Textile manufacturing terminology
The manufacture of textiles is one of the oldest of man's technologies. In order to make textiles, the first requirement is a source of fibre from which a yarn can be made, primarily by spinning. The yarn is processed by knitting or weaving, which turns yarn into cloth. The machine used for weaving is the loom. For decoration, the process of colouring yarn or the finished material is dyeing.
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Hand Processing- Making yarn
Wool
This description is based on the assumption that wool is the fibre being used. For hand-spinning most of the fibre spun is wool, or a blend containing wool. Most animal hair fibre is handled with only a few modifications to the below description. Plant fibres are prepared for spinning very differently.
Sheep Shearing
The first step in processing the wool is to collect it. Shearing can be done with use of hand-shears (tools that look like big scissors) or powered shears. Professional sheep shearers can shear a sheep in under a minute, without nicking the sheep once. At many state fairs there are sheep shearing contests, to see who can shear a sheep the fastest. These contests mainly include older men, with only a few youngsters.
When the fleece comes off the sheep it should be in one piece. Also, it is best if the shearer cuts close enough to the skin that a second cutting is not required. Second cuts make for very short fibres, which are more difficult and not as much fun to deal with and spin.
Primitive breeds, like the Scottish Soay sheep have to be plucked, not sheared, as the kemps are still longer than the soft fleece, (a process called rooing) or the fleece must be collected from the field after it falls out.
Skirting
Skirting basically means disposing of all wool that is unsuitable for spinning (too short, has sheep dung in it, etc.) One often could spin this wool, with much extra effort, if one wanted. (The dung can be washed out, the short fibres can be spun (it is much more difficult to spin short fibres than long), and other objections can be similarly dealt with.) Thus this step can be skipped if necassary. It can also be done at the same time as carding.
Cleaning
Before carding the wool, it must be cleaned. At this point the fleece is full of lanolin and often contains vegetable matter, such as sticks, twigs, burs and straw. One way to prevent the vegetable matter from getting into the fleece is to have the sheep wear a coat all year round.
At this point there are two ways to go. The first is to simply pick out the vegetable matter, and move on to the next step. The lanolin is kept in the wool. People who enjoy spinning 'in the grease’ (i.e. spinning with the lanolin still in the wool) prefer this method, and wait to wash the lanolin out until they finish spinning. The lanolin can be left in the wool after spinning as well, making the fabric or garment water repellent. If one doesn't want to spin in the grease, the other option is to take both the vegetable matter and the lanolin out.
Washing the wool at this stage can be a tedious process, if you let it. Some people wash it a small handful at a time very carefully, and then set it out to dry on a table in the sun. Other people will stick the whole fleece in a tub of water and soap (dishwashing detergent works well), let it sit, swish it around, and refill the tub with new water occasionally until the fleece is clean (of soap and dirt). One carding mill puts the fleece in a washing machine (that has been slightly modified for this purpose) and melts the lanolin away by soaking the fleece in very hot water. All these methods work. The thing not to do when washing fleece is to rub it against itself too much. If the fleece gets agitated, it will become felt, and then spinning it is impossible. Felting, when done on purpose (with needles, chemicals, or simply rubbing the fibres against each other), can be used to create garments.
Carding
Before spinning it is a good idea to get the fleece into a slightly more manageable state. It is possible to spin directly from a fleece, if it is a very clean one, but it is much easier to spin a carded fleece. Carding by hand yields a rolag, a loose woollen roll of fibres. Using a drum carder yields a bat, which is a mat of fibres in a flat, rectangular shape. Most carding mills return the fleece in a roving ([1] or [2]), which is a stretched bat; it is very long and often the thickness of a wrist. (A pencil roving is a roving thinned to the width of a pencil. It is often used for knitting without any spinning, or for beginning spinners.)
![[1]](http://scrubberbum.typepad.com/moth_heaven/images/roving.JPG){kind=link}
![[2]](http://altamistalpacas.com/images/Roving.jpg){kind=link}
Many hand-spinners send their wool out to carding mills to be carded, as one good-sized fleece may take weeks to card with a drum-carder, or an eternity by hand. If the fleece is sent to a carding mill, it must be washed before carded. Most mills offer washing the wool as a service, with extra fees if the wool is exceptionally dirty. Other hand-spinners simply by their fibres pre-carded.
Spinning
Hand spinning can be done many different ways, the two most common being by use of the spinning wheel or the spindle. Spinning turns the carded wool fibres into yarn which can then be directly woven, knitted (flat or circular), crocheted, or by other means turned into fabric or a garment.
Removing the yarn from the wheel
When spinning on a spinning wheel, the yarn collects on a bobbin. Once the bobbin is full, the spinner can either put on a new bobbin, form a skein, or ball the yarn.
If the yarn is to be plyed then the most common action is to put a new bobbin on the wheel, and leave the yarn onto the bobbin so that the spinner can ply directly from the bobbin. This makes for greatest ease when plying, but cannot be done if the spinner does not have enough bobbins. When plying from bobbins a device called a lazy kate is often used to hold the bobbins.
If the spinner has the end result (i.e. the yarn is already plied or is not going to be), then most likely they will make a skein out of the yarn. A skein is a coil of yarn twisted into a loose knot. It is formed on a niddy-noddy. Traditionally niddy-noddys looked like an uppercase "i", with the bottom half rotated 90 degrees [3]. Now days spinning wheel manufactures also make niddy-noddys that attach onto the spinning wheel [4] for faster skein winding.
![[3]](http://www.mts.net/~tabachek/images/niddy_skein.jpg){kind=link}
![[4]](http://hometown.aol.com/danishpb/images/spinning%20wheel%20skein%20winder%20with%20gotland%20yarn1.jpg){kind=link}
Rarely is the yarn balled directly after spinning. Normally hand-spun yarn will be stored in skein form, and transferred to a ball only if needed. (For example, knitting from a skein, unless done very carefully, ends up with the yarn in knots, so it is best to ball it first.)
Ply
Plying yarn is when one takes a strand of spun yarn (one strand is often called a single) and spins it together with other strands in order to make a thicker yarn. There are several ways, the most common being regular and Navajo.
Regular plying consists of taking two or more singles and twisting them together, the opposite way. This can be done on either a spinning wheel or a spindle. The most important thing to remember though is that the twist must go the opposite direction. If in spinning the single the wheel was spinning clockwise (which is called a "Z" twist, as on any given side the fibres appear to cross diagonally in the same direction as the diagonal of a "Z"), in order to ply it the wheel must spin counter-clockwise (an "S" twist). This is because otherwise you are not balancing the twist, just twisting it more. The concept is similar to when a heavily twisted piece of yarn is folded, and it twists up on itself. It is most common for singles to be spun with a "Z" twist, and then plied with an "S" twist.
Navajo plying consists of making large loops, similar to crocheting. First make a loop about 8 inches long through the loop on the end on the leader. (A leader is the string left on the bobbin to spin off of.) Start spinning all three strands together in the opposite direction than that they were spun in. When only 2 to 3 inches remain of the loop, pull a new loop of yarn through the loop, and continue spinning. The new loop should be around 7 inches long. Repeat this process until the yarn is all plied. Only one single is necessary, and if the single is already dyed this technique allows it to be plied without ruining the colour scheme. This technique also allows the spinner to try to match up thick and thin spots in the yarn, thus making for a smoother end product.
Most spinners (who use spinning wheels) ply from bobbins. This is easier than plying from balls because there is less chance for the yarn to become tangled and knotted if it is simply unwound from the bobbins. So that the bobbins can unwind freely, they are put in a device called a lazy kate, or sometimes simply kate. The simplest lazy kate consists of wooden bars with a metal rod running between them. Most hold between three and four bobbins. The bobbin sits on the metal rod. Other lazy kates are built with devices that create an adjustable amount of tension, so that if the yarn is jerked, a whole bunch of yarn is not wound off, then wound up again in the opposite direction. Some spinning wheels come with a built in lazy kate. Picture of lazy kates, with tension device.
Washing
If the lanolin was not washed out before, this is the point at which it gets washed out, unless the lanolin is to be left in the cloth as a water repellent. When washing a skein it works well to let the wool soak in soapy water overnight, and rinse the soap out in the morning. Dishwashing detergents are commonly used, and a special laundry detergent designed for washing wool is not required. The dishwashing detergent works and does not harm the wool. After washing, let the wool dry (air drying works best). Once it is dry, or just a bit damp, one can stretch it out a bit on a niddy-noddy. Putting the wool back on the niddy-noddy makes for a nicer looking finished skein. Before taking a skein and washing it, the skein must be tied up loosely in about six places. If the skein is not tied up, it will be very hard to unravel when done washing.
Flax
The preparations for spinning is similar across most plant fibres, including Flax and Hemp. Cotton is handled differently, as with cotton it is not the stalk of the plant that is used. Flax is the fibre used to create linen.
Harvesting
The first step in preparing flax to be spun is harvesting it. Flax is not cut, but instead it is pulled out of the ground about a month after the initial blooming. It should be pulled when the lower part of the plant begins to turn yellow, and when, on opening the pods, the most forward of the seeds are found in a soft state, and the middle of the seeds is green. It should be pulled in handfuls, straight up. Next, one should join several handfuls together and tie them using a slip knot so that the sting can be tightened as the stalks dry. ( Note that great care should be taken to keep the root ends even.) These bundles of several handfuls of flax (also known as "beets") should be left standing up till the whole is dry, pods and all. At this point the seed will then be ripe and the flax in the best state.
Removing the Seedheads
At this point the seed heads are removed. Once the seed heads are removed it can be stored for many months if neseccary, but they must be kept dry. An easy way to remove the seed heads is to take a board and hammer in a row of blunt nails at even intervals, like a comb. Spread a sheet out to collect the seed heads, as they can be planted to create more flax. Next pull the dry bundles of flax through the nails (also called a ripple). This will cause the seed heads to pop off. Make sure to maintain the evenness of the root ends.
In order to separate the seeds from the rest of the seed heads an easy method is to thresh the seed heads by use of a rolling pin. Then, on a windy day or in front of a fan, take the mixture and pour it back and forth between two containers. This action is called winnowing. The chaff will get caught in the wind and blow away, while the seeds will fall straight down into the container. A screen also works to filter out some of the chaff.
Retting
Retting is the process of rotting away the inner stalk, leaving the outer fibres intact. A standing pool of water or a plastic trash can is needed. Actually, any type of water tight container of wood, concrete, earthenware or plastic will work. Metal will not work, as an acid is produced when retting, and it would corrode the metal. A tall plastic trash can with a spigot at the bottom works well. Place as many bundles of flax in the trash can as will fit, and fill the trash can full of warm water (80 degrees Fahrenheit is best). It is suggested that a lid of some sort be put over the trash can in order to keep the flax submerged, conserve warmth and contain the stench. After 4 hours a complete change of water is recommended, and 8 hours after that the scum should be washed off the top by the addition of some more water. From then on the scum should be washed off every 12 hours until the retting process is over.
If kept at 80 degrees, the retting process takes 4 or 5 days, and any colder than that takes longer. When the retting is complete the bundles should feel soft and slimy, and quite a few fibres should be standing out form the stalks. When wrapped around a finger the inner woody part should spring away from the fibres. It is better to not let the bundles sit in the water long enough than to let them sit there too long, as they always can be submerged again if found to be wanting later, but the reverse problem cannot be solved (in this case the fibres are rotted as well as the stalk, and one cannot un-rot something).
Dressing the Flax
Dressing is the broad term referring to removing the fibres from the straw and cleaning it enough to be spun. The flax is broken scutched and hackled in this step.
Breaking
Take the bundles of flax and untie them. Next, in small handfuls, put it between the beater of the breaking machine ( a set of wooden blades which mesh together when the upper jaw is lowered), and beat it till the three or four inches that have been beaten appear to be soft. Move the flax a little higher and continue to beat it till all is soft, and the wood is separated from the fibre. When half of the flax is broken, hold the beaten end and beat the rest in the same way as the other end was beaten, till the wood is separated.
Scutching
In order to remove some of the straw from the fibre, it helps to swing a wooden scutching knife down the fibres while they hang vertically, thus scraping the edge of the knife along the fibres and pull away pieces of the stalk. Some of the fibre will also be scutched away, this cannot be helped and is natural.
Hackles
In this process the fibre is pulled through various different sized hackles. A hackle is a bed of "nails"- sharp, long-tapered, tempered, polished steel pins driven into wooden blocks at regular spacing. A good progression is from 4 pins per square inch, to 12, to 25 to 48 to 80. The first three will remove the straw, and the last two will split and polish the fibres. Some of the finer stuff that comes off in the last hackles can be carded like wool and spun. It will produce a coarser yarn than the fibres pulled through the heckles because it will still have some straw in it.
Spinning
Depending on the preference of the spinner, flax can either be spun from a [distaff], or the spinner may simply lay flax fibres in their lap. It is recommended that the spinner keep their fingers wet when spinning, to prevent forming a fuzzy thread, and that the single be spun with an "S" twist. (See Ply above for details). From this point on much of the process is the same as that for wool.
Washing
One of the few differences inbetween flax and wool once the fibre is ready for spinning is the washing process. After flax is spun it should be let to sit in a pot of boiling water for a couple of hours to set the twist and reduce fuzziness.
Machine Processing- Making yarn
Wool
Yucca
While not an especially common fibre, Yucca fibres were at one time widely used throughout Central America for many things. Currently they are mainly used to make twine.
Hand Processing-Production Methods
Knitting
Knitting and
Crochet
Lace
Weaving
Loom
The earliest weaving was done without a loom, but in general the supporting structure of the loom is called the frame.
The frame provides the means of fixing the length-wise threads, called the warp, and keeping them under tension. When producing a long piece of material, the warp threads are wound on a roller called a beam, and attached to the cloth beam which will serve to hold the finished material. Because of the tension the warp threads are under, they need to be strong, and the strengthening process (using flour and water paste) was called dressing. The warp was originally made of flax (linen) until the spinning process was refined enough to provide strong cotton yarn.
The thread that is woven through the warp is called the weft or woof. The weft is threaded through the warp using a shuttle, which carries the weft through separated warp threads. The original hand-loom was limited in width by the weaver's reach, because of the need to throw the shuttle from hand to hand. The invention of the flying shuttle with its fly cord and picking sticks enabled the weaver to pass the shuttle from a box at either side of the loom with one hand, and across a greater width. The invention of the drop box allowed a weaver to use multiple shuttles to carry different wefts.
With the hand freed by the use of the flying shuttle, the weaver can operate the lathe suspended from the frame. The lathe holds the reed comb used to beat (compact) the woven weft.
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Rather than having to lift each thread individually, alternate threads can be separated by introducing a bar between the threads: the gap created is called the shed. While an inserted bar only presents one orientation, alternating sets of threads can be lifted by connecting them with string or wires called heddles to another bar, called the shaft (or heddle bar or heald). Heddles, shafts and the couper (lever to lift the assembly) are called the harness — the harness provides for mechanical operation using foot- or hand-operated treadles. (Multiple harnesses can be used, connected to different sets of warp threads in a draw-loom.)
Sleying is the process of threading the warp yarn through the reed. Usually one speaks of "sleying the reed". You set (verb) the warp at X ends per inch and then you can say that its sett (noun) is X ends per inch.
Machine Processing-Production Methods
Knitting
Knitting and
Lace
Weaving
Decoration
Dyeing
Bleaching
Embroidery
Embroidery – threads which are added to the surface of a finished textile.