A Small Lexicon of Wool: Essential Terms (and the "Worsted" Trap)

When you start to take a serious interest in wool, you quickly come across a lot of technical vocabulary. Here is a small glossary to help you find your way, with particular attention paid to a common linguistic pitfall.

Scouring (or washing): the stage of cleaning raw wool to remove lanolin, dirt, and vegetable matter.

Lanolin: the natural grease that protects the sheep's fleece, removed during washing.

Carding: the process that disentangles and roughly aligns the fibers, without removing the shortest ones, resulting in a fluffier yarn.

Worsted process: the process that systematically removes short fibers (noils) and carefully aligns the remaining long fibers, resulting in a finer and stronger yarn.

Noils: the too-short fibers, removed during combing, which often find a second life in products like insulation or felt.

Gilling: the step of precise fiber alignment, carried out by a machine like the Gill Box, just before the actual combing.

Micron: the unit of measurement for fiber diameter, equivalent to one millionth of a meter — the lower the number, the finer the fiber.

Now for the announced pitfall: in English, the worsted process is called "worsted," a perfectly legitimate term in international literature. But in all our documents intended for the general French-speaking public, we systematically prefer the expression "procédé peigné" (combed process) rather than a calque like "semi-worsted." This choice addresses a need for clarity for our French-speaking clientele.

For you, remembering these few terms will allow you to better understand our next articles, but also to discuss with more confidence with other artisans.

Source: International Wool Textile Organisation, Wool Notes, Issue 3 (2024); Makeloo Studio Laine Québec inc.