View source for Worsted

{{Short description|Fabrics manufactured from worsted yarns}}
[[File:Girl's blue worsted wool dress - DPLA - 842dcae8d89285714cdadde9daaf6a02 (page 1).jpg|thumb|A blue worsted wool girl's dress from the United States, made in approximately 1878, from the collection of [[Conner Prairie]].]]
'''Worsted''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|ɜːr|s|t|ᵻ|d}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|ʊ|s|t|ᵻ|d}}) is a high-quality type of wool [[yarn]], the [[fabric]] made from this yarn, and a [[yarn weight]] category. The name derives from [[Worstead]] (from [[Old English]]  ''Wurðestede'', "enclosure place"), a village in the  [[England|English]] county of [[Norfolk]]. That village, together with [[North Walsham]] and [[Aylsham]], formed a manufacturing centre for yarn and cloth in the 12th century, when pasture [[enclosure]] and [[liming (soil)|liming]] rendered the East Anglian soil too rich for the older agrarian sheep breeds. In the same period, many weavers from the [[County of Flanders]] moved to Norfolk.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://worsteadpc.norfolkparishes.gov.uk/category/worstead-heritage-trail/ |title=Worstead Heritage Trail &#124; Worstead Parish Council |publisher=Worsteadpc.norfolkparishes.gov.uk |date=26 July 2012 |access-date=15 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worstead.co.uk/history_village.htm |title=Worstead History - The Village |website=www.worstead.co.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927035226/http://www.worstead.co.uk/history_village.htm |archive-date=27 September 2011 }}</ref>  "Worsted" yarns/fabrics are distinct from [[woollen]]s (though both are made from sheep's wool): the former is considered stronger, finer, smoother, and harder than the latter.

Worsted was made from the long-staple pasture wool from [[List of breeds of sheep|sheep breeds]] such as [[Teeswater (sheep)|Teeswater]]s, [[English Leicester (sheep)|Old Leicester Longwool]] and [[Romney (sheep)|Romney Marsh]]. Pasture wool was not [[Carding|card]]ed; instead it was washed, gilled and [[combing|comb]]ed (using heated long-tooth metal combs), oiled and finally spun. When woven, worsteds were scoured but not [[fulling|full]]ed.<ref name="Jenkins">{{cite book |last=Jenkins |first=Geraint |title=The wool textile industry in Great Britain|publisher=Routledge Keegan Paul|year=1972|pages=[https://archive.org/details/wooltextileindus0000unse/page/26 26–33] |chapter=Chapter 2 |isbn=0710069790 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/wooltextileindus0000unse/page/26}}</ref>

Both worsted and woolen spun wool are used for knitted fabrics.<ref name="Moreno2016">{{cite book | first= Jillian |last=Moreno | date = 23 August 2016 | title = Yarnitecture: A Knitter's Guide to Spinning: Building Exactly the Yarn You Want |chapter=Fiber Preparations| publisher = Storey Publishing | pages = 41–42 | isbn = 978-1-61212-521-3 | oclc = 1090567721}}</ref> Worsted wool fabric is typically used in the making of tailored garments such as suits. In tropical-weight worsteds, the use of tightly spun, straightened wool combined with a looser weave permits air to flow through the fabric. Worsted is also used for [[carpet]]s, [[clothing]], [[hosiery]], [[glove]]s and [[baize]].

==Manufacture==
[[File:Hudson Worsted Company mill, March 2022.JPG|thumb|right|A former worsted mill in [[Hudson, Massachusetts]]]]
Worsted cloth, archaically also known as [[Stuff (cloth)|stuff]], is lightweight and has a coarse texture. The [[weaving|weave]] is usually [[twill]] or plain. Twilled fabrics such as [[whipcord]], [[gabardine]] and [[serge (fabric)|serge]] are often made from worsted yarn. Worsted fabric made from wool has a natural recovery, meaning that it is resilient and quickly returns to its natural shape, but non-glossy worsted will shine with use or abrasion.<ref name="TWO" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Montgomery|first=Florence M.|url=http://archive.org/details/textilesinameric00mont|title=Textiles in America 1650-1870 : a dictionary based on original documents, prints and paintings, commercial records, American merchants' papers, shopkeepers' advertisements, and pattern books with original swatches of cloth|date=1984|publisher=New York; London : Norton|others=Internet Archive|isbn=978-0-393-01703-8}}</ref>

===Worsted and woollens===
Though both made of wool, worsted and woollens undergo different manufacturing steps resulting in significantly different cloths. In worsteds, which undergo more spinning steps, the natural crimp of the wool fiber is removed in the process of spinning the yarn while it is retained in woolens,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Radcliffe|first=John W.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9fwimg_6YQwC&q=worsted+cloth|title=Woolen and Worsted Yarn Manufacture|date=1953|publisher=Emmott & Company Limited|pages=52|language=en}}</ref> and woollens are produced with short-staple yarns while worsted cloths need longer staple length. When woven, the yarns in worsted cloth lie parallel. Woollen materials are soft and bulky with fuzzy surfaces, while worsted is smoother.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gilligan|first=E. G.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XZOkAgAAQBAJ&q=worsted+cloth&pg=PA3|title=Woollen and Worsted Woven Fabric Design|date=2004-01-05|publisher=Elsevier|isbn=978-1-84569-317-6|pages=7|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=McLaren|first=Walter Stowe B.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zGYDAAAAQAAJ&q=Woolen+wool+yarns+are+spun+from+short+wool+fibers+about+1-3+inches+long;+and+worsted+wool+yarns+are+spun+from+long+wool+fibers+more+than+3+inches+in+general.&pg=PA58|title=Spinning woollen and worsted|date=1884|pages=58|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Manufacturing of Worsted and Woolen Yarns|url=https://www.textilesphere.com/2019/12/worsted-and-woolen-spinning.html|access-date=2021-05-31}}</ref> There are different terms in use for describing the [[Hand feel|softness]] of textile materials. The wool trade term for it is ''handle'', with ''good handling'' cloth being soft to the touch, while ''poor handling'' suggests the material's harsh hand feel.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hind|first=John Richard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vwVHAAAAYAAJ&q=worsted+and+woollen+feels|title=Woollen & Worsted Raw Materials: Covering the Syllabus of the City and Guilds of London Examinations in These Subjects|date=1934|publisher=Ernest Benn|pages=40|language=en}}</ref>

==Technique and preparation==
[[File:Tess Designer Yarns Worsted Merino.jpg|thumb|Worsted yarn made from [[Merino]] wool]]
The essential feature of worsted yarn is straight, [[parallel (geometry)|parallel]] [[fiber|fibre]]s. Originally, long, fine [[Staple (wool)|staple wool]] was [[Spinning (textiles)|spun]] to create worsted yarn; today, other long [[fibre]]s are also used.<ref name = TWO>{{cite book|last=Gilligan|first=Grant E.|title=Woollen And Worsted Woven Fabric Design|url=https://archive.org/details/woollenworstedwo00egra|url-access=limited|year=2004|publisher=Woodhead Publishing|page=[https://archive.org/details/woollenworstedwo00egra/page/n17 3]}}</ref>

Many spinners differentiate between worsted preparation and [[short draw (spinning)|worsted spinning]]. Worsted preparation refers to the way the fibre is prepared before spinning, using ginning machines which force the fibre staples to lie parallel to each other. Once these fibres have been made into a top, they are then combed to remove the short fibres.  The long fibres are combined in subsequent gilling machines to again make the fibres parallel.  This produces overlapping untwisted strands called [[Sliver (textiles)|sliver]]s. Worsted spinning refers to using a worsted technique, which produces a smooth yarn in which the fibres lie parallel.<ref>Booth, J.E. (1964). Principles of Textile Testing. London: Temple Press Books.</ref>

[[Roving]] and [[wool top]] are often used to spin worsted yarn. Many hand spinners buy their fibre in roving or top form. Top and roving are ropelike in appearance, in that they can be thick and long. While some mills put a slight twist in the rovings they make, it is not enough twist to be a yarn. The fibres in top and rovings all lie parallel to one another along the length, which makes top ideal for spinning worsted yarns.<ref name="Priestman">{{cite book |last1=Priestman |first1=Howard |title=Principles of Worsted Spinning |chapter= |editor =  |publisher=Longmans, Green, And Co. |year=1921 |location=London, England |pages = |isbn=|edition=2nd }}</ref>

''Worsted-spun'' yarns, used to create worsted fabric, are spun from fibres that have been [[combing|combed]], to ensure that the fibres all run the same direction, butt-end (for wool, the end that was cut in [[sheep shearing|shearing]] the sheep) to tip, and remain parallel.  A [[short draw]] is used in spinning worsted fibres (as opposed to a [[long draw]]).<ref name="Priestman"/>

In short draw [[spinning (textiles)|spinning]], spun from combed [[roving]], [[Sliver (textiles)|sliver]] or [[wool top]], the spinners keep their hands very close to each other. The fibres are held fanned out in one hand while the other hand pulls a small number from the mass. The twist is kept between the second hand and the wheel—there is never any twist between the two hands.<ref name="Priestman"/>

==Weight==
According to the Craft Yarn Council, the term "Worsted Weight", also "Afghan", 
"Aran", or simply "Medium", refers to a particular weight of yarn that produces a [[gauge (knitting)|gauge]] of 16–20 stitches per 4 inches of stockinette, and is best knitted with 4.5mm to 5.5mm needles (US size 7–9).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/weight.html |title=Standard Yarn Weight System |publisher=Craftyarncouncil.com |access-date=2013-09-15}}</ref>

The term worsted, in relation to textile yarn weight, is defined as the number of [[Hank (unit of measure)|hanks of yarn]], each with a length of 560 yards, that weigh one pound.

Super numbers represent the fineness of the worsted wool fiber used in the fabric. The higher the number, such as Super 100s, 120s, or 150s, the finer the wool thread is. The actual number is calculated by the maximum number of hanks of wool that can be spun into one pound of wool. For example, if you can spin 100 hanks each 560 yards long, the resulting wool is classified as Super 100s. Generally, the higher the super number, the lighter the weight of the fabric.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-04-22 |title=Wool Suit Fabric "Super" Numbers Explained |url=https://www.gentlemansgazette.com/wool-super-numbers-explained/ |access-date=2024-09-16 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Automation==
Before the introduction of automatic machinery, there was little difficulty in attaining a straight fibre, as long wool was always used, and the sliver was made up by hand, using combs.  The introduction of [[Richard Arkwright]]'s [[water frame]] in 1771, and the later introduction of cap and mule spinning machines, required perfectly prepared slivers.<ref>{{EB1911 |last=Barker |first=Aldred Farrer |inline=y |wstitle=Wool, Worsted and Woollen Manufactures |volume=28|pages=805–816}}</ref> Many [[factory|manufactories]] used one or more preparatory combing machines (called ''gill-boxes'') before further processing, to ensure straight fibres and to distribute the [[lubricant]] evenly.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book  |last=Barber |first=E.J.W. |year=1991 |title= Prehistoric Textiles |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn= 0-691-00224-X}}
*{{cite book |last=Burnham |first=Dorothy K.|author-link=Dorothy K. Burnham |year=1980 |title=Warp and Weft: A Textile Terminology |publisher=[[Royal Ontario Museum]] |isbn=0-88854-256-9 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/warpwefttextilet0000burn}}
*{{cite book |last=Booth |first=J.E. |year=1964 |title=Principles of Textile Testing |publisher=Temple Press Books |location=London}}

==External links==
* {{Cite NIE |wstitle=Wool | pages = 640 to 643 |short=x}}
*[http://www.yarnstandards.com/weight.html Standard Yarn Weight System] - Lists recommended needle sizes, gauge, etc., for the various yarn weight categories.
*[http://www.allfiberarts.com/library/aa99/aa091599.htm Woolen and Worsted Yarns] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080124141931/http://www.allfiberarts.com/library/aa99/aa091599.htm |date=2008-01-24 }}
*[http://www.joyofhandspinning.com/dutch-combs.html joyofhandspinning.com on Dutch combs]

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[[Category:Spinning]]
[[Category:Woven fabrics]]
[[Category:Wool]]
[[Category:Norfolk]]
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