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The Bradford system is a way to assess the quality of wool, also known as the English Worsted Yarn Count System, the spinning count or the Bradford count. Wool handlers in Bradford estimated how many 560-yard hanks of single strand yarn could be made by a good spinner from a pound of top. The finer the average diameter of a single wool fibre, the more hanks could be spun, so the count classified wool lots and set prices.
The purpose:
The Bradford system is a way to assess the quality of wool.
This system is also known as the "English Worsted Yarn Count System" or "spinning count" or "Bradford count".
The method:
To measure the fineness of sheep wool fiber before microscopes and lasers were used, English wool handlers in the city of Bradford described wool by estimating (with experienced eyes) how many 560-yard hanks of single strand yarn could be made by a good spinner from a pound of "top."
The finer the average diameter of a single wool fiber, the more hanks could be spun. From a pound of "64s," for example, sixty-four such hanks could be made (more than 20 miles). From the finest wools, more than 80 hanks could be spun; from the strongest, perhaps 36 or fewer. Using ranges denoted by the stronger end (that is “44s” ran up to “46s”), wool lots were classified and prices derived.
Because they were estimating with experienced eyes, it was obviously not a perfect science. The Bradford count may be biased no matter how experienced the rater is; also it relies heavily on number of crimps (regular undulations) per inch, which has a not-very-strong correlation with actual average fiber diameter.
Other Methods Are Possible:
Although the Bradford System is still widely used among shepherds and breed associations, more objective measuring systems are replacing its use in the international market.
In 1968, the United States Department of Agriculture issued official standards (for the U.S.A. only, not applicable worldwide) which assigned ranges of average fiber diameter (AFD) and maximum standard deviation to each of the Bradford counts. For example, wool with average fiber diameter in micrometers from 28.60 to 30.09 was to be called "54s."
More objective measurement of several fiber characteristics has become faster and more available and is likely to replace the Bradford count system in all commercial arenas. However, the spinning count (Bradford Method) will most likely not disappear completely for a while.
Learn more about wool measuring systems.
Learn about wool grades & standards.
Learn about wool classing.
Learn about a wool bale.
The Bradford system is a way to assess the quality of wool. The system is also known as the English Worsted Yarn Count System, or spinning count, or Bradford count, and all three names describe the same idea: quality is expressed as a count of how much yarn a given wool can spin. To measure the fineness of sheep wool fibre before microscopes and lasers were used, English wool handlers in the city of Bradford described wool by estimating, with experienced eyes, how many 560-yard hanks of single strand yarn could be made by a good spinner from a pound of top. Top is cleaned combed wool with the fibres all parallel, the prepared form in which wool is ready for worsted spinning. Starting from a standard weight and a standard hank length keeps every estimate comparable, so a count given in Bradford could be understood by buyers and sellers working with the same units elsewhere.
The logic of the count is direct. The finer the average diameter of a single wool fibre, the more hanks could be spun from the pound, because finer fibres make a finer yarn and a pound of fine yarn stretches to a greater length. From a pound of 64s, for example, sixty-four such hanks could be made, more than 20 miles of single yarn. From the finest wools, more than 80 hanks could be spun; from the strongest, perhaps 36 or fewer. Using ranges denoted by the stronger end, that is, 44s ran up to 46s, wool lots were classified and prices derived. A higher count therefore meant finer wool and, in general, wool suited to finer, softer yarns and fabrics, while a lower count meant stronger, coarser wool. The number is read as a grade as much as a measurement, and a buyer who knew the count knew the class of fabric the wool was fit to produce.
Because handlers were estimating with experienced eyes, the Bradford system was obviously not a perfect science. The Bradford count may be biased no matter how experienced the rater is, and it relies heavily on the number of crimps, the regular undulations, per inch, which has a not very strong correlation with actual average fibre diameter. Two skilled handlers could therefore grade the same lot differently, and a grade based on crimp could misstate the true fineness of the fibre. Those limits were acceptable while no better method was practical at the point of trade, and the system remained useful because experienced judgement was fast and because the whole market shared the same count language. The system is still widely used among shepherds and breed associations, where a familiar grade that can be given without laboratory equipment has lasting value for describing a clip and agreeing a price.
More objective measuring systems are, however, replacing its use in the international market. In 1968, the United States Department of Agriculture issued official standards, for the United States only and not applicable worldwide, which assigned ranges of average fibre diameter and maximum standard deviation to each of the Bradford counts. For example, wool with an average fibre diameter in micrometres from 28.60 to 30.09 was to be called 54s. That reform kept the familiar count names while anchoring them to measured diameters, so a traditional grade could be checked against an instrument reading. More objective measurement of several fibre characteristics has become faster and more available, and is likely to replace the Bradford count system in all commercial arenas. Even so, the spinning count by the Bradford method will most likely not disappear completely for a while, because shepherds, breed associations and parts of the wool trade still think and talk in counts, and a shared grading language changes only as fast as the people who use it.
The Bradford system is a way to assess the quality of wool, also known as the English Worsted Yarn Count System, spinning count or Bradford count. It was developed by wool handlers in the city of Bradford estimating yarn yield by eye.
From a pound of 64s wool, sixty-four 560-yard hanks of single strand yarn could be made, more than 20 miles of yarn. From the finest wools more than 80 hanks could be spun, and from the strongest, perhaps 36 or fewer.
In 1968 the United States Department of Agriculture issued official standards for the United States assigning ranges of average fibre diameter and maximum standard deviation to each Bradford count, so wool with an average fibre diameter of 28.60 to 30.09 micrometres was to be called 54s.