A | |
| Acrylic | A synthetic fibre made from synthetic polymer, with characteristics similar to wool. |
| Adsorption | Temporary holding of dye molecules on the surface of a fibre. |
| Affinity | The degree of attraction of a dye molecule for a fibre. |
| Approach | The movement of dye molecules towards the fibre due to its affinity. |
| Aran | Style of cabled knitwear traditionally made and worn by fishermen from the Aran Isles off Galway, Ireland. |
| Arcana™ | An ultra-fine fibre perfect for creating high quality garments with luxurious softness. |
| Astrakhan | Merino fabrics with loops or curls that resemble the coat of the new born astrakhan lamb. |
| Australian Superfine Merino | Quality endorsement logo denoting wool garments that contain fibre which is 18.5 micron or finer. Licensed by The Woolmark Company. |
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B | |
| Back-rolling | The removal of creases and running marks from rope dyed fabrics. |
| Bale | A rectangular sack into which shorn wool is compressed. |
| Batch dyeing | Dyeing of a fabric where each batch is subjected to one stage of the dyeing process at a time, usually in the same dyeing vessel. |
| Bellies | Short wool from belly of sheep. |
| Biopolymer | A polymer found in nature. Starch, proteins and peptides, and DNA and RNA are all examples of biopolymers, in which the monomer units, respectively, are sugars, amino acids, and nucleic acids. |
| Black wool | Fleeces from sheep containing grey, brown or black wool. |
| Bleaching | The application of selected chemicals to increase the whiteness of wool fabrics. |
| Blend | A textile containing two or more different fibres, variants of the same fibre or different colours and grades of the same fibre. Merino is often blended with cotton, silk, nylon, polyester and rayon. |
| Block printing | The design is applied using carved wooden blocks. |
| Blowing | An alternative term for decatising. |
| Bouclé | A three-ply yarn with one thread looser than the others which results in the yarn waving and looping on the surface. Also, fabric woven from this yarn. Taken from the French word meaning "to buckle or curl". |
| Bouclette | Produced in the same way as a bouclé yarn, but with a smaller looping and twisting effect. |
| Braid | Long, coarse, lustrous wool. |
| Breathable | Refers to a fabric’s ability to transmit moisture. |
| Brushing | An alternative term for raising. |
| Burling | The removal of imperfections. |
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C | |
| Carbonising | The removal of vegetable matter from the wool fabric. |
| Challis | A soft, plain weave, lightweight fabric, used as a base for printing. |
| Cheviot | A coarse tweed fabric originally made from the wool of the Cheviot sheep. Used for suits and overcoats. |
| Chlorine Hercosett Shrinkproofing | A procedure developed by the CSIRO to prevent wool from felting and shrinking during machine-washing and tumble-drying. |
| Classing | Grading raw Merino according to quality. |
| Colour matching | The procedure of comparing dyed samples with a standard in order to achieve the correct shade in dyeing. |
| Colour space | A diagrammatical system for specifying and measuring colours, typically using three separate components. |
| Colour yield | The depth of colour obtained when a standard mass of colorant is applied to a material under specified conditions. |
| Composite fabric | A fabric composed of two or more layers of different materials. |
| Conditioning | The application of moisture to dried wool fabrics to achieve a regain of 14-16%. |
| Consistency | The uniform distribution of all the fibre characteristics within each lock and throughout the entire fleece. |
| Continuous dyeing | Dyeing of a fabric as it passes continuously through a series of vessels. |
| Cool Wool | Quality endorsement logo denoting lightweight wool fabrics and knitwear with spring and summer comfort. Licensed by The Woolmark Company. |
| Core sampling | Removing fibre specimens for testing by inserting a hollow tube into each bale. |
| Crabbing | A pre-setting process used to impart the required amount of flat set in wool fabrics. |
| Crease retention | The ability of a fabric to retain a pleat or a fold which has been made deliberately. |
| Crimp | The natural waviness of Merino fibre. Varies with the diameter of the fibre. |
| Cropping | An alternative term for shearing. |
| Cuticle | The outer layer of Merino fibre. See also Scales. |
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D | |
| Decating | An alternative term for decatising. |
| Decatising | A setting process used to stabilise the properties of wool fabrics developed during finishing. |
| Desorption | The process of releasing moisture that has been absorbed. |
| Differentiated fibre technologies | Modifications to wool (mostly chemical treatments) to enhance its usefulness in carpet manufacture. |
| Diffusion | Movement of dye molecules into the fibre |
| Direct printing | Application of colour directly to the substrate as required by design. |
| Discharge printing | The pattern is produced by applying chemicals that will destroy the dyes in the predyed fabric. |
| Dispersion | Separation of clumps into tiny particles that can then spread throughout the liquid. |
| Drape | The manner in which fabric hangs or falls. |
| Dyebath | The solution, usually water, containing the dyes, dyeing assistants and any other chemicals required for dyeing. |
| Dyeing assistant | A chemical added to the dyebath to assist in the dyeing process. |
| Dyestuff | An alternative term to dye. |
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E | |
| Easy Care & Wear Wool | Quality endorsement logo denoting specially treated, machine-washable woven wool garments that can be tumble-dried without shrinking. Licensed by The Woolmark Company. |
| Easy-care | A wool garment that has received a shrink-resist treatment so that it can be machine washed and tumble dried without suffering any deterioration in appearance or performance. |
| Etamine | A soft, lightweight, loosely-woven worsted fabric. |
| Exhaust dyeing | The use of a dyebath of a relatively large liquor-to-goods ratio in which the fibres are immersed for some time to alow the molecules to leave the bath and attach to the fibres. |
| Exhaustion | The leaving of the dye from a dyebath and becoming attached to the fibre being dyed |
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F | |
| Fastness | The ability of a dyed substrate to retain its colour under the action of light, washing, rubbing, perspiration, etc. |
| Felt | An ancient technique that produces a non-woven sheet of matted Merino. |
| Felting | The matting together of Merino fibres. |
| Fibre diameter | Measured by the latest in computer technology and reported in microns. |
| Fibre fineness | The mean fibre diameter which is usually expressed in microns. |
| Fibre | A unit of matter characterised by having a length at least 100 times its diameter or width. The fundamental component used in making Merino yarns and fabrics. |
| Fixation | A dye molecule becomes firmly fixed in one site |
| Flannel | A soft, woven Merino fabric. |
| Flat screen | A metal frame over which a synthetic filament mesh fabric has been stretched. |
| Fleece | The entire coat shorn from one sheep. |
| Fulling | An alternative term for milling. |
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G | |
| Gaberdine | A sturdy, tightly-woven Merino fabric. Suitable for raincoats and sportswear. |
| Glauber’s Salt | Sodium Sulphate |
| Gold Woolmark | Quality endorsement logo denoting luxurious products made of the finest quality Superfine Australian wool. Licensed by The Woolmark Company. |
| Grade | The classification system used to describe raw Merino. |
| Grease wool | Wool as it is shorn from the sheep, before any processing. |
| Grease | A fatty, pale yellow wax that coats raw Merino fibre and yields lanolin. |
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H | |
| Handle | The actual feel of Merino. |
| Handspun | Yarns which are spun by hand using a spinning wheel or electric spinner. |
| Harris Tweed | Traditional woollen tweed, hand woven in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. Used for coats and jackets. |
| Heat of combustion | The heat evolved when a definite quantity of a substance is completely oxidized (burned). |
| Heat of sorption | Heat energy released when Merino absorbs water vapour from the atmosphere. |
| HT | High temperature. |
| Hydro-entangled Merino | An innovation in non-woven technology in which carded wool is passed through high-pressure water jets to interface and bind the fibres. |
| Hydroextraction | The application of mechanical force, or centrifugal force, or suction, to remove liquid water from fabrics. |
| Hydrophobic | Tending to repel and not absorb water. |
| Hygroscopic | Readily absorbs moisture from the atmosphere. |
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I-J-K | |
| Indirect printing | The pattern is not produced by the direct application of colour, but in other ways such as resist and discharge styles. |
| Intelligent textiles | See "Smart textiles" |
| Ion | A group of atoms (i.e. molecule) that carries a net positive or negative charge. |
| Jersey | A soft, plain-knitted fabric used for clothing. One side has vertical ribs and the other has horizontal ribs. Jersey is very elastic, crease-resistant and wears and washes well. |
| Jet dyeing machine | A machine for dyeing fabric in rope form in which the fabric is carried through a narrow throat by dye liquor circulated at high velocity. |
| Jig | A machine in which fabric in open width is transferred repeatedly back and forth from one roller to another; and passes each time through a relatively small volume of dyebath liquor. |
| Jigger | An alternative term for a jig. |
| Keratin | A protein substance which is the chief component of Merino fibre. |
| Knitting | A method of constructing fabric by interlocking a series of loops of one or more yarns. |
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L | |
| Lambswool | The first clip of wool shorn from lambs up to eight months old. The wool is soft, slippery and resilient and used for fine grade fabrics. |
| Lanolin | Also known as wool grease; this substance is a secretion from the sebaceous glands of the sheep. |
| Levelness | The degree of uniformity of dyeing throughout a batch. |
| Light Wool | Quality endorsement logo denoting super lightweight, transeasonal wool suitable for the sheerest knitted and tailored clothing. Licensed by The Woolmark Company. |
| Limiting Oxygen Index(LOI) | The minimum concentration of oxygen in a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen that will just support combustion of a material under specified test conditions. The LOI for Merino is 25.2% which means it requires a higher level of oxygen than exists in the atmosphere. |
| Liquor-goods ratio | The ratio of liquor to goods (on the basis of the respective masses) in a dyeing process. |
| Lock | A small, approximately finger-size bit of wool that tends to stay together when shorn from the sheep. |
| Loden | Coarse, felted woollen fabric that's durable and water-repellent. Used for coats and jackets. |
| London Shrinkage | A process in which the wool fabric is dampened with water and allowed to relax for 1-2 days. |
| Loom | A device or machine for weaving cloth. |
| Lustre | The light reflective quality of Merino fibre exhibited in shine and gloss. |
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M | |
| Machine Washable Wool | Quality endorsement logo denoting specially treated, machine-washable wool knitwear garments. Licensed by The Woolmark Company. |
| Mean Fibre Diameter | The average diameter (thickness) of a group of fibres from an animal. |
| Melt bonding fibre | A synthetic fibre (polyester, polyamide) which melts at a lower than normal temperature; used to provide fibre stability in carpet yarns and nonwoven structures. |
| Melton | A heavyweight woollen cloth used for overcoats and hunting jackets. |
| Mending | The insertion of yarn into a woven fabric where the warp or weft is missing and also the correction of other faults by means of needlework. |
| Merino Extrafine | Quality endorsement logo denoting superfine Merino suitable for both knitwear and tailored clothing. Licensed by The Woolmark Company. |
| Merino | A superfine wool that comes from the Merino strains of sheep. |
| Microencapsulation | A process by which tiny parcels of a gas, liquid, or solid active ingredient are packaged within a second material for the purpose of shielding the active ingredient from the surrounding environment. |
| Micron | A unit of measurement used in assessing the diameter of a fibre which equals one millionth of a metre. |
| Migration | Dye molecules moving to other sites to achieve a more level dyeing. |
| Milling | The application of mechanical action to cause the required amount of fibre migration in wool fabrics. |
| Mousseline | Fine, semi-opaque fabric. |
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N | |
| Nap | A soft or fuzzy surface on fabric. |
| Napping | An alternative term for raising. |
| Natural fibre | Fibre obtained from animal, vegetable or mineral sources, as opposed to those made from chemicals. |
| Natural Stretch | Quality endorsement logo denoting pure new wool with enhanced natural stretch. Licensed by The Woolmark Company. |
| Nonwoven | A fabric or other textile structure from fibres which has been produced without having to go through the conventional spinning and weaving (or knitting or tufting) route. |
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O-P-Q | |
| Optim | A fibre technology process developed by The Woolmark Company and CSIRO that makes Merino fibres finer for use in lightweight fabrics and trans-seasonal garments. Rebranded as Arcana. |
| Overflow jet dyeing machine | A general term for soft-flow jet and partial immersion jet dyeing machines. Their action is characterised by the textile material in rope form being lifted briefly from the dyebath, by a small diameter winch or reel, into an overflow reservoir and then carried along a transportation tube by means of a relatively gentle flow of dye liquor. |
| Pad/Batch | A process in which the dye liquor is applied to the fabric by padding after which the fabric is stored (batched) to allow time for fixation of the dyestuffs. |
| Pad/Steam | A process in which the dye liquor is applied to the fabric by padding after which the fabric is steamed to achieve fixation of the dyestuffs. |
| Padding mangle | A form of mangle for the impregnation of textiles in open width in which the textile is passed through one or more nips. |
| Peppin | A breed of sheep developed by breeders George Peppin and Thomas Shaw in the late 1850s that not constitutes 70% of the Australian Merino flock. |
| Perching | An inspection process used to identify faults in the finished fabric. |
| pH | A measure of the hydrogen ion concentration in an aqueous solution. If the hydrogen ion concentration is high (i.e., acid conditions) pH ? 1; if the hydrogen ion concentration is low (i.e., pH ? 14); a neutral solution such as pure water has pH 7. |
| Ply | To twist together two or more single yarns to form another yarn or cord. One of any number of single yarns twisted together to form a yarn. |
| Polar fleece | A synthetic fleece fabric designed for thermal insulation in clothing, while being soft and light. Woolfleece, a blend of Merino and synthetic, has been shown to provide superior insulation and breathability to the all-synthetic Polar Fleece. |
| Polar molecule | A molecule which has positive and negative charges on opposite sides (or at opposite ends). |
| Pressing | The application of force to improve the appearance and lustre of wool fabrics. |
| Printing paste | A thickened medium containing the dye (colour) and auxiliaries. |
| Pulled wool | Wool removed from the skins of slaughtered sheep. |
| Pure Merino Wool | Quality endorsement logo denoting a premium quality Merino product. Licensed by The Woolmark Company. |
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R | |
| Raising | A mechanical process used to create a pile on the fabric surface. |
| Raw wool | Grease wool in natural state before scouring. |
| Reel | An alternative term for winch. |
| Regain | The weight of water able to be absorbed by a fibre as a percentage of its dry weight. |
| Resilience | A fibre’s ability to spring back to its original state after being crushed or wrinkled. Sometimes referred to as memory. |
| Resist printing | The design is printed onto a white or dyed substrate using a substance that will prevent dye uptake in subsequent dyeing. |
| Roller printing | The design is applied using etched or engraved rollers. |
| Rope | Fabric that has been drawn into the form of a rope. |
| Rope marks | Long crease marks in dyed or finished goods running approximately in the warp direction. They are caused by wet processing in rope form. |
| Rotary screen | A seamless cylindrical screen constructed from a metal mesh. |
| Running marks | An alternative term for rope marks. |
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S | |
| Saponification | The reaction between fats and oils with KOH or NaOH to produce soap. |
| Scales | Make up the outer layer of Merino fibre. They are hard, flattened and do not fit together evenly. The exposed edges point towards the tip of the fibre and give rise to felting. |
| Scouring | Cleaning raw Merino and removing such impurities as dirt, sweat, and grease by washing. |
| Scutching | A process used to convert fabric in rope form to fabric in open width. |
| Self-twist spinning | A method of spinning that overcomes speed limitations in conventional ring spinning systems. |
| Sensory Perception™ | A micro-encapsulation delivery system that creates intelligent textiles which release fragrances or active ingredients, such as aloe vera or vitamin E, over a period of time. |
| Serge | A twilled fabric of worsted or worsted and wool, often used for suits. |
| Shearing | Removing the fleece from a sheep with electric or hand shears. |
| Shetland | Traditionally, a fine yarn made from the wool of sheep raised in the Shetland Islands. Now refers to woollen yarns and fabrics with similar characteristics i.e. warm and light. Also, a garment, especially a sweater, made of this yarn. |
| Shrink resistance | A wool fibre has its surface smoothed so that inter-fibre friction, which is responsible for shrinkage, is greatly reduced. |
| Shrinkage | A reduction in length or width of a material caused by certain treatments, especially washing. |
| Shrinkproofing | The application of chemical and/or polymer treatments to wool fabrics to prevent felting shrinkage. |
| Singeing | The use of a high temperature flame to remove surface fibres from wool fabrics. |
| SiroCLEAR | An optical sensing method that allows yarns to be examined for contaminants as they are wound from a bobbin onto a cone at speeds up to 1600 m/min. It results in finer yarns and reduces fabric repair costs by 90%. |
| Sirofil | A spinning technology that wraps a worsted yarn around a polyester core to produce worsted suits which don’t distort at the knees and the elbows. |
| SiroSPUN™ | A method of worsted spinning developed by the CSIRO that combines spinning and doubling in the one operation, and is especially suited to lightweight trans-seasonal fabrics. |
| Skirting | Removing the stained, unusable, or undesirable portions of a fleece. |
| Smart textiles | Textiles that are able to sense stimuli from the environment, react to them and adapt to them by a range of functionalities in the textile structure. The stimulus as well as the response can have an electrical, thermal, chemical, mechanical, magnetic or other origin. |
| SOLOSPUN™ | An alternative to two-fold yarn, SiroSPUN™ or Sizing that allows a coarser micron merino to be used and offers significant benefits in productivity and return on investment. |
| Solution | A liquid containing molecules dispersed throughout it that were originally in the solid or gaseous state |
| Sorption | The process of taking up and holding moisture. |
| Sorting | Separating a whole fleece into parts. |
| Spinning frame (ring) | A set of rotating spindles, a yarn is guided onto each by a small clip (traveller) which moves at high speed around metal ring. |
| Spinning | The process of making yarn from fibre. |
| Sportwool™ | A performance sports fabric made from an inner layer of extra-fine Merino and an outer face of tough, easy-care, synthetic fibre. |
| Squeegee | A rubber or metal blade used to force printing paste through the screen mesh. |
| Staple | A lock or tuft of wool. |
| Steaming | The application of steam (heat and moisture) to fix dyes to the substrate. |
| Substrate | The undyed material (fibres, yarn, sliver, top, fabric, carpet) submitted to a dyeing process. |
| Super S | International rating system to identify fine Merino fabrics from Super 100's through to Super 210's. The higher the figure, the finer the fibre used. |
| Synthetic | A "man-made" fabric produced from a chemical compound. |
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T | |
| Tartan | Woollen or worsted fabric with a plaid design. Originates from Scotland. |
| Tensile Strength | The amount of pulling a fibre can withstand before it stretches and breaks. |
| Texture | The surface effect of cloth or fibre as dull, lustrous, woolly, stiff, soft, fine, coarse, open or closely woven. Also known as handle or feel. |
| Thermosplicer | Uses heat to create splices which are less visible and more abrasion-resistant. |
| Top | A strand of longer fibres that have been straightened, made parallel and separated from the shorter fibres by combing. |
| Total Easy Care Wool | Quality endorsement logo denoting specially treated, machine-washable wool knitwear that can be tumble dried without shrinking. Licensed by The Woolmark Company. |
| Total Fleece Weight | The weight of the entire raw fleece. |
| Tweed | A coarse, rugged woollen fabric made in various twill weaves. Used for suits and coats. |
| Tweeds | Clothing made of tweed fabric. |
| Twill | A fabric with diagonal parallel ribs. Also, the weave used to produce such a fabric. |
| Twist | The number of turns about its axis per unit of length observed in a yarn or other textile strand. It is usually indicated as turns per inch or tpi. |
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U-V-W | |
| Washing off | The removal of unfixed dyes and print paste components from the substrate. |
| Weavable singles yarn | A singles yarn that can be successfully woven with sizing or other treatments being necessary. |
| Weaving | Making cloth by interlacing yarns at right angles according to a predetermined pattern. |
| Wicking | Movement of moisture within a fabric by capillary action. |
| Winch | A dyeing machine consisting of a dye vessel fitted with a driven winch (usually above the liquor level) which rotates and draws a length of fabric, normally joined end to end, through the liquor. |
| Wool Blend | Quality endorsement logo denoting high-tech wool blend products with 30-49% new wool. Licensed by The Woolmark Company. |
| Wool Cotton | Quality endorsement logo denoting a blend of wool and cotton. Licensed by The Woolmark Company. |
| Wool gauze | Lightweight opaque wool fabric suitable for wear all year. |
| Wool Linen | Quality endorsement logo denoting a blend of wool and linen. Licensed by The Woolmark Company. |
| Wool plus Lycra | Quality endorsement logo denoting a blend of new wool and Lycra. Licensed by The Woolmark Company. |
| Wool | The fibres covering the skin of a sheep, goat, alpaca, lama |
| WoolFleece™ | Price-competitive blend of 22 micron Merino and polyester. Provides natural comfort and high performance for active wear. |
| Woollen | Bulky and uneven yarn made from shorter wool fibres, and the fabric made from such yarns. Suitable for jumpers and tweeds. |
| Woolmark Blend | Quality endorsement logo denoting wool blend products with a minimum of 50% new wool. Licensed by The Woolmark Company. |
| Woolmark | Quality endorsement logo denoting 100% pure new wool products. Licensed by The Woolmark Company. |
| Woolscience™ | Innovative Merino fabric suitable for military, industrial, medical, work wear, bedding, transport and equestrian uses. |
| Worsted | Firm-textured, compactly twisted woollen yarn made from long fibres, and the fabric made from such yarn. Suitable for dresses and suits. |
| Woven | Fabrics produced by interlacing yarns. |
| Wovens | Garments made from woven fabrics. |
| Wrinkle recovery | Ability of a fabric to bounce back after it has been twisted, wrinkled, or distorted in any way. |
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X-Y-Z | |
| Yarn | A continuous strand of fibres twisted or otherwise held together. |
| Yield | The amount of clean wool that is derived from grease wool after scouring, expressed as a percentage. |
| Zibeline | A thick lustrous soft Merino fabric with a long shaggy nap. Named after the zibeline, a small black animal of the sable family, found in Siberia. |