PROCESS
HOW WE OPERATE
CARDING
The purpose and objectives of carding are to
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disentangle these clumps, by separating them into individual fibers
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align the fibers parallel to each other
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remove short fibers
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further blend the fibers by intermixing
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remove as much of any remaining contaminants, such as vegetable matter as well as dirt and dust
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condense the web into a continuous length of fiber known as a card sliver
GILLING
Wool passes through a special gilling machine which has an auto-leveling device, which continuously detects the linear weight of the slivers being fed into the machine, and speeds up or slows down the machine accordingly. For example, if the slivers entering the machine are on the heavy side then the machine will speed up and vice versa. The net result is that the sliver emerging from the machine has a uniform linear weight (grams per meter) along its entire length.
SCOURING
Wool which has been shorn is known as greasy wool, because not only does it contain grease, the basis of which is lanolin, it contains other contaminants including suint, dirt, dust, and sand. Factors such as the terrain and environment upon which the sheep graze can affect the number of contaminants found in fleece. Typically the total amount of contaminants present in greasy wool is around 35% to 40% of the total fleece weight.
COMBING
To remove short fibres, known as noils, which if allowed to remain would result both in lower efficiency during the subsequent spinning operation, inferior appearance (less smooth fabrics) and wear performance (pilling)in the final articles of clothing
Removal of neps (very small clusters of fibres), most of which are formed during the carding operation.
SPINNING
During worsted spinning the roving is first drafted, in the drafting zone on the spinning machine, before entering the twisting zone where a predetermined amount of twist is inserted to produce a singles (1xply) yarn.
The yarn is then wound on a winding machine which is fitted with a clearing device, detecting and removing any faults such as thick and thin places, neps and slubs.
WEAVING
Woven fabric is produced on a loom, whether it be a simple hand loom or a sophisticated machine loom like ours. The basic operating principles are the same; Adjacent warp yarns are threaded through alternate healds so that the weft thread passes over or under alternate warp threads in various weaves.
