Keeping Americans warm for four centuries, wool has been an essential commodity from colonial times to the present. Its colorful and epic tale has impacted millions of lives, including artisans, inventors, immigrants, merchants, mill owners, millworkers, farmers, slaves and Native Americans. Handcraft production gave way to industrialization, but is now back in the hands of knitters, weavers, felters, and other handcrafters. Wool is a story of technological and social change, marketing forces, and above all, consumer choices.