Wool Processing

Spinning with Clean Wool

A. Wash Fleece

Lithograph ca 1850.

Two theories

There are two different ways to clean wool.

1) Clean the wool before you card and spin.

2) Clean the yarn after you spin. This is called spinning in the grease.

Sheering Sheep

ONE METHOD OF WOOL SORTING 1—The Best Grade; 2—Lowest Grade; 3—Fair;

4—Medium Grade.

B. Sort Wool

Wool hair strand under microscope

• CROSS SECTION OF A WOOL FIBERTHE MEDULLA IS FOUND ONLY IN COURSE WOOL.

• SINGLE WOOL FIBERSHOWING ITS NATURAL CRIMP WHICH GIVES WOOL ITS WONDERFUL RESILIENCE.

C. Card Wool

• Fibers are combed in the same direction to form rolog for spinning.

• Produced woolen fibers to spin.

rolog

Machine Carding

• Commercial Carding machines and the end product is worsted fibers.

• WOOLEN YARNIS SPUN AFTER CARDING

• WORSTED YARNIS NOT ONLY CARDED BUT IS GIVEN EXTRA COMBING TO REMOVE SHORTER FIBERS

D. Comb Wool

• Just like carding; however the teeth are longer and thicker and not as fine.

wool card

• 'S' and 'Z' TWISTSSHOW DIRECTION YARN IS SPUN

• THE AMOUNT OF TWIST IN YARNDETERMINES THE STRENGTH. NO TWIST SHOWS THE FIBERS PARALLEL; THIS IS VERY SOFT WEAK YARN. WITH MORE TWIST IN THE YARN, IT BECOMES STRONGER AND HARDER

E. Spin Wool

F. Ply Yarn Ply: Refers to the number of single spun yarn elements twisted together to form a heavier and stronger yarn, called a plied yarn. (see diagram)