• Worsted: The fibres in a worsted spun yarn are combed to be parallel and uniform before spinning whereas the fiber for woolen-spun yarns are more casually arranged. Worsted spun yarns are smoother and have better stitch definition, being stronger and more durable.

  • Pilling: Also referred to as a fuzz/lint ball, is a small formation of fibres that assemble on fabric as a result of abrasion on the face's surface. Oftentimes misconstrued, this wear and tear can lead one to believe the fabric is defective although this is not the case.

Bleaching:

Mercerising:

Scouring:

Hosiery terms:

  • Web shop: This where rolls of nylon were folded after dying.

  • Trimming: Trimming is another name for boarding. "....when I applied for a job years later at a firm in Sutton, I asked if there were any trimming vacancies. They said yes and stuck me on a bench cutting cotton tags from the top of the socks after they had been dyed. Each coloured cotton to represent a size. They called what I wanted to do, boarding. I stuck that job 30 minutes." Ted Marriott

  • Hosiery Trimming term "was used at other firms for cutting coloured thread from the tops of dyed socks after dye process. Different colours for different sizes. My wife first started Weldon's on this job and there it was called 'Tacking'. " Ted Marriott

  • Trim Shop: Leggers carry out hosiery trimming operation (further explanation needed ... trimming of unfinished threads )

Dyeing & Finishing terms:

  • Greige fabric (pronounced “grey” fabric): Raw, unprocessed and unfinished woven fabric taken directly from a loom. Greige goods are the direct product of weaving when the fabric is still in its natural state and has yet to be bleached, dyed, coated or otherwise finished.

  • Slitting: To open tube fabric according to specific needle mark, and to prepare the fabric for the stentering process.

  • Stentering: Continuous drying is done in a stenter frame by convection. Blowers impinge hot air on both the top and bottom of fabric as the fabric passes through the chamber of the machine. Its frames are equipped with an endless chain on each side to grip the fabric by both selvages as it enters chamber.

  • Finishing & Compactoring: Compactor Machine controls: Grams per Square Meter (GSM), Shrinkage, Twisting control, Increases smoothness of fabric, and heat setting of the fabric.