Glossary
Glossary
Bale. A rectangular bag or container (also Pack), into which raw wool is compressed for shipping. The composition of the bale (often woven from coarse jute or paper yarns) has historically been important in potentially inserting non-wool fibers into processing, creating flaws in yarns and cloth.
Burry. Term for wool containing vegetable matter which must be removed by carding, combing, and/or carbonising.
Carbonising. Process in which vegetable matter is removed from wool fibre; usually an acid bath combined with heat and pressure.
Card sliver. Wool that has been scoured and carded and formed into a continuous,
untwisted strand of loosely assembled fibers.
Carding. Process by which scoured wool fibres are disentangled, and any vegetable matter removed. To card by hand involved small wooden implements with metal bristles; machine carding uses a larger version, but the process is the same. Carding leaves a bat of fiber called a sliver.
Classing. Processing a fleece (in the shearing shed) into categories by where it is on the body of the sheep: Current categories: Fleece (main part); Pieces (edges), Belly, Crutchings (tail area), Locks (short separate pieces that detach during shearing), and Stain (permanently discoloured). Woolclassing is a skilled occupation, requiring training and certification.
Clip. The total amount of wool shorn in a year by a particular entity (a property, a nation, a region, etc)
Combing. To make yarns for Worsted wools, the fibers need to be straightened and aligned further than can be done by carding. Fine-toothed combing machines remove any last short fibers, knots, and remaining vegetable matter. Combed fiber bats are called Tops.
Crossbred. Sheep from the mating of two different breeds; for example, Merino and Lincoln.
Ewe. Female sheep
Grading. Categorizing a fleece by staple length and fineness. [OK, sorting, classing, and grading all get mixed up in my mind. This needs someone who really knows the difference and doesn't rely on print sources which are confusing)
Fineness. Fiber diameter.
Fleece. The wool of a sheep obtained by shearing, before processing.
Grease wool. Wool, as obtained from living sheep, retaining its lanolin, dust, etc. Also Raw wool.
Lamb's Wool. First clip of wool from a lamb up to 8 months old.
Lanolin. Also called yolk; the secretion of the sebaceous glands of the sheep. A valuable by-product of processing wool.
Micron. A unit of linear measurement equal to 1/1000 millimeter or 1/25400 inch.
Noils. Short or otherwise less desirable fibres removed when wool is combed.
Pulled wool. Wool obtained from the pelts of slaughtered sheep by pulling or similar means after treating the pelt to loosen the wool fibres from the skin.
Scoured wool. Wool from which most of the dirt and grease have been removed by washing in warm water, soap, and alkali or by a chemical solvent process.
Shearing. Process of cutting the fleece from a sheep using either hand or powered clippers or shears.
Skirted fleece. A newly shorn fleece from which the matted, stained, or coarse hair portions around the belly and britch (also breech, meaning lower leg) have been removed.
Sorted wool. Wool removed from various parts of fleeces and combined into different
groups or sorts, each of which has closely similar fineness, length, and other qualities. Sorted wool is classified into an agreed-upon set of qualities (AAA, AAB, etc) specific to combinations of characteristics.
Suint. Sheep's sweat gland excretion. Removed from fleece during scouring.
Wool. The fiber from the fleece of sheep. Wools are roughly classified as Apparel wools and Carpet wools.
Wool top. A continuous untwisted strand of scoured wool fibers from which the shorter fibres or noils have been removed by carding and combing. Tops are used in spinning worsted yarns.
Woolen system. Process using shorter wool fibres, carded only, suitable for yarns and fabrics with a softer or coarser feel or a textured or brushed surface, or nap.
Worsted system. Process using longer fibres, carded and combed, suitable for spinning highly twisted yarns and for fabrics with a smooth and sometimes glossy surface.
LINK: S. B. LeValley. "Glossary of Wool Terms." Fact Sheet No.1.400, Livestock Series: Management. Colorado State University Extension Service. Revised 10/2004.
https://extension.colostate.edu/docs/pubs/livestk/01400.pdf
LINK: Wool Processing. The Woolmark Company.
https://www.woolmark.com/about-wool/wool-processing/?enforce=true
LINK: Australian Wool Testing Authority. "Glossary of Terms." https://www.awtawooltesting.com.au/index.php/en/resources/glossary-of-terms?start=45