Fleece

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Thursday, October 15. 2015

It's autumn here. Fleece is one of the great inventions for cool weather, maybe second to fire. Lightweight, layerable, and cozy. I always hated wool. It makes me itchy.

I am grateful for those mill folks who came up with fleece.

How Fleece Conquered the World

Addendum: A reader notes that fleece is highly-flammable. I once destroyed a fleece jacket when the hot engine of my chain saw rested against it.

Posted by Bird Dog in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 16:38 | Comments (10) | Trackbacks (0)

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I have a number of fleece items, probably starting in the '95-'97 range. They are good.

#1 Sam L. on 2015-10-15 19:43 (Reply)

I like fleece for children's clothes because no whining about itching, and you can be careless w it (no worrying about moths or wool shrinking if family members put sweaters in wash).

But wool is so much better overall, especially for travel. Merino, cashmere or lambs wool aren't itchy, can be hand washed, and are warmer than fleece. And much less bulky. Also sweaty wool doesn't smell the way fleece can after hiking up and down hills, a dozen miles, etc. Wool breathes better. And, IMHO, men look handsomer and more rugged in hand knit fishermen's sweaters than in recycled soda bottle jackets. I hand wash said wool sweaters for my spouse because I like how he looks in them.

Tho I'm sure our venerable editorBD looks quite dashing in fleece.... :)

#2 Retriever on 2015-10-15 22:43 (Reply)

Fleece does not wear well when you have dogs/cats/horses. you look like you are wearing a hair shirt when one of them brushes against you. Actually, all that hair finds the fleece just while the shirt is sitting in the laundry basket.

I've made several baby blankets with fleece as the backing (instead of batting and a cotton backing) and it's tough sewing through. Going through several needle changes, although maybe it's worth it, for the softness.

I prefer flannel (for quilts and to wear) and oilcloth for rainy days. Multiple layers take care of the coldness.

#3 fjord on 2015-10-16 06:56 (Reply)

Perfect for banging around camp after the hunt.

#4 LWS on 2015-10-16 07:58 (Reply)

After trying cotton and waffle-weaves and other more gimmicky "warm but light" blankets I've finally settled on fleece.

I use two on cold nights, one on the merely cool ones.

Fleece blankets work.

They are warm and light in weight.

#5 James Graham (Link) on 2015-10-16 08:35 (Reply)

I used fleece for years, until I found out that it burns- I reached across a campfire and the sleeve of my jacket caught on fire. I wear scratchy, less flammable wool now.
Besides, it comes from the backs of sheep.

#6 Frank (Link) on 2015-10-16 10:43 (Reply)

For outdoor wear especially in cold weather fleece is literally a lifesaver. The military ECWCS (extended cold weather clothing system) is based on fleece and extremely light and packable because of this. I am finding it more difficult to find simple fleece sweatshirts as the manufacturers have decided to use a cotton/fleece material. Cotton of course being the worst material for cold weather you have to wonder why they are doing this.

#7 GoneWithTheWind on 2015-10-16 11:26 (Reply)

Alpaca is warm and not scratchy as well. The main cause of scratchy wool is the processing. You have to be careful of cashmere as some of the cheap stuff hasn't been dehaired well. I've been spinning since the 70s and run into very few scrachy coarse fleeces. And wet synthetic fleece does not keep you warm like wet wool does.

#8 Teri Pittman on 2015-10-16 15:13 (Reply)

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#9 donate.crs.org (Link) on 2015-10-17 06:19 (Reply)

Had to laugh at this comment. It looks like something a non-English speaking Zach would write. Totally incomprehensible with a liberal sprinkling of multisyllabic words.

#9.1 GoneWithTheWind on 2015-10-17 10:41 (Reply)

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Thursday, October 15. 2015

Fleece