|
| Accuracy | Measure of the closeness of a test result to the true value. The true value of a measured quantity can only be determined by measurement systems that are calibrated by direct reference to primary references such as lenth, weight, force, etc. |
| Acrylic | A synthetic fibre made from synthetic polymer, with some characteristics similar to wool. |
| Adsorption | Temporary holding of molecules on the surface of a material. |
| Affinity | The degree of attraction of a dye molecule for a fibre. |
| Afgahlaine | A dress fabric which is lightweight with a slight brushed finish |
| Airflow | A method of measuring the mean fibre diameter of a sample of wool in which a test specimen (a measured mass of the scoured, dried and carded sample or a measured mass of silver), after exposure to a conditioning atmosphere, is compressed to a fixed volume and a current of air is passed through it. The rate of flow is then adjusted so that the pressure drop across the sample equals the predetermined value, or the pressure drop across the sample is adjusted until the air flow equals a predetermined value. The rate of flow in the first case or the pressure difference in the second case, is an indicator of the mean fibre diameter of the wool in the sample. |
| Alkali Insoluble Matter | The oven-dry, ash-free, ethanol-extractive-free, alkali-insoluble matter present in a wool sample (expressed as a percentage of the mass of the test specimen. It comprises vegetable matter together with any skin, dags, pack material, string, paper and lime). |
| Almeter | An instrument for determining the fibre length distribution parameters on slivers and rovings made from combed wool or synthetic fibres. |
| Andar Applicator | Specially designed and built pad mangle for the application of Basolan to Merino wool in sliver form. |
| Appraisal | Subjective assessment of the value determining attributes of wool based upon length, texture, fineness, greasiness, vegetable matter content and colour. |
| Approach | The movement of dye molecules towards the fibre due to its affinity. |
| Aqua Merino | Highly hydrophilic finish applied to wool, usually knitted products to provide a cool touch and system of moisture management. |
| Aran | Style of cabled knitwear traditionally made and worn by fishermen from the Aran Isles off Galway, Ireland. |
| Arcana™ | An ultra-fine wool fibre perfect for creating high quality garments with luxurious softness. |
| Area of Origin | Code which indicates the state and area within Australia from which a wool clip originates |
| Ash Content | The residue of a scoured wool sample after it has been subjected to charring followed by heating to 800 degrees Celsius. It is expressed as a percentage of the sample mass and is taken to represent the dirt (sand and soil) not removed during scouring. |
| Astrakhan | Merino fabrics with loops or curls that resemble the coat of the new born astrakhan lamb. |
| ATLAS (Automatic Tester of Length and Strength) | A computer-controlled instrument which measures the staple length, staple strength and position of break of individual staples. In operation, a continuous belt conveys each staple between an array of lights and an array of photocells, which detects the ends of the staple and enables the length (in millimeters, mm) to be measured. The staple is then grasped by two sets of jaws and broken. The force required is measured in Newtons. The two pieces of the broken staple are individually collected and wighted and, from the masses, lengths and core test yield, the staple linear density (thickness) is calculated aand expressed in kilotex; the staple strength is expressed as Newtowns / kilotex (N/ktex)/ The masses of the two pieces are also used to calculate the position of break. |
| Australian Superfine Merino | Quality endorsement logo denoting wool garments that contain fibre which is 18.5 micron or finer. Licensed by The Woolmark Company. |
| Average Linear Density | The clean staple mass per unit of staple length at standard conditions |
| AWEX | Australian Wool Exchange, the national body responsible for market reporting of wool auction sales in Australia. |
| AWTA | Australian Wool Testing Authority Ltd is responsible for the independent testing of raw wool and issues test certificates |
| Back-rolling | The removal of creases and running marks from rope dyed fabrics. |
| Bagging | The unrecovered portion of a stretched fabric, often seen in the knees and "seat" of garments. |
| Bale (or pack) | A rectangular sack into which shorn wool is compressed. |
| BAP | Shrink-resist polymer |
| Basolan 88 | An organic Chlorine donating agent used to treat wool in order to impart a greater natural softness, and to assist in obtaining brighter shades of colour. (Basolan trade name is BASF) |
| Basolan Xtra | The co-application to wool of Basolan 88 and Potassium Permanganate |
| Batch dyeing | Dyeing of a fabric where each batch is subjected to one stage of the dyeing process at a time, usually in the same dyeing vessel. |
| Bathurst Burr | AWEX ID VM type. The hooked spines strongly attach to the Bathurst Burr to wool. However, the burr is easily removed during processing because the spines break off. In many cases these burrs float off in the scouring process. |
| Bearding | Protrusion of fibres from the welt and cuff edges of garments. |
| Bellies | Short wool from belly of sheep. |
| Bias | The fabric direction at 45° to the warp or weft direction. A constant or systematic difference between a true value and corresponding test results (also see Accuracy or Precision). |
| Bio-polishing | Washing in enzymes to remove protruding fibres, more common in cotton knits. |
| Biopolymer | A polymer found in nature. Starch, proteins and peptides, and DNA and RNA are all examples of biopolymers, in which the monomer units, respectively, are sugars, amino acids, and nucleic acids. |
| Black wool | Fleeces from sheep containing grey, brown or black wool. |
| Bleaching | The application of selected chemicals to increase the whiteness of wool fabrics. |
| Blend | A textile containing two or more different fibres, variants of the same fibre or different colours and grades of the same fibre. Merino may be blended with cotton, silk, nylon, polyester, or viscose. |
| Blending | A process or processes primarily concerned with the efficient mixing of various lots of fibres. Blending is normally carried out to mix fibres, which may or may not be of different physical properties, market values, or colours. Blending is also used to ensure consistency of end product. |
| Block printing | The design is applied using carved wooden blocks. |
| Blowing | An alternative term for atmospheric decatising. |
| Bobbin | Also a method of packaging fibre top. |
| Bogan Flea (F) | AWEX ID VM Type. Bogan Flea initially forms as a spherical cluster of many seeds, about 5mm in diameter. Once on the sheep the cluster usually breaks up causing dense matting of the wool. |
| Bouclé | A three-ply yarn with one thread looser than the others which results in the yarn waving and looping on the surface. Also, fabric woven from this yarn. Taken from the French word meaning "to buckle or curl". |
| Bouclette | Produced in the same way as a bouclé yarn, but with a smaller looping and twisting effect. |
| Braid | Long, coarse, lustrous wool. |
| Brand (for bales) | Stenciling of wool bales to signify the owner, registered number and type of wool in the bale. It is a non-unique identifier and a grower may have more than one brand. |
| Break (or window) in wool | A temporary interference with the growth of the wool, causing a marked thinning or cessation of wool growth of all or a proportion of the fibre population, and producing distinct (often visible) weakness in one part of the staple. A window or clear break in the wool is an extreme form of low staple strength and may be caused by the same factors causing low staple strength, for example, sudden changes in pasture, lack of feed or water, sickness, lambing or faulty dipping. |
| Breathable | Refers to a fabric’s ability to transmit moisture. |
| Breech (or britch) | This is the area around the back of the sheep's tail and down the back of the hind legs. Breech wool is removed during crutching to prevent fly-strike |
| Broadcloth | An extremely luxurious twill fabric made using plain woollen yarns |
| Broken | A trade term used to describe the best wool of skirtings, having the characteristics of fleece wool. |
| Broker | A marketing agent for greasy wool |
| Brushing | An alternative term for raising. |
| Bulk | A term used to describe well-nourished wool of substance, length and density. |
| Bump | A type of package produced by winding fibre top. |
| Burling | The removal of imperfections. |
| Burry | A term applied to wool containing certain seed pods, mainly of the medicago species. Wool carrying a percentage of burr. Light burr can be removed by the card or comb, whereas wool carrying heavy burr or vegetable matter may be carbonised prior to carding. |
| Butt | A package of greasy wool in a standard wool bale weighing less than 102kg or less than 91kg for lamb's wool. |
| Carbonising | The removal of vegetable matter from wool fabric or loose fibre using acid solution. This is followed by crushing to remove the dissolved vegetable matter. |
| Carbo Types | Very burry wools, usually short, from which the vegetable fault cannot economically be removed by mechanical methods |
| Card | To undertake an action which removes vegetable matter and dirt from wool and which opens up the scoured wool fibre, mixing it to form a homogenous blend. This is also the first step in aligning the fibres and preparing them for spinning. |
| Card sliver | a continuous strand of carded and loosely assembled wool fibres with variable amounts of vegetable matter. Its linear density is approximately constant and it is without twist. |
| Carding wool or types | Wool suitable for the woollen system of yarn production where wool is carded but not combed. It is shorter than combing or worsted trade. |
| Catalogue | Printed list, prepared by the selling broker, showing the lot number, owner's brand, description of the wool and the number of bales in each lot. Catalogues are supplied to buyers for valuing purposes and to growers when they inspect their wool. |
| Challis | A soft, plain weave, lightweight fabric, used as a base for printing. |
| Cheviot | A coarse tweed fabric originally made from the wool of the Cheviot sheep. Used for suits and overcoats. |
| Chlorine Hercosett Shrinkproofing | A procedure developed by the CSIRO to prevent wool from felting and shrinking during machine-washing and tumble-drying. The process involves a light chlorination step, followed by the application of a polymer (Hercosett). |
| Circular knitting machine | A knitting machine which has its needles arranged in a circle, thus producing a fabric which is tubular in form. |
| Classing | Grading raw Merino according to quality. |
| Clean Colour | The colour of wool after scouring. Clean colour is measured in terms of brightness and yellowness, both of which can affect dyeing potential |
| Clip | The production of wool from one shearing (or one season's yield of wool). |
| Cockling | A puckered irregular surface effect caused by loop distortion. Greatest potential for this type of finish in 100% wool plain knits. |
| Colour matching | The procedure of comparing dyed samples with a standard in order to achieve the correct shade in dyeing. |
| Colour space | A diagrammatical system for specifying and measuring colours, typically using three separate components. |
| Colour yield | The depth of colour obtained when a standard mass of colourant is applied to a material under specified conditions. |
| Combing | A process performed after scouring, carding and gilling to remove most of the short fibre (noil), neps and foreign matter, leaving the longer fibres lying parallel to the direction of the sliver. The product, after two more gillings, is called top. |
| Combing wool | Wool suitable for conversion to yarn on the worsted system. Generally, it is Merino wool having a staple length of about 40mm or greater, or crossbred wool having a staple length of about 75mm or greater |
| Comfort Factor | the percentage of fibres in a distribution that are finer than 30 micron in diametre |
| Composite fabric | A fabric composed of two or more layers of different materials. |
| Composition | The total blend of the fabric or yarn - e.g. 70% Merino wool, 30% silk |
| Conditioning | The application of moisture to dried wool fabrics to achieve a regain of 14-16%. |
| Conditioning Atmosphere | A volume of air, capable of being maintained at standard temperature or humidity, or both, in which specimens are conditioned in a standard atmosphere. For wool testing this is usually a temperature of 20 - 22 degrees celcius, and a relative humidity of 63 - 65 percent. |
| Cone | A cardboard or plastic cone shaped "tube'' on which yarn is wound |
| Consistency | The uniform distribution of all the fibre characteristics within each lock and throughout the entire fleece. |
| Continuous dyeing | Dyeing of a fabric as it passes continuously through a series of vessels. |
| Colorimeter | Instrument used to determine the colour of wool by measuring the tri-stimulus values of the sample |
| Core sampling | Removing fibre specimens for testing by inserting a hollow tube into each bale. |
| Core Testing | Consists of testing a known quantity of wool for yield, fibre diameter and vegetable matter content and type; the sample is extracted from a bale of greasy wool, by means of a core of tube. Core tests are usually conducted prior to sale (pre-sale). |
| Count | See yarn count. |
| Course | The row of loops across the width of a knitted fabric. |
| Course Fibre Content | The percentage of fibres in a distribution that are coarser than 30 micrometres |
| Crabbing | A setting process used to impart the required amount of flat set in wool fabrics. May be a batch or continuous process |
| Crease retention | The ability of a fabric to retain a pleat or a fold which has been made deliberately. |
| Crimp | The natural waviness of Merino fibre. Varies with the diameter of the fibre. |
| Crimp Definition | The degree of alignment of the crimp waves within a staple |
| Crimp Frequency | The number of crimp waves per centimetre of staple length. Coefficient of variation of crimp frequency refers to the variation in frequyency between staples within a lot. |
| Cropping | An alternative term for shearing of fabric, removal of surface fibres |
| Crossbred sheep | Generally applied to the progency of two distince sheep breeds, in Australia it is often that of a british breed and a Merino. |
| Crows footing | A form of cockling that occurs in woven fabrics. |
| Crutching | Crutching refers to the removal of wool from around the tail and between the rear legs of a sheep. It can also refer to removing wool from the heads of sheep or the bellies of male sheep |
| Curvature | The inverse of the radius of arc of a segment of a fibre snippet. Curvature is a measure of crimp expressed as degrees per millimetre. |
| Cuticle | The outer layer of Merino fibre. See also Scales. |
| Dark and / or Medullated Fibre Risk (DMFR) Scheme | A voluntary vendor declaration for the risk of dark and / or medullated fibre contamination of Merino wool was introduced to Australia in July 2004, with the results reported in sale catalogues and test certificates. The risk scheme is based on the CSIRO concept of a stained and pigmented fibre risk factor for Merinos (DMFR), but extends it to include the dark and/or medullated fibre risk incurred when merino sheep come in contact with "exotic" sheep or their crosses. Exotic sheep are the breeds Awassi, Damara, Dorper and Karakul. |
| Decating | An alternative term for decatising. |
| Decatising | A setting process used to stabilise the properties of wool fabrics developed during finishing. May be carried out at atmospheric pressure (blowing) or elevated pressure (Kier decatising). |
| Degreasing (cleaning) | A bulk of raw wool covered by a single IWTO test certificate. If previously untested, all bales are samples and tested as a group. If the commponent lots have been tested individually, the texst results may be combined in accordance with IWTO-31. |
| Delivery or Consignment | A bulk of raw wool covered by a single IWTO test certificate. If previously untested, all bales are samples and tested as a group. If the commponent lots have been tested individually, the texst results may be combined in accordance with IWTO-31. |
| Desorption | The process of releasing moisture that has been absorbed. |
| Differentiated fibre technologies | Modifications to wool (mostly chemical treatments) to enhance its usefulness in carpet manufacture. |
| Diffusion | Movement of dye molecules into the fibre. |
| Direct printing | Application of colour directly to the substrate as required by design. |
| Discharge printing | The pattern is produced by applying chemicals that will destroy the dyes in the predyed fabric. |
| Dispersion | Separation of clumps into tiny particles that can then spread throughout the liquid. |
| Drape | Finishing processes which use no aqueous water, that is, may use steam or no moisture at all. |
| Dry Finishing | Only using steam to relax or press garments. |
| Dump | The process of compressing bales, usually greasy wool, to a denssity exceeding 500 kg / m3 and restraining them with bands or wires. Commonly, three bales are dumped to form a tri-pack |
| Dyebath | The solution, usually water-based, containing the dyes, dyeing assistants and any other chemicals required for dyeing. |
| Dyeing assistant | A chemical added to the dyebath to assist in the dyeing process. |
| Dyestuff | An alternative term to dye. |
| Easy-care | A wool garment that has received a shrink-resist treatment so that it can be machine washed and tumble dried without suffering any deterioration in appearance or performance. |
| Etamine | A soft, lightweight, loosely-woven worsted fabric. |
| Eveness | Relates to the uniformity of the fleece principally in terms of quality number and length |
| Ewe | A female sheep. |
| Exhaust dyeing | The use of a dyebath of a relatively large liquor-to-goods ratio in which the fibres are immersed for some time to allow the molecules to leave the bath and attach to the fibres. |
| Exhaustion | The leaving of the dye from a dyebath and becoming attached to the fibre being dyed. |
| Exotic Breeds | The term applied to breeds of sheep introduced to Australia, including Awassi, Damara, Dorper and Karakul. They are characterised by a fleece that seasonally sheds dark and/or medullated fibres, and as such have been given a high AWEX Breed Risk Rating of 5. Contact between exotic breeds and the Merino sheep increases the risk of dark and/or medullated fibre contamination of Merino wool. |
| Extensibility | Refers to how easily a fibre / yarn / fabric can be stretched. |
| Fair Isle | A form of pattering in knitwear using multiple colours. Traditionally from the…. |
| Fancy Yarn | A yarn that is different. During manufacture faults or irregularities are deliberately introduced in order to obtain interesting textural and visual effects. |
| Fastness | The ability of a dyed substrate to retain its colour under the action of light, washing, rubbing, perspiration, etc. |
| Fault | Contamination, especially vegetable matter, in greasy or semi-processed wool. A fault may also include broken ends, missed picks, knitting lines, etc from the fabric forming process. |
| Felt | An ancient technique that produces a non-woven sheet of matted Merino. Felt is produced with interlocking of fibres and may be produced from woven or knitted substrate, or directly from the loose fibres. |
| Felting | The matting together of Merino fibres. |
| Fibre diameter | Measured by the latest in computer technology or an airflow instrument, and reported in microns (µ). |
| Fibre diameter distribution | The distribution of the fibre diametre in a wool sample. Distribution can be expressed as a frequency table or a frequency histogram with data grouped into class intervals of one micron, and integer micron values as midpoints of the class intervals. The results may also be expressed as a standard deviation, coefficient of variation and the percentage of fibres coarser than a given value such as 30 micron. Fibre diameter distribution is measured by both the Sirolan Laserscan and the OFDA instruments. |
| Fibre fineness | The mean fibre diameter which is usually expressed in microns (µ). |
| Fibre | A unit of matter characterised by having a length at least 100 times its diameter or width. The fundamental component used in making Merino yarns and fabrics. |
| Filament | A continuous single strand of fibre. Mostly refers to synthetics, but also applies to reeled silk. |
| Fine Wool | Merino wool that has a diameter range of 18.6 to 20.5 micron. A fine wool Merino generally produces a greasy fleece weight of 3-5kg, from an adult bodyweight of 35-40kg. |
| Finishing | Any process performed on a fabric following weaving or knitting. Includes cleaning, dyeing, setting processes and processes which alter the surface properties of the fabric. |
| Fixation | A dye molecule becomes firmly fixed in one site. |
| Flannel | A soft, woven Merino fabric with a raised surface. |
| Flat bed knitting machine | Flat knitting machine with one or more needle beds. |
| Flat screen | A metal frame over which a synthetic filament mesh fabric has been stretched. |
| Fleece | The entire coat shorn from one sheep. |
| Flock | A large grouping of sheep that have been run under the same farm management conditions for the entire wool growing season, for example, they have been crutched and shorn at the same time. A flock may comprise a number of mobs for one wool growing enterprise. |
| Fluidity | How supple a garment is - important for comfort. |
| Free, Nearly Free (FNF) | A term that is applied to wool that is free or nearly free of vegetable fault. Typically the percentage of vegetable matter base is less than one percent |
| Fribs | Second cuts, pencil locks, or small pieces of wool clinging to the fleece |
| Fulling | Making use of wool fibres unique ability to felt and shrink to produce a fabric more 'dense' than can be produced from knitting or weaving. An alternative term for milling. |
| Gabardine | A sturdy, tightly-woven twill fabric. Suitable for trousers, suiting, raincoats and sportswear. |
| Garment Dyeing | Dyeing of garments in final apparel form. |
| Gauge | In knitting, gauge is the number of whales and/or stitches per length/width of a knitted fabric. May be expressed as needles per inch or needles per 1.5inches. |
| Gill Box | The machinery used for the gilling process. |
| Gilling | Gilling is the blending together of card slivers with the direction of feed alternated to make a final sliver suitable for spinning. In worsted processing, three gilling operations are usually carried out prior to combing and two after combing. |
| Glauber’s Salt | Sodium Sulphate used in combination with a detergent during scouring. |
| Grab Sampling | A method of taking a representative samples from packages of textile fibres. A jaw is driven by a machine into the packages and when withdrawn brings out a sample of fibres. Grqab samples can be used to measure length and strength |
| Grade | The classification system used to describe raw Merino. |
| Grease | A fatty, pale yellow wax that coats raw Merino fibre and yields lanolin. |
| Greasy wool | Wool as it is shorn from the sheep, before any processing. |
| Handle | The quality of fabric, yarn or fibre assessed by the reaction obtained from the sense of touch. It is concerned with the judgment of roughness, smoothness, harshness, pliability, thickness, softness, etc. |
| Handspun | Yarns which are spun by hand using a spinning wheel or electric spinner. |
| Harris Tweed | Traditional woollen tweed, hand woven in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. Used for coats and jackets. |
| Hauteur (H, mm) | Hauteur is mean fibre length in a top. Hauteur is usually regarded as a numerical average (i.e.. Assumes no relationship between fibre length and diameter), but is actually a length-biased distribution. The variation in the length is expressed as CvH%. |
| Heat of combustion | The heat evolved when a definite quantity of a substance is completely oxidized (burned). |
| Heat of absorption | Heat energy released when Merino absorbs water from the atmosphere, can be liquid or gaseous form. |
| Herringbone | A woven twill fabric with a reversing twill line that creates a zig zag pattern |
| Hogget Wool | In Australia, hogget wool comes from young sheep that are usually shorn as lambs, with the first fleeced then know as hogget wool |
| HT | High temperature. |
| Hungry Fine | A term applied to wool which is unnaturally fine, due to under-nourishment over an extended period |
| Hydro-entangled | An innovation in non-woven technology in which carded wool is passed through high-pressure water jets to intermingle and bind the fibres. |
| Hydroextraction | The application of mechanical force, or centrifugal force, or suction, to remove liquid water from fabrics. |
| Hydrophilic | Water loving, absorbs water readily. |
| Hydrophobic | Tending to repel and not absorb water. |
| Hygroscopic | Readily absorbs moisture from the atmosphere. |
| Indirect printing | The pattern is not produced by the direct application of colour, but in other ways such as resist and discharge styles. |
| Intelligent textiles | See "Smart textiles" |
| IWTO | An international forum for establishing standardised test procedures (IWTO Test Specifications), regulations governing the use of these procedures (IWTO Regulations), and procedures for arbitrating disputes over commercial transactions involving raw wool, wool sliver and wool yarns (the IWTO Blue Book). IWTO is pivotal in providing a technical and commercial framework for international and intra-national trade involving wool. Representation within IWTO is via National Committees appointed by the WOol Industry associations within member countries |
| Jacquard | A woven fabric with a detailed pattern produced on a jacquard machine. These machines are capable of producing designs by the individual control of each warp yarn. |
| Jersey | A soft, plain-knitted fabric used for clothing. The face has vertical ribs and the reverse has horizontal ribs. Jersey is very elastic, crease-resistant and wears and washes well. |
| Jet dyeing machine | A machine for dyeing fabric in rope form in which the fabric is carried through a narrow throat by dye liquor circulated at high velocity. |
| Jig | A dyeing machine in which fabric in open width is transferred repeatedly back and forth from one roller to another; and passes each time through a relatively small volume of dyebath liquor. |
| Jigger | An alternative term for a jig. |
| Keratin | A protein substance which is the chief component of Merino fibre. Also human hair, other animal hair and fur, feathers, silk. |
| Knitting | A method of constructing fabric by interlocking a series of loops of one or more yarns. |
| Lambswool | The first clip of wool shorn from lambs up to eight months old. The wool is soft, slippery and resilient and used for fine grade fabrics. |
| Lanolin | Also known as wool grease; this substance is a secretion from the sebaceous glands of the sheep. Often used for cosmetic applications. |
| Levelness | The degree of uniformity of dyeing throughout a batch. |
| Limiting Oxygen Index(LOI) | The minimum concentration of oxygen in a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen that will just support combustion of a material under specified test conditions. The LOI for Merino is 25.2% which means it requires a higher level of oxygen than exists in the atmosphere. |
| Liquor-goods ratio | The ratio of liquor to goods (on the basis of the respective masses) in a dyeing process. |
| Lock | A small, approximately finger-size clump of wool that tends to stay together when shorn from the sheep. Sometimes referred to as a staple. |
| Loden | Coarse, felted woollen fabric that's durable and water-repellent. Used for coats and jackets. |
| London Shrinkage | A process in which the wool fabric is dampened with water and allowed to relax for 1-2 days. |
| Loom | A device or machine for weaving cloth. |
| Loomstate | The state that a fabric is in when taken straight from the loom. It is 'unfinished'. |
| Loop Length | Accurate and simple method for measuring and controlling the tightness of knit structures. |
| Lot, Sale Lot or Line of Wool | Any number of bales of wool, of similar mass and dimensions, prepared for sale as a single parcel in accordance with accepted trade practices. |
| Lustre | The light reflective quality of a fibre or fabric exhibited in shine and gloss. |
| Mean Fibre Diameter | The average diameter (thickness) of a group of fibres from an animal. Expressed in microns (µ) |
| Medium Wool | Merino wool that has a mid-range fibre diameter, usually between 20.6 and 22.5 micron. |
| Medullated | Fibres which have a medulla, that is, are hollow down the centre. In wool fibres, this creates a different appearance to those which are unmedullated, and effects the dyeing properties. |
| Melt bonding fibre | A synthetic fibre (e.g.: polyester, polyamide) which melts at a lower than normal temperature; used to provide fibre stability in carpet yarns and nonwoven structures. |
| Melton | A heavyweight woollen cloth used for overcoats and hunting jackets. |
| Mending | The insertion of yarn into a woven fabric where the warp or weft is missing and also the correction of other faults by means of needlework. |
| Mercerised Merino | Wool which has been treated usually in top or loose fibre which has an enhanced lustre and improved hand feel |
| Merino | A superfine wool that comes from the Merino strains of sheep. |
| Merino Extrafine | Quality endorsement logo denoting superfine Merino suitable for both knitwear and tailored clothing. Licensed by The Woolmark Company. |
| Merino Retro | Similar to Merino vintage but produced on woven fabric and garments made from Merino wool. |
| Merino Vintage | An array of casual coloured effects e.g. Faded, frosted, washed out etc produced on Merino knitted products. |
| Matrology | The science of measurement. In the wool industry it is often applied to fibres, ie. Metrology |
| Microencapsulation | A process by which tiny parcels of a gas, liquid, or solid active ingredient are packaged within a second material for the purpose of shielding the active ingredient from the surrounding environment. |
| Micron (µ) | A unit of measurement used in assessing the diameter of a fibre which equals one millionth of a metre. |
| Migration | Dye molecules moving to other sites to achieve a more level dyeing. |
| Milling | The application of mechanical action to cause the required amount of fibre migration in wool fabrics through the ability of fibres to felt. |
| Mob | A group of sheep that have been run under exactly the same conditions for the full wool growing season, for example, a mob of ewes that have been run in the same paddock, drench and mated/lambed at the same time |
| Moisturising Merino | Range of microencapsulated skin toners and moisturisers which are slowly release from the garment to the skin during wear. |
| Mousseline | Fine, semi-opaque fabric. |
| Nap | A soft or fuzzy surface on fabric. |
| Napping | An alternative term for raising. |
| Natural fibre | Fibre obtained from animal, vegetable or mineral sources, as opposed to those made from chemicals. |
| Nep | Clusters or balls of fibres that should be straitened or removed in the processes leading up to spinning. Sometimes progress through to fabric and become a fault. |
| Noil | The short fibre left over from combing wool |
| Nonwoven | A fabric or other textile structure from fibres which has been produced without having to go through the conventional spinning and weaving (or knitting or tufting) route. |
| Oddments | Butts or bags of wool that does not meet the wool classer's standards for main lines |
| Optical-based Fibre Diameter Analyser | An instrument for measuring fibre diameter mean and distribution using an automated microscope and image analysis techniques |
| Overflow jet dyeing machine | A general term for soft-flow jet and partial immersion jet dyeing machines. Their action is characterised by the textile material in rope form being lifted briefly from the dyebath, by a small diameter winch or reel, into an overflow reservoir and then carried along a transportation tube by means of a relatively gentle flow of dye liquor. |
| OWF | On weight fibre |
| Package dyeing | Dyeing of yarns, packed on packages, typically plastic cones. |
| Pad/Batch | A process in which a chemical egg dye or finishing agent is applied to the fabric by padding after which the fabric is stored (batched) to allow time for fixation of the dyestuffs. |
| Pad/Steam | A process in which a chemical egg dye or finishing agent is applied to the fabric by padding after which the fabric is steamed to achieve fixation of the dyestuffs. |
| Padding mangle | A form of mangle for the impregnation of chemicals (e.g.: dyestuffs) in open width in which the textile is passed through one or more nips. |
| Peppin | A breed of sheep developed by breeders George Peppin and Thomas Shaw in the late 1850s that constitutes 70% of the Australian Merino flock. |
| Perching | An inspection process used to identify faults in the finished fabric. |
| pH | A measure of the hydrogen ion concentration in an aqueous solution. |
| Piece dyeing | Dyeing of woven or knitted fabric in fabric form, prior to making the garment. |
| Pilling | Formation of fibrous balls on the surface of a fabric. |
| Ply | To twist together two or more single yarns to form another yarn or cord. One of any number of single yarns twisted together to form a yarn. |
| Polar fleece | A molecule which has positive and negative charges on opposite sides (or at opposite ends). |
| Position of Break (POB) | An indication of where a staple breaks during extension, determined by comparing the masses of clean wool in the broken portions of the staple. It does not imply that a break exists in the staple. Reported as the percentage of breaks in each third of a staple, viz. tip, middle or base |
| Pressing | The application of pressure and often steam to improve the appearance and lustre of wool fabrics. |
| Printing | A process for production of texts and / or images onto fabric or final garment. |
| Printing paste | A thickened medium containing the dye (colour) and auxiliaries. |
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| Pulled wool | Wool removed from the skins of slaughtered sheep. |
| Quality | The standard of excellence or desirability of a sheep or its fleece. It may be specified by the term 'count'. |
| Raising | A mechanical process used to create a pile on the fabric surface. |
| Ram | A male sheep that has not been castrated (or desexed). |
| Ram Wool | Wool fibre together with various amounts of vegetable |
| Rapier | A type of weaving loom that carries the weft yarn across the fabric by….. |
| Raw wool | Greasy wool in natural state before scouring. |
| Reel | An alternative term for winch. |
| Regain | The weight of water able to be absorbed by a fibre as a percentage of its dry weight. Wool can hold up to 30% water in regain, without feeling wet. |
| Regenerated fibre | Fibres produced from a natural chemical building block, but extruded as a synthetic is. Examples include viscose, which is regenerated cellulose. |
| Resilience | A fibre’s ability to spring back to its original state after being crushed or wrinkled. Sometimes referred to as memory. |
| Resistance to Compression (RC) | The force per unit area required to compress a fixed mass of carded wool to a fixed volume; with result is expressed in kilopascals (kPa). Resistance to compression is largely a function of fibre diameter and crimp. |
| Resist printing | The design is printed onto a white or dyed substrate using a substance that will prevent dye uptake in subsequent dyeing. |
| Ring Spinning | Spinning onto a small rotating package with a travelling guide wrapping the yarn onto the package. |
| Roller printing | The design is applied using etched or engraved rollers. |
| Romaine | The camount of noil produced during combing expressed as a percentage of the total top and noil |
| Rope | Fabric that has been drawn into the form of a rope. |
| Rope marks | Long crease marks in dyed or finished goods running approximately in the warp direction. They are caused by wet processing in rope form. |
| Rotary pressing | Pressing of fabric between a large roller and a metal shoe. The shoe and/or the roller may be heated. |
| Rotary screen | A seamless cylindrical screen constructed from a metal mesh. |
| Roving | When used as a preparation for spinning it is called a roving. A roving is often used to spin worsted yarn, and many hand spinners buy their fibre in roving form. The term 'tow' is not often heard, except when dealing with linen. |
| Running marks | An alternative term for rope marks. |
| Sample | A small separate part of textile fibres or products representative of the fleece, lot or consignment. |
| Saponification | The reaction between fats and oils with KOH or NaOH to produce soap. |
| Satin | A woven fabric with long warp floats on the surface of the fabric |
| Sateen | A woven fabric with long weft floats on the surface of the fabric |
| Scales | Make up the outer layer of Merino fibre. They are hard, flattened and do not fit together evenly. The exposed edges point towards the tip of the fibre and give rise to felting. |
| Scoured Wool | Wool that has been washed, usually in a series of bowls, by the use of alkali, soap and water of varying temperatures. This process removes the dirt, grease and suint from the wool. |
| Scouring | Cleaning raw Merino and removing such impurities as dirt, sweat, and grease by washing. Fabric is also scoured to remove impurities from weaving, singing, and carbonising. |
| Scutching | A process used to convert fabric in rope form to fabric in open width. |
| Self-twist spinning | A method of spinning that overcomes speed limitations in conventional ring spinning systems. |
| Selvedge | The bound edge of a fabric, running parallel to the warp and prevents the fabric unravelling. |
| Semi-worsted | ___ |
| Sensory Perception™ | A micro-encapsulation delivery system that creates intelligent textiles which release fragrances or active ingredients, such as aloe vera or vitamin E, over a period of time. |
| Serge | A twill fabric of worsted wool, often used for suits. |
| Shearing | Removing the fleece from a sheep with electric or hand shears. |
| Shearing | Shearing of a fabric is carried out to removed the surface fibres and produce a clean smooth surface finish. |
| Shetland | Traditionally, a fine yarn made from the wool of sheep raised in the Shetland Islands. Now refers to woollen yarns and fabrics with similar characteristics i.e. warm and light. Also, a garment, especially a sweater, made of this yarn. |
| Shirley Analyser | A laboratory carding machine used for removing vegetable matter from scoured wool and blending the fibres for subsequent measurement |
| Shrink resistance | Refers to the ability of a fabric to resist felting shrinkage |
| Shrinkage | A reduction in length or width of a material caused by certain treatments, especially washing. |
| Shrinkproofing | The application of chemical and/or polymer treatments to loose wool, top, yarn, or fabrics to prevent felting shrinkage. |
| Shuttle | The "carrier" of a small parcel of weft yarn across the open shed of a fabric that is begin woven. |
| Simplex | Shrinkprrofing process developed by PP(T) - Devan Ltd, applied to knitted fabrics or garments |
| Singeing | The use of a high temperature flame to remove surface fibres from wool fabrics. |
| SiroCLEAR™ | An optical sensing method that allows yarns to be examined for contaminants as they are wound from a bobbin onto a cone at speeds up to 1600 m/min. It results in finer yarns and reduces fabric repair costs by 90%. |
| Sirofil™ | A spinning technology that wraps a worsted yarn around a polyester core to produce worsted suits which don’t distort at the knees and the elbows. |
| Sirolan Laserscan | An instrument to measure mean fibre diameter and fibre diameter distribution by detection of shadows in a laser beam, brought about by causing snippets to be carried through the beam in a suitable liquid |
| SiroSPUN™/P> | A method of worsted spinning developed by the CSIRO that combines spinning and doubling in the one operation, and is especially suited to lightweight trans-seasonal fabrics. |
| Sizing | Sizing agents are applied to warp yarns prior to the warp beam production in order to make the yarn more smooth and strong. This helps in the weaving process by reducing the warp end breakages. |
| Skirting | Removing the stained, unusable, or undesirable portions of a fleece. |
| Sliver | A sliver is the bundle of parallel fibres produced in early stages of fibre preparation, principally, the output from carding. |
| Smart textiles | Textiles that are able to sense stimuli from the environment, react to them and adapt to them by a range of functionalities in the textile structure. The stimulus as well as the response can have an electrical, thermal, chemical, mechanical, magnetic or other origin. |
| Snippet | Very short pieces of fibre, typically 2mm long, which have been cut to measure fibre diameter and related properties. |
| Soft Lustre | Process used involving oxidation followed by the application of a micro-silicone to produce mercerised merino |
| Soft Shetland | Shetland garments made from Australian wool, having the traditional Characteristic rugged and milled appearance but with a softer hand feel. |
| SoloSpun | SoloSpun yarns are weavable singles yarns that allow for the production of very light weight wool fabrics. Produced by the attachment of small rollers onto each spindle of a ring spinning frame. |
| Solution | A liquid containing molecules dispersed throughout it that were originally in the solid or gaseous state. |
| Solvent finishing | Washing of knitwear in an organic solvent in a dry cleaner. |
| Sorption | The process of taking up and holding moisture. |
| Sorting | Separating a whole fleece into parts. |
| Sound Wool | Wool that has a good tensile strength; which can more easily withstand the topmaking process. |
| Space dyeing | Applying various colours at intervals along a yarn, producing a multi-colour effect. |
| Spectrum | Technique using dye attract and dye resist resins applied to Merino knitted garments and fabrics prior to to dyeing in order to create quick response multi-coloured effects and patterns upon piece dyeing. |
| Spinning | The process of making yarn from fibre by inserting twist. |
| Spinning frame | The machine on which multiple yarns may be produced by ring, open-ended, self twist, or other spinning methods. |
| Squeegee | A rubber or metal blade used to force printing paste through the screen mesh. |
| Staple | A lock or tuft of wool. |
| Staple base | the bottom of the wool staple that represents the portion of the wool staple where it has been cut directly adjacent to the skin surface. |
| Staple fibres | Fibres which are not continuous. Wool is referred to as "long staple" and cotton as "short staple". Synthetic and regenerated filaments can be cut into staple fibres. |
| Steaming | The application of steam (heat and moisture) to fix dyes to the substrate. |
| Steely | Wool lacking in character and possessing a stealy or glassy sheen. It is produced on pastures deficient in trace elements such as copper. |
| Stenter | A machine for the drying and straightening of fabrics by holding straight and tight on pins or chains and passing though chambers of hot air. |
| Stretch break | Fibres which have been shortened in length by stretching to the point where they break. |
| Style | A subjective term generally referring to a combination of characteristics of wool, which include brightness, dust penetration, crimp frequency and definition, tip shape and fibre density. |
| Suint | Excretion from sweat glands of the sheep, which is deposited on the wool fibres. |
| Substrate | The undyed material (fibres, yarn, sliver, top, fabric, carpet) submitted to a dyeing or printing process. |
| Suint | Excretion from sweat glands of the sheep, which is deposited on the wool fibres. |
| Super S | International rating system to identify fine Merino fabrics from Super 100's through to Super 210's. The higher the figure, the finer the fibre used. |
| Surface smoothness | Subjective assessment of 'how smooth' the surface of the fabric is. Relates to frictional properties. As an example - the 'smoother' the fabric the lower the surface friction. |
| Synthetic | A "man-made" fabric produced from a chemical compound. |
| Tartan | Woollen or worsted fabric with a plaid design. Originates from Scotland. |
| Tear | Ratio of the amount of top produced to the amount of noil produced during processing |
| Tensile Strength | The amount of pulling a fibre, yarn, or fabric can withstand before it breaks. |
| Test Certificate | A certidficate for a lot of wool resulting from the testing of samples in accordance with the relevant Test Regulation (eg. IWTO) and Test Specification. Test results may include measurement of yield, diameter, vegetable matter base, staple length and strenght and colour |
| Texture | The surface effect of cloth or fibre as dull, lustrous, woolly, stiff, soft, fine, coarse, open or closely woven. Also known as handle or feel. |
| Textured Merino | Garments which have been manufactured from a combination of Easy Care and untreated yarns, which are then either milled or pieced dyed to create Felt/No Felt Effects. |
| TFM % | The amount of Total Fatty Matter (grease, lubricant, softener, etc) expressed as a percentage when referring to the weight of the yarn or garment. |
| Thermosplicer | Uses heat to create splices which are less visible and more abrasion-resistant. |
| Tip | the outer extremity of a staple of wool |
| Top | A strand of longer fibres that have been straightened, made parallel and separated from the shorter fibres by combing. |
| Total Easy Care Wool | Quality endorsement logo denoting specially treated, machine-washable wool knitwear that can be tumble dried without shrinking. Licensed by The Woolmark Company. |
| Total Fleece Weight | The weight of the entire raw fleece. |
| Tweed | A coarse, rugged woollen fabric made in various twill weaves. Used for suits and coats. |
| Tweeds | Clothing made of tweed fabric. |
| Twill | A fabric with diagonal parallel ribs. Also, the weave used to produce such a fabric. Twills may be broken which will produce short diagonal lines. |
| Twist | The number of turns about its axis per unit of length observed in a yarn or other textile strand. It is usually indicated as turns per inch or tpi or alpha (a) |
| Vegetable Matter Base | Consists of burrs, grass seeds, thistles, hardheads, straw, chaff and small pieces of stick and bark. Vegetable matter base is established when a sample of wool is place in a boiling solution of 10% caustic soda. The wool is dissolved and the remaining vegetable matter is dried and weighted. Vegetable matter base is expressed as a percentage of the weight of the greasy core sample |
| Venetian | Smooth luxurious wool fabric which has a glossy, satin weave. |
| Wale | A column of loops up the length of a knitted fabric. |
| Warp | In weaving, the warp is the set of lengthwise yarns through which the weft is woven. Each individual warp thread in a fabric is called a warp end. |
| Warp knitting | Knitting down the fabric using many warp ends at one time. Used for open and mesh fabrics, nets, laces, etc |
| Washing off | The removal of unfixed dyes and print paste components from the substrate. |
| Weaner | A lamb that has been weaned from its mother, or has stopped suckling from it's mother (6 to 9 months of age) |
| Weavable singles yarn | A singles yarn that can be successfully woven where sizing or other treatments may or may not be necessary. |
| Weaving | Making cloth by interlacing yarns at right angles according to a predetermined pattern. |
| Weft | Yarns running width ways in woven fabrics. |
| Weft knitting | Loops are formed across the fabric using one or more yarn packages. |
| Wet Finishing | Any process for the finishing or a fabric in a aqueous solution. Includes scouring, dyeing, crabbing. |
| Wicking | Movement of moisture within a fabric by capillary action. |
| Wiggings | Wool is shorn from around the eyes and face. This wool is usually combined with the second cuts and short crutchings to form locks |
| Winch | A dyeing machine consisting of a dye vessel fitted with a driven winch (usually above the liquor level) which rotates and draws a length of fabric, normally joined end to end, through the liquor. |
| Wool gauze | Lightweight opaque wool fabric suitable for wear all year. |
| Wool | The fibres covering the skin of a sheep, goat, alpaca, llama. |
| Wool Base | Is the dry weight of wool fibre free from impurities. |
| WoolFleece™ | Price-competitive blend of 22 micron Merino and polyester. Provides natural comfort and high performance for active wear. |
| Woollen | Bulky and uneven yarn made from shorter wool fibres, and the fabric made from such yarns. |
| Woollen System | A method of yarn production from wool fibres that have been carded, but not combed or gilled. The fibres are not as well aligned as in the worsted system. Wool used for the woollen system are called carding types, which generally have a shorter fibre length than those used for the worsted system. |
| Woolscience™ | Innovative Merino fabric suitable for military, industrial, medical, work wear, bedding, transport and equestrian uses. |
| Worsted | Firm-textured, compactly twisted woollen yarn made from long fibres, and the fabric made from such yarn. Suitable for dresses and suits. |
| Woven | Fabrics produced by interlacing yarns. |
| Wovens | Garments made from woven fabrics. |
| Wrinkle recovery | Ability of a fabric to bounce back after it has been twisted, wrinkled, or distorted in any way. |
| Yarn | A continuous strand of fibres twisted or otherwise held together. |
| Yarn Count | The numerical determination of the thickness of a yarn. May be given as mass per unit length, or length per unit mass. Tex is the universal system referring to the mass of yarn per 1000m. For wool yarns the yarn count is often given as Nm. |
| Yield | The amount of clean wool that is derived from greasy wool after scouring, expressed as a percentage. |
| Zibeline | A thick lustrous soft Merino fabric with a long shaggy nap. Named after the zibeline, a small black animal of the sable family, found in Siberia. |
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