The major steps necessary to process wool

from the sheep to the fabric are:

 shearing,

 cleaning and scouring,

 grading and sorting,

 carding,

 spinning,

 weaving, and

 finishing.
Shearing
 Sheep are sheared once a year.

 The fleece recovered from a sheep can weigh between

6 and 18 pounds (2.7 and 8.1 kilograms).

 While most sheep are still sheared by hand, new

technologies have been developed that use computers
and sensitive, robot-controlled arms to do the clipping.
 Australian scientists created a chemical method of
shearing called "bio-clip."

 Injected with recombinant epidermal growth

factor (EGF), that causes the wool follicle to break
and the fleece to drop off on its own.

 This causes natural disruption of hair growth,

allowing the wool to be slid, glove like, from the
sheep 4 weeks after the injection.
 Scientists have developed a shearing table so
the shearer doesn't have to hold the sheep.
They have also developed a "robot" for
shearing.
Cleaning and scouring
 Wool taken directly from the sheep is called "raw" or
"grease wool."
 It contains sand, dirt, grease, and dried sweat (called
suint).
 Weight of contaminants →30 to 70 percent of the
fleece's total weight.
 To remove these contaminants, the wool is scoured in a
series of alkaline baths containing water, soap, and
soda ash or a similar alkali.
 Scouring is washing the wool in hot soapy water to
remove dirt, grease and dry plant matter from the
fleece.

 The preferred water temperature for washing wool

is 140⁰F.

 Use a mild soap.

 Commercial processors may use a slight alkaline

solution (by adding sodium carbonate) to aid in the
scouring process.
 The key is to keep the water temperature and the
volume of soap used as low as possible while still
being able to wash out the grease and dirt.

 Wool that is very greasy will require hotter and

stronger solutions to remove the grease.

 In the scouring process the wool undergoes several

soaks and rinses until the wash water remains
clean.

 Let wool soak and avoid agitation.

 Between each wash the wool is pressed or
squeezed to remove excess water.

 When washing wool, consideration must be given

to the quality of the water.
Skirting a fleece:

 The wool from the back end of the sheep, their

legs and sometimes their belly is too full of
manure to use. These are referred to as "tags”

 These are removed first before washing the fleece;

this process is called skirting
 Lanolin, a kind of grease, is the by-product of this
process and it is purified for use in the manufacture of
cosmetics, soap and other household products.

 used as a moisturizer to treat or prevent dry, rough,

scaly, itchy skin and minor skin irritations.

 Lanolin oil is used as a stabilizer, as an emulsifier in

ointments, and in medications such as zinc oxide.

 Lanolin oil benefits industries as an anticorrosive or a

lubricant and is often used in the leather industry.
Grading and sorting
 Grading is the breaking up of the fleece based on
overall quality.
 In sorting, the wool is broken up into sections of
different quality fibers, from different parts of the
body.
 The best quality of wool comes from the shoulders
and sides of the sheep and is used for clothing; the
lesser quality comes from the lower legs and is
used to make rugs.
Wool Grading by the American Blood
Count System:
Very fine crimp (close
Fine Wool 2 1/2 inches in staple length
together)

1/2 Blood Wool 3 inches in staple length Medium fine crimp

3/8ths Blood Wool 3 1/2 inches in staple length Medium crimp

1/4 Blood Wool 4 inches in staple length Medium coarse crimp

Low 1/4 Wool 4 1/2 inches in staple length Coarse crimp (large waves)

Common 5 inches in staple length Very coarse

Braid 6 inches in staple length The most coarse

 SPINNING COUNT:

 It is defined as the number of hanks of yarn

that can be spun from a pound of wool.

 A hank of wool is 560 yards long (560 yd/lb =

1.129 km/kg).
 "A hank of wool is a length of wool pulled into
a coiled form. A hank of wool is used in heavier
textiles and for some furniture.”

 A hank of linen is 300 yards or approx 270 metres

 A hank of cotton or silk is 840 yards or approx

768 metres.

 1 hank = 20 feet = 6.096 metres

American Spinning Range for Average Maximum
Blood Grade Count Fiber Diameter (µm) Standard
Deviation

Fine Finer than 80s under 17.70 3059

80s 17.70-19.14 4.09
70s 9.15-20.59 4.59
64s 20.60-22.04 5.19

1/2 Blood 62s 22.05-23.49 5.89

60s 23.50-24.94 6.49

3/8 Blood 58s 24.95-26.39 7.09

56s 26.40-27.84 7.59

1/4 Blood 54s 27.85-29.29 8.19

50s 29.30-30.99 8.69

Low 1/4 Blood 48s 31.00-32.69 9.09

46s 32.70-34.39 9.59

Common 44s 34.40-36.19 10.09

40s 36.20-38.09 10.69

Braid 36s 38.10-40.20 11.19

Coarser than 36s more than 40.20
 The English (Bradford) Spinning Count System
or MICRON SYSTEM:
 This originated in the 19th century (along with
mechanized spinning equipment).
 It is the number of hanks of yarn, each 560 yards in
length, that it is possible to spin from one pound of
clean wool.
 Finer the wool fiber, the more hanks (greater length,
thinner yarn) that can be obtained from one pound.
 For this you need a microscope and a background slide
with micron crosshairs for comparison
Fine Wool 64 to 70 to 80 Hanks Less than 22.04 Microns

1/2 Blood 60 to 62 Hanks 22.05 to 24.94 Microns

3/8 Blood 56 to 58 Hanks 24.95 to 27.84 Microns

1/4 Blood 50 to 54 Hanks 27.85 to 30.99 Microns

Low 1/4 46 to 48 Hanks 31.00 to 34.39 Microns

Common 44 to 40 Hanks 34.40 to 36.19 Microns

Braid 40 to 36 Hanks 36.20 to 40.20 Microns

 Delaine Merino 18 to 22 Microns

Rambouillet 19 to 25 Microns

New Zealand Merino 20 to 25 Microns

Targhee & Romeldale 22 to 26 Microns

Corriedale & Columbia 22 to 34 Microns

Southdown 24 to 31 Microns

Blue Leicester 24 to 28 Microns

Shropshire, Suffolk, Dorset Horn,

25 to 31 Microns
Montadale
Finish Landrace (Finns) & Cheviot 25 to 32 Microns

Oxford 29 to 34 Microns

Romney 31 to 36 Microns

Border Leicester 33 to 38 Microns

Lincoln & Cotswold 37 to 40 Microns

Breed Range of Range of Range of Clean
Average Fiber Grease Fleece Wool Yield (%)
Diameter (µm) Weight (lb)

Border Leicester 38-30 8-12 60-70

Cheviot 33-27 5-8 50-65

Columbia 30-23 9-14 45-60

Cormo 22-19 10-14 60-70

Corriedale 31-24 9-14 45-60

Debouillet 23-18 9-14 45-55

Delaine-Merino 22-17 9-14 40-50

Dorset 32-26 5-8 50-65

Finnsheep 31-24 4-8 50-70

Hampshire 33-25 6-10 50-60

Lincoln 41-34 10-14 55-70

Merino (superfine) <18 6-9 60-70

Merino (fine) 19-20 6-11 60-70

Merino (medium) 21-22 9-13 65-75

Merino (strong) 23-26 11-15 65-75

Montadale 30-25 7-11 50-60

Oxford 34-28 7-10 50-60

Rambouillet 23-19 9-14 45-60

Romney 39-32 8-12 55-70

Shropshire 33-25 6-10 50-60

Southdown 29-24 5-8 40-55

Suffolk 33-26 4-8 50-60

Targhee 25-21 9-14 45-60

Texel 33-28 7-10 60-70

*Primary source: Sheep Production Handbook. 1996. American Sheep Industry Association Inc. Production,
Education, and Research Council.
 The clean wool now to be further processed before
being spun into woollen or worsted yarn.

 Woollen yarn → more bulky, hairy and irregular

than worsted yarn and today is used for items such
as carpets or knitwear.

 Worsted yarn → more tightly spun, smoother

looking than woollen yarn and stronger
 Woolens Worsted
Spun from short wool fibers Spun from long wool fibers
(1-3 inches long) (more than 3")
Spun from medium or coarse Spun from fine diameter wool
diameter wool fibers fibers
Fibers are washed, scoured and Fibers are washed, scoured,
carded carded, combed and drawn
lower tensile strength than higher tensile strength than
worsteds woolens
low to medium twist tighter twist
Bulky, uneven yarn Fine, smooth yarn
Soft, fuzzy appearance crisp, smooth appearance
heavier weight lighter weight
not as durable as worsteds More durable than woolens
does not hold crease well holds crease well
Woolen Processing Worsted Processing
Spun from wool fibres of: Spun from wool fibres of:
Length : spun from short fibres of 1-3” Length : longer than 3”
Diameter: medium or coarse Diameter: fine diameter
The fibres are washed, scoured and carded. Fibres are washed, scoured, carded,
combed and drawn
Yarn Yarn
Bulky Fine
Uneven Smooth and Even
Low to medium slack twist Tighter twist
Tensile strength lower than worsted Higher tensile strength
Fabric Appearance Fabric Appearance
Soft, Fuzzy, Heavier weight Crisp, Smooth,Lighter weight

Characteristics Characteristics
Insulator due to trapped air Less insulator
Does not hold a crease well Holds creases and shape
Less durable than worsted More durable than woollens

Uses Uses
Sweater,Carpets,Tweeds Suits, Dresses, Gabardines,Crepes
Carding
 The fibers are passed through a series of metal teeth
that straighten and blend them into slivers.

 Carding also removes residual dirt and other matter left

in the fibers.

 Carded wool intended for worsted yarn is put through

combing, a procedure that remove short fibers and
place the longer fibers parallel to each other.

 Carded wool to be used for woolen yarn is sent directly

for spinning.
Combing

 Combing takes out the shorter fibres, also called

noils, and lines the longer fibres up parallel with
one another in a 'sliver‘ [A sliver is a long bundle
of fiber that is generally used to spin yarn].
Spinning

 The craft of spinning is thousands of years old.

 During the spinning process the fibres are twisted into

a long, continuous thread, or yarn. This used to be done
with ‘spindle whorls’

 The invention of the spinning wheel greatly increased

the speed at which yarn could be spun.

 Today, spinning can be done on a variety of machines,

depending on whether the yarn is destined to become
woollen or worsted cloth.
Weaving
 The wool yarn is woven into fabric.

 Wool manufacturers use two basic weaves: the

plain weave and the twill.

 Woolen yarns are made into fabric using a plain

weave (rarely a twill), which produces a fabric of a
somewhat looser weave and a soft surface (due to
napping) with little or no luster.
 Worsted yarns can create fine fabrics with
exquisite patterns using a twill weave.

 The result is a more tightly woven, smooth fabric.

 Better constructed, worsteds are more durable than

woolens and therefore more costly.
Finishing

 After weaving, both worsteds and woolens

undergo a series of finishing procedures including:

• Fulling (immersing the fabric in water to make the

fibers interlock); and stretching.

• crabbing (permanently setting the interlock) and

decatsing (shrink-proofing);

• occasionally, dyeing.
Fulling
 Use of heat, moisture and extreme agitation to
make a wool fabric shrink and therefore become
stronger and warmer

 Fulling can reduce the size of a piece of cloth by

up to a third.

 The cloth was then treated by being beaten with

large hammers called ‘stocks’.
Stretching

 Fulling processes are followed by stretching the

cloth on great frames known as tenters, to which it
is attached by tenterhooks.

 The area where the tenters were erected was

known as a tenterground.
 Crabbing:

 The process ensures that the fabric is stretched

or loosened as necessary and evens out the thickness of

the fabric.

 Crabbing prevents the formation of creases or uneven

shrinkage.
DYEING:
 As wool readily accepts dye colors, dyeing can
occur at almost any stage of the wool processing.
 The two common stages for wool dyeing is right
after washing or after spinning wool into skeins of
yarn.
 If the dyeing occurs after the wool is washed then
it is referred to as stock dyed wool.
 If the wool is dyed after it is spun into yarn then it
is referred to as yarn dyed.