five color combos are designed to fit any color scheme that you might have going in your space.

irish wool blanket throw john hanly plaid
Read More:

button read more on amazon here

Handwoven soft chunky wool blanket

O ur top pick among chunky designs is the Acarpo HandWoven.

The competition here was pretty stiff with a few products being praised by the owners. What gave Acarpo an edge is selection of colors and sizes and, most importantly, the value for money.

Big and heavy pieces from chunky yarn, have been all the rage in the interior design arena for the past couple of years.

When a frenzy like that happens, the market becomes confusing, primarily in terms of prices.

heavy chunky wool blanket large gray

In those circumstances, you can easily find yourself paying for the label or a brand.

That’s why we decided to ignore brands and look for the best balance between quality and price. We found it in the Acarpo.

wool types sorted - merino, alpaca, heavy, organic

How we rated the softness of the blankets, our data and some reference info

Our methodology and approach

This is true across all aour categories – we measure and tests eveything that can be measured and put into numbers. That doesn’t mean that the results are “dry” and exclude what users think about the products.

On the contrary…

We try to incorporate that data into our rating models.

Quantifying blanket softness is as demanding as it gets

We tackled the task of finding the picks with an idea to make it a numbers game.

It took a while and some attempts just have not panned out. Below is an outline of what we looked at.

  • Subjective blanket softness
  • Loft of the wool
  • Worsted or woolen
  • Scouring and carding
  • Fiber aligning and smoothening (gilling, combing,
  • Percentage of short fibers
  • Twist of the fibre under microscope
  • Softening treatment
  • Use of Silicone
  • How the blanket is dyed and washed

Of course, not all blankets we looked at had the information readily available, so we had to dig and often content the manufacturers. Sometimes that worked…often not.

The WSI is not a univeral norm. Its our in-house metric useed to estimate teh softness based on gathering big data. As a result, some of the blankets listed are actually softer. It is, however, our best attempt to ut it all to numbers.

We’re still gathering the data for micron counts and crimps per inhc of fibre. It’s a painstaking process and we’ll update the table once we have at least 30% of the information.

Edit
Blanket
Subjective blanket softness (on a scale of 0 to 100)
Micron count (microns)
Crimps per inch of fibre
Biddy Murphy Premium
96
*
*
Pendleton Heirloom Classic
94
*
*
Poyet Motte
90
*
*
Pendleton Glacier
Striped
92
*
*
Woolly Mammoth
French Country
86
*
*
Yakima Camp
by Pendleton
86
*
*
Stargazer
86
*
*
Ektos
82
*
*
Arcturus
81
*
*
Highland Tartar throw
94
*
*
Putuco Alpaca
93
*
*
AndeanSun Alpaca
throw
91
*
*
Italian Military
75
*
*
Lake Mono
84
*
*
Icewear Astros
83
*
*
Acarpo Chunky
81
*
*
Pendleton Eco-Wise
91
*
*
Faribault Frontier
89
*
*
SFERRA Tartini Throw
91
*
*
Brooklinen Two-Toned Lambswool
93
*
*
L.L. Bean Herringbone
89
*
*
The Citizenry Catalina Boucle
88
*
*
Spencer and Whitney
92
*
*
Peacock Alley Reversible
91
*
*
Blomus Wool Throw
89
*
*
Avocado Alpaca Throw
92
*
*
The Glamorous Goat
91
*
*
Herman Miller Girard
91
*
*
Woolrich Archival Buffalo Check Blanket (Wool and Sherpa)
90
*
*
The Glamorous Goat Mohair
90
*
*
Eikei Geo Herringbone
88
*
*
EP Mode Reversible Fringed
86
*
*
PuTian Merino Wool
92
*
*
Arcturus Plaid
82
*
*
Prince of Scots Highland Tartan
91
*
*
Rugged Andes
70
*
*
Olive Drab Green Warm
81
*
*
ALPAKITAS
89
*
*
PuTian
83
*
*
JMR USA
78
*
*
QISU
81
*
*
TEKO Large Military
75
*
*
ACUSHLA
83
*
*
EKTOS 90% Wool Checkered
82
*
*
DAVLINA
82
*
*
Spencer & Whitney Beige Herringbone
86
*
*
YOUR MOON Pure wool
82
*
*
Triplenet Pricing
70
*
*
Minus33 Woolen Lodge
89
*
*
Texas Bushcraft
76
*
*

 

Types of wool and quality aspects beyond softness

In the rest of the guide, we’ll go over some reference infor on types of wool and ways to judge the quality of blankets and the fabric in general.

This section is intended for people who want to truly understand the “knowledge” behind the choices above.

It’s the quality aspects that we’ll go over that contributed to the overall ratings of the products.

wool sorting table stacked
sheep wool lleyn

Sheep Wool

As you know, there are many breeds of sheep and ways to classify wool fibers (fine, down, medium, long, double-coated).

In general, this is a traditional fiber, made from wool of any sheep, and on clothes labels marked simply as wool. It is more available and less expensive than other types. It goes without saying that merino wool blankets are by far the most popular.

The main characteristics are:
  • Great resilience. It can last longer than synthetic materials.
  • Ability to absorb dye without using chemicals.
  • Works as a great thermal insulator, perfect for the winter. It absorbs the moisture, but repels liquid.
  • Wide range of usage (anything from clothes to decorative fabrics).
  • Unless we are talking about huge flame, the wool naturally resists fire and self-extinguishes.
  • It can cause itchiness, depending on the thickness of the fibers, but that can be solved using chemicals to treat the wool or mixing it with other fibers.
  • It can shrink and pill, so it needs to be taken care of properly.
  • Manufacturing process can be adjusted to make either a heavy or lightweight blanket

More about sheep wool properties here.

More about the production process here.

sheep wool fibers

Type of sheep wool fibers

Fine

Due to its softness, it’s used to make clothes that will be in a direct contact with our skin. If you are into knitting, this is the yarn you will probably use.

Fleece is very refined, elastic and consistent, and has a great felting ability and memory. The downside is that is not as strong as other ones, so not much stress is needed to tear a fabric.

Down

Matte to appearance, this type of wool is very resilient and elastic. Used to make fine knitted or woven fabrics.

Medium

It stands on a halfway between finer and stronger types of wool. The memory and elasticity are average, which makes it perfect for producing a wide range of woolen things. It is used for everything, from scarves to tweeds.

Long

The fibers of this type of wool are long, draped, strong and often silky to touch. They are very easy to dye, although sheep breeds with this type of wool have exceptional range of natural colors.

Long wool is not as elastic as the previous types we mentioned, but it has a nice memory.

Primitive or Double-coated

The strongest type of fleece, used to make outerwear, rugs, carpets… Usually, these breed of sheep have this bulky, strong outer part of wool to protect themselves from the weather, and underneath a finer undercoat.

It’s often blended with other types of wool for better texture.

Lamb

This is the wool obtained from the first shearing of sheep, usually around the age of 7 months. The length of this virgin hair fleece is around 50mm.

This wool is one of the softest and finest, very resilient and silky to touch.

The price for it is higher than for the regular sheep wool, since you can only once shear a lamb’s baby hair.

More about the wool quality grading system.

pendleton merino wool blanket felted

Merino

Originating from Spain, now mainly produced in Australia and New Zealand, this is the most popular type of sheep wool in the world.

Since the wool of Merino sheep contains lanolin (which is used in cosmetics industry), it needs to be washed and rinsed in cycles to get rid of it. At the end of that long process, end result is a half of the initial fleece, which makes this wool expensive.

Nevertheless, the 4.5 inches staples of wool are so fine (superfine Merino wool goes even down to 17 microns) and soft to touch, that this wool is used for making some of the most luxurious pieces of clothing and bedding, which always has their buyers. More merino wool facts here.

It is an excellent thermo-regulator, so you can wear garments made from this wool when it’s hot or cold, even in the gym, due to its moisture-repellent properties. It is known to be fire-resistant and anti-static. Today, most of the 100 % merino wool blankets are imported (the same goes for alpaca).

100 % alpaca wool blanket

Alpaca

This fabric comes from Alpaca, animal originating from South America, although it can be made from similar wool, like mohair. Fibers can range from 15 to 40 microns and that effect the levels of softness and itchiness.

The finer, silky fibers (like baby alpaca wool) are used to make clothes. Alpaca wool is often mixed with Merino, to get more draping quality, due to its stiffness.

Naturally, the Alpacas exist in very wide range of beautiful colors and shades, although the wool can be dyed. This wool is lightweight & hypoallergenic, because it contains no lanolin, and it’s soft enough to be baby and kids-friendly.

More factoids & info about alpaca wool here.

Other wool types

Cashmere

This luxurious, super-fine material (around 18 microns in diameter) owes its high price to the painstaking process of obtaining the wool from cashmere goats. The cashmere used comes from the undercoat in the neck region of the goat and it has to be combed over regularly.

The wool itself has lightness and resilience and the fibers are very delicate and soft. It provides amazing insulation, so you can wear cashmere cardigans in the spring, and you won’t get overheated.

Mohair

Mohair is obtained from Angora goat (not to be confused with angora wool) and it’s stronger and smoother than sheep wool, but not as soft and delicate like cashmere, for example. It’s easy to wash, which is a huge plus, of course.

This wool has a specific sheen to it, and it’s considered to be a luxurious material. Although it absorbs dye really well, the natural shades can be extremely beautiful. It’s often blended with sheep or other types of wool to make light-weight but warm pieces of clothes.

As mentioned, it’s not the softest of the wool fabrics, but it is one of the warmest, so mixing it with other materials can balance the flaws.

It’s used in producing anything from scarves and hats to carpets and decorative things for homes.

Angora

The finest (10-15 microns) and softest of the wool fibers comes from the Angora rabbit, to be precise, his undercoat. The most popular types of Angora rabbits come from Europe, but they are domesticated and grown all over the world.

The production of angora is small and very demanding in terms of time and money. There are, also, ethical questions raised around it, since sometimes the rabbits have to be kept alone, in darkness, to protect their undercoat.

The rabbits have to be combed regularly, and the hair is obtained by plucking or shearing. Plucking takes more time and energy, but the end result is finer wool. Angora rabbits grow hair quickly, but due to their small size they can’t produce much wool (around 400 grams and below, a year)

The yarn itself is soft, fluffy and silky. The fibers are hollow, which makes the wool lighter and warmer, but with a low resilience.

To get more stability to the fabric, angora wool is usually blended with other materials (cashmere or nylon). The 100% angora garment would be too warm to wear, so blending it is a great option, and it also lowers the price of the angora wool products.

Top brands:

  • Pendleton
  • Wooly Mamooth
  • Woolrich
  • Hudson bay
  • Faribault (faribo)
  • Swedish officer’s
  • Filson wool
  • LL Bean
  • Harbor freight
  • Rothco
  • Llama
  • Pathfinder
  • Manduka (recycled lightweight for yoga)

Other types & styles that deserve a mention and didn’t find a way into our Top 16:

  • vintage
  • boiled wool
  • Electric (heated)
  • Yak (lightweight for yoga)
  • camel
  • orrlaskan
  • chatham
  • oversized
  • travel & picnic

Adjusting your choice to the space & use

It’s a cliche but ultimately, your final choice should be adjusted to your circumstances, use, taste and range of other factors.

What we tried to do here is separate the wheat from the chaff and recommend products that are woth your money. When we say that, we don’t mean cheap, because cheap means low-quality fabric 99% of the time. We focused on value.

Colors

The blankets that we talked about can be great additions to either tie the room colors or make a focal point that will liven it up.

If the color scheme of your space is calm and you don’t want to “disturb” that, earth colors will work great.

Wool blanket colors for minimal effect: green, grey, brown, beige & black.

Colors that work well as accent pieces: red, yellow, blue, navy blue, orange, pink.

Country of origin

Here, we want to address some of the less talked about choices and skip the obvious (Australia and New Zealand).

There a few countries less known for their wool that still make great products – some of them are listed above as our top picks. These wool blankets include: English, German, Peruvian, Indian, Italian, Irish, Scottish, Scandinavian (especially Icelandic), Polish, Welsh, Russian, Bulgarian, Mexican, Morrocan, Dutch.

Updates to the guide on softest wool blankets

It’s our policy to regularly update all our guide that recommend products. To stay on top of things, we do it quarterly, unless we see a “red light” that can trigger an unscheduled update (typically a significant change in ratings of a specific product).

Finally, feel free to reach out with any questions you might have – you can do it by commenting below or dropping us an email. You can expect a response within a day.

Stay smart,

The Sleep Studies team

Author

  • Bob Ozment

    Bob has been testing and writing about all things sleep (and especially blankets, air mattresses and folding beds), for 8+ years now. before that, he worked as a Quality Assurance Manager with one of the bigger names in the sleep industry. He holds a masters degree Statistics, Actuarial & Data Sciences from the central Michigan University at Mount Pleasant. He's one of the people who designs our producing testing and statistical models. He’s a stomach sleeper, but nobody’s perfect.