Wool Terms

Question 1

**Yolk**

(3 things)

Answer 1

Natural grease & suint covering wool fibers of unscoured fleece & excreted from glands in sheep’s skin.

Finer the wool, more abundant the yolk.

It serves to prevent entanglement of wool fibers and mechanical injury during growth of the fleece

Question 2

**Worsted**

Answer 2

Yarn made from top under the Bradford and French systems

Question 3

**Woolen**

Answer 3

Yarn made from shorter, cleaned fibers, usually by misting, oiling, picking, carding and spinning

Question 4

Wool in the grease

Answer 4

Wool in its natural condition as it is shorn from a sheep

Question 5

Wool Blind

Answer 5

Obstruction of vision (often complete) due to heavy face cover on face and around eyes

Question 6

Wiry Wool

(Two things)

Answer 6

Wool that is inelastic and has poor spinning capacity

Usually straight and a result of poor breeding

Question 7

Warp

(Two things)

Answer 7

The yarns running lengthwise in a fabric.

Usually stronger than the filling yarn in order to withstand the strain of weaving

Question 8

**Virgin Wool**

Answer 8

Wool that has been clipped from a live sheep that has not been previously advanced in manufacturing to the stage where it contains twist

Question 9

Vegetable Matter

Answer 9

Any kind of burr, seed, chaff, grass, etc. found in grease wool.

Question 10

Top

Answer 10

A continuous, untwisted strand of wool fibers of predetermined length from which short fibers (noils) have been removed in the combing process

Question 11

Tags

Answer 11

Large locks of britch wool clotted with dung and dirt

Question 12

Tagging

(Two things)

Answer 12

Practice of cutting the dung locks off sheep.

Done immediately prior to shearing/ sometimes before lambing

Question 13

**Suint**

(3 things)

Answer 13

Perspiration of a sheep

Consists largely of potash salts of various fatty acids and small quantities of sulfate, phosphate and nitrogenous substances

Soluble in water

Question 14

Sorting

(2 things)

Answer 14

Process of separating a fleece into its various qualities according to diameter, length, color, strength, etc.

First operation after grease wool arrives at mill

Question 15

Sisal

(2 things)

Answer 15

A vegetable fiber made into strong course twine

Used for binder twine

Question 16

Shearlings

(3 things)

Answer 16

Pelts of slaughtered sheep carrying 1/4-1’’ growth of wool

Applied to short wool pulled from sheep recently shorn

English term for yearling sheep

Question 17

Second Cuts

Answer 17

Fribs, short lengths of wool resulting from cutting wool fibers twice under careless shearing

Excessive # of these cuts **decreases average fiber length **and depreciates spinning quality

Question 18

Scouring

Answer 18

Process of washing or cleansing wool of crease, soil and suint by washing in water-soap-alkali solution

Question 19

Reused Wool (Shoddy)

(3 things)

Answer 19

Made from old wool which has actually been worn or used.

Cleaned and shredded into fibers again, blended to make utility fabrics

Consumer doesn’t realize used quality

Question 20

Reprocessed Wool

Answer 20

Comprises scraps and clips of woven and felted fabrics made of previously unused wool

Question 21

Reclaimed Wool

Answer 21

Wool reclaimed from new or old fabrics

Question 22

Raw Wool

Answer 22

Wool in the grease

Question 23

Quality

Answer 23

Fineness of wool fibers; expressed according to American or Bradford systems

Question 24

Pool

Answer 24

Several clips which have been assembled for sale at one time

Question 25

Persian Rugs

Answer 25

Genuine Persian rugs are made from wool in Iran and near perfection from standpoint of loom technique and actual weaving

Question 26

Persian Lamb

Answer 26

A type of skin obtained from lambs of Karakul breed

Question 27

Open Wool

(2 things)

Answer 27

Wool that is not dense on sheep and shows a distinct part down the ridge or middle of back

Usually found in coarser wool breeds

Question 28

Noils

Answer 28

Short fibers removed from staple wool in combing or top making process

Satisfactory for manufacture of felts and woolens

Question 29

Native Wool

Answer 29

Farm wool produced east of Mississippi River

Question 30

Mushy

Answer 30

Wool that is dry and wasty in manufacturing

Question 31

Mungo

(4 things)

Answer 31

Wool fibers recovered from old and new hard worsted and woolens of firm structure

Fibers < 1/2 inch in length

Reduced spinning and felting quality = Restricted largely to cheaper woolen blends

Shorter than shoddy fiber