Fibers FAQ

What is Top?
What is a Micron?
What is Staple Length?
What is Carding?
What is Carded Sliver?
What is Superwash?
What is a Worsted Yarn?
What is a Woolen Yarn?
What is Crimp?
What does Ready-To-Spin mean?
What is a Lock?
What is a Flick Carder?
What is a Bast Fiber?
What are Tow Fibers?

What is Top?
Top is made by a combing process that removes the short and noiled fibers leaving the longer fibers in a parallel alignment. The result is the highest quality of the fiber or "top of the line". Spinning from top using a short draw will produce worsted yarns. These are smooth and less likely to pill than woolen yarns (produced from spinning carded fiber or sliver). Combed top is a continuous roving.

What is a Micron?
It is the actual measurement of the fiber's diameter. The smaller the number the finer the fiber. One micron is equivalent to 1/25,400th of an inch.

What is Staple Length?
This is the length of the fiber from butt to tip. The general rule is that the shorter the staple length, the finer the fiber.
Please note that there are exceptions to this rule!

What is Carding?
Carding is a method of separating and aligning the fibers. It does not eliminate any fiber in the preparation, this process blends the fibers together.

What is Carded Sliver?
Sliver is a continuous strand of carded fiber, the fiber arrangement is not parallel. Carded sliver will produce a light, soft yarn.

What is Superwash?
Superwash is the process of making wool fibers shrink resistant. The surface of the fiber has projecting edges or scales. Synthetic polymers are used to fill in the cavities of the fiber's rough jagged surface. This means that your yarn can be safely machine washed. Superwash fiber takes dye beautifully!

What is a Worsted Yarn?
Worsted yarns are spun from long fibers that have been combed. A worsted yarn is smooth, firm and strong and has a sheen.

What is a Woolen Yarn?
A woolen yarn is spun from carded fiber, where the short and long fibers are blended together. A woolen yarn is fluffy, soft warm and has loft.

What is Crimp?
Crimp is the natural waviness or curl of the wool fibers. Each breed grows fleece with a characteristic crimp pattern.

What does Ready-To-Spin mean?
The fibers have not been combed or carded. But they are fully cleaned and de-haired, thus Ready-To-Spin.

What is a Lock?
A lock is the natural grouping of fibers that occurs as the fleece grows on the sheep.

What is a Flick Carder?
This is a small, single hand held carder. It is used to separate the lock or staple of wool. This prepares the fiber for spinning directly from the lock without disturbing the alignment of the fibers.

What is a Bast Fiber?
Flax, Ramie and Hemp are all Bast Fibers. These are the long, strong, flexible fibers that are in the inner bark of the plants.

What are Tow Fibers?
The Flax fibers are very long. To make the fibers into Tow they are cut to approximately 4 inch lengths and then combed into a rough top.