Nature is wise.

In winter, cold weather really gets to me when I walk my dog. If you are a dog owner, how do you keep yourself warm while you walk your dog (or dogs)?

When a friend and I were walking our dogs in a park in one winter day, I noticed that the friend started complaining how hot and even sweaty she felt, while I was freezing to death. Soon I found out that she was wearing a 100% wool sweater. Meanwhile, I was wearing a sweater made of synthetic material.

I looked all over the stores for sweaters made of 100% wool. I was surprised to find out that most of the modern sweaters are made of synthetic materials. After dragging my feet around for a while, I found a sweater made of natural wool fibers.

I tried wearing both kinds of sweaters to compare - wool and synthetic. I immediately noticed the difference. I'm surprised how different they feel when you actually wear them. Wool sweaters definitely keep me warm. What amazes me is that both materials - wool and synthetic - look the same, and sometimes synthetic materials feel even softer (not scratchy like some wool materials).

According to Stitch'N Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook (Yes, I'm a knitter...Actually I became a knitter recently -- out of desperation. I found it easier to find wool yarn than to find wool sweaters!), the characteristics of natural animal fibers and synthetic man-made fibers are as follows:


Natural fabric made from animal fibers:

• Insulate, keeping you warm when it's cold outside and cool when it's hot.
  
• Absorb moisture. A wool sweater or hat can absorb up to one-third its weight in water.
  
• Vary in warmth. Some animal fibers are warmer than others (the fiber from alpaca, a llama-like animal, is exceptionally warm), but even seemingly weightless fibers, like mohair, can knit up into an airy sweater that's as warm as a heavy down coat.

Man-made fibers

• Are essentially plastic. For example, fibers such as acrylic, are petroleum-based.
  
• Are cheap, and easy to wash and dry. (I suppose this is an advantage over natural fibers!)
  
• Aren't typically warm.
  
• Aren't very absorbent.

I became a fan of wool sweaters (and socks and mittens, too). I wear a wool sweater under a coat when I walk my dog in cold days. Every time I see dogs such as Siberian Huskies romping in the snow, I'm impressed by nature, which came up with the idea of providing these animals with layers of fur to protect them from harsh cold weather and to keep them warm in winter!