| apparel
wool |
wool suitable
for manufacture into apparel fabric |
| bellies |
short and often
defective wool from belly of sheep |
| black wool |
fleeces from sheep
containing gray, brown or black wool |
| braid |
long, coarse,
lustrious wool |
| break |
wool that is abnormally
weaker in one spot along the fiber length |
| breech (or
britch) |
coarse hair fibers
on lower hind legs |
| bulk grade |
the largest
percentage of grade in a lot of orginal-bagged wool or the major grade
of a fleece
|
| carbonizing |
removal of burrs
from wool by immersion in dilute sulphuric acid |
| carding |
breaking up a
compact fiber mass to give it less density and make it more even |
| carpet |
wools to heavy
and coarse to be made into apparel; suitable for carpets and rugs |
| clothing |
the shorter length
wools within a grade |
| color |
in wool trade
usage, this refers to the actual color of the wool; a bright white to
cream is most desirable |
| core-testing
|
the coring of
bales or bags of wool for the determination of yield and clean content |
| crimp |
the natural waviness
of the wool fiber; it varies with the diameter of the fiber |
| cross breed |
a sheep or the
wool from a sheep resulting from the cross of two different breeds |
| drafting |
the pulling out
and reducing of fibers |
| E |
|
| felting |
the matting together
of wool fibers |
| fiber diameter |
measured by the
latest in computer technology and reported in microns |
| fleece |
the wool from
a single sheep in the shorn grease state |
| fleece wool |
usually all fleeces
grown in the states east of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers |
| french combing |
wool of medium
staple length, suitable for combing |
| fulling |
washing and finishing
process fro woollen cloth |
| grade |
the classification
system used to describe grease wools. The grades are:
- Fine: 64s, 70s, 80s
- Half-blood: 60s, 62s
- Three-eights-blood: 56s, 58s
- Quarter-blood: 50s, 54s
- Low-quarter-blood: 46s, 48s |
| grading |
the classification
of fleeces according to grade and length |
| grease wool |
wool as it is
shorn from the sheep, before any processing |
| handle
(or hand) |
the actual feel
of wool |
| hank |
a 560-yard unit
of wool yarn wound on a reel |
| I |
|
| kemp |
brittle, chalky
white, weak fiber found as an impurity in the fleece |
| lanolin |
wool grease; this
substance, sometimes called "yolk", is a secretion from the
sebaceous glands of the sheep |
| lazy kate |
bobbin holder
for plying |
| lock |
a small, approximately
finger-size bit of wool that tends to stay together when shorn from the
sheep |
| medullated |
a 'hollow' fiber,
with a central core of medulla cells |
| micron |
an abbreviated
form of the word micrometer (one millionth of a meter) |
| mordant |
chemical used
in dyeing to fix the color |
| niddy
noddy |
apparatus used
for winding yarn into skein form |
| noils |
the short and
sometimes defective wool fibers removed in the combing of top |
| orifice
|
opening in the
end of the spindle shaft, through which the spun yarn passes |
| pelt |
the skin of the
sheep with wool still attached to the skin |
| plying |
spinning singles
yarns together to form a plied yarn |
| pulled wool |
wool removed from
the skins of slaughtered sheep |
| range
wool |
wool grown on
large ranches, distinct from wool grown on small farms; usually termed
Territory wool |
| raw wool |
grease wool in
natural state before scouring |
| rolag |
coil of carded
wool |
| roving |
a long, continuous
arrangement of unspun fiber, immediately prior to the stage of worsted
spinning |
| scouring |
the actual seperation
of dirt, grease and foreign matter from grease wool; this is usually done
in a lukewarm, mildly alkaline solution, followed by a rinse |
| second cuts |
short tufts of
wool cut at least twice by the shearing |
| shearing |
the removal of
wool from the sheep by the use of power clippers or blade shears |
| shrinkage |
the weight raw
wool loses when scoured, expressed as a percentage of the original weight |
| singles |
one strand of
yarn |
| sliver |
a light, rope-like
arrangement of carded wool fibers |
| sorting |
the seperation
of the whole fleece into parts, as well as removing the off-sorts |
| soundness |
freedom of the
fiber from breaks and tenderness; relates to strength |
| spindle |
a weighted shaft
which imparts a twist to form a thread |
| staple |
refers to the
length of a lock of shorn wool; in the trade, "staple" refers
to the longer length wools within a grade |
| strick |
length of prepared
flax fiber |
| tender |
wool that is weak
throughout the entire length of the fiber |
| top |
a continuous strand
of partially manufactured wool, which previously has been scoured, carded
and combed; an intermediate stage in the process of worsted yarn |
| tying |
after the wool
is shorn, it is rolled into a neat bundle and tied with a paper fleece
tie |
| vegetable
matter |
any material of
plant origin found in the fleece, such as burrs, stickers, chaff and seed
heads |
| wastiness |
the loss of fiber
in carding and combing due to vegetable matter, weakness or tenderness
or shortness of fiber |
| whorl |
a pulley mounted
on a spindle |
| woolen |
a system of processing
that utilizes the shorter length wools within a grade |
| worsted |
a system of processing
that utilizes the longer length wools within a grade |
| yeild |
the amount of
clean wool that is derived from grease wool in the scouring process; is
expressed as a percentage |
| yolk |
a mixture of wax
and sweat in wool |
Spinning
& Fiber Terms, Definitions & Glossary