Wool was probably the first animal fiber to be made into cloth. People began to raise sheep for wool about 6,000 years ago. Different kinds of wool, and mixtures of wool with other fibers, can be used to create tightly woven fabrics with smooth surfaces or more loosely woven fabrics with rougher surfaces. In many Middle Eastern societies, nomadic peoples beat wool into a matted fabric called felt, which they used to make clothing, saddle blankets, tents, and other useful items. Sheep-raising nomads in the Middle East also invented carpets made by knotting woolen weft threads onto a linen warp.
Woolens came to be the characteristic textile for European clothing during the Middle Ages, which lasted from about the 5th to the 15th century. People still commonly use wool for clothing, either as pure wool textiles or in blends with other fibers. Wool has obvious advantages as a clothing fabric because it is warm, even when wet, and readily accepts a wide range of color dyes.