Fabric Definitions — definitions of fabrics, cloths, laces and textile materials from Apparel Search
Woolen is the name of a yarn and cloth usually made from wool. The woolen process entails that the wool be opened and subsequently carded, often several times to obtain prerequisite homogeneity. The wool leaves a carding machine as a thin web, and in the woolen process the web, after the final card, is split up into numerous bands which are rubbed into roving, often stored on bobbins awaiting transport to a spinning frame.
Woolen is the name of a yarn and cloth usually made from wool.
The woolen process entails that the wool be opened and subsequently carded (often several times to obtain prerequisite homogeneity). The wool leaves a carding machine as a thin web. In the woolen process, the web, after the final card, is split up into numerous bands which are rubbed into roving and often stored on bobbins awaiting transport to a spinning frame.
There are several technologies used for spinning roving into thread with or without additional streching of the yarn; formerly the most important being ring spinning and selfactor spinning; nowadays open end spinning. Regardless of the technique employed the resulting woolen yarn has relatively high 'bulk' and therefor exhibits good thermal insulation properties compared to worsted yarns which are smooth, shiny, and compact.
|
|
|
| Fashion Industry |
Carding, Not Combing, Makes WoolenThe woolen-worsted divide is the most important distinction in wool cloth, and it is made before spinning starts. In the woolen system, wool is opened and carded — passed between wire-covered rollers that disentangle and mix the fibers — often several times to reach the required homogeneity, and it leaves the final card as a thin web. That web is then divided into narrow bands and rubbed into roving: soft, weak, fuzzy strands in which fibers lie in all directions. Nothing in the process straightens them. The worsted system does the opposite: it combs fibers parallel, discards short fibers, and drafts them into a sleek, dense strand. The two yarns that result could hardly be more different: woolen yarn is bulky, soft, hairy and warm; worsted yarn is smooth, shiny, compact and strong. Every wool cloth you know falls on one side or the other — tweed, flannel and blankets on the woolen side; gabardine, serge and fine suiting on the worsted side. Warmth From LoftWoolen yarn's relatively high bulk is not a defect but its function. The disorganized fibers trap air in the yarn itself, before weaving even begins, so a woolen cloth insulates by its own structure: the air held in the lofty yarn and between the fibers is the insulation, exactly as a down jacket insulates by loft. That is why a woolen sweater feels warmer than a worsted suit jacket of the same weight, and why woolen cloths are the natural choice for blankets, coats, tweeds and winter knitwear. The trade-offs are the mirror of worsted's virtues: woolen yarn is weaker and more prone to pilling and wear, its surface is matte and fuzzy rather than crisp, and it will not hold a sharp crease. Spinning technology has changed around the woolen process — ring spinning and the selfactor (self-acting mule) were formerly the most important methods, and open-end spinning serves it today — but the process's identity has not: open, card, rub into roving, spin a lofty yarn, and let the air do the work. Common QuestionsHow does the woolen process differ from worsted?The woolen process cards the wool, often several times, into a thin web that is split into bands and rubbed into roving — a soft, lofty strand with fibers in mixed directions. Worsted processing instead combs the fibers parallel and removes short fibers, producing smooth, shiny, compact yarns. Woolen yarn therefore has relatively high bulk and good thermal insulation, while worsted yarn is sleek and hard-wearing. Why is woolen yarn bulkier?Because its fibers are not aligned and combed into parallel order. The carded web keeps fibers crossing and crimped, and the rubbing step preserves that loft, so the spun yarn is airy and soft rather than dense — and trapped air is what insulates, which is why woolen cloth feels warmer for its weight. What spinning methods are used for woolen yarn?There are several technologies for spinning roving into thread, with or without additional stretching of the yarn; formerly the most important were ring spinning and selfactor spinning, and nowadays open-end spinning is also used. The method affects the yarn's strength and evenness, but the woolen character — bulk, softness, warmth — comes from the carding and roving stage. More to ExploreMore from Apparel Search: Fabric Definitions | Clothing Industry Glossary | Fashion Terms | Apparel Search Home
|