Demystifying Online Wool Shopping

Marguerite de Lyon

9/17/2022

Atlantian University Session 111

Class Objective�How do we pick a material online from primary sources?

Outline

• Spinning, Weaving, and Finishing – In SCA Period
• Select Extant Samples
• Modern Considerations
• Modern Names and Swatch n’ Show

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Spinning, Weaving, and Finishing – In SCA Period�

Image: Giovanni Boccaccio, De mulieribus claris (On Famous Women), 1374

Wool Processing Overview

• Fleece are sheared off of sheep
• Fleece are “cleaned”
• Fibers are Carded
• Fibers are divided into Worsted or Woolen Processes
• Fibers are Spun into Yarns
• Fabric is woven from Yarn

Image Source: https://iwto.org/wool-supply-chain/woollen-worsted-processing/

Final Wool Products Start with Cleaning Stage

• Debris are removed from the fleece.
• At this point the wool still has natural oils. If the wool is destined for Worsted yarn, it will be washed. If the wool is meant to be a fulled woolen fabric, the raw wool will not be washed at this stage. The oils will aid in the fulling process later.

Carding and Combing

• Carding – Green Box
• Combing – Yellow Box

Image Source:Tanaquil, De mulieribus claris (Brit. Lib. Royal 20 C V, fol. 75), beginning of the 15th century

Roving to Yarn

Woolen Yarn – Composed of shorter curlier fibers. These shorter fibers will create a fluffy and more easily fulled fabric.

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Worsted Yarn – Composed of longer fibers. The combing process aligns the fibers and produces a finer thread.

Image Source - https://www.ramblersway.com/about/our-products

Loom Types

• Warp Weighted looms began early – Roman, Viking era.

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Image Source - https://celticweaving.wordpress.com/the-warp-weighted-loom/

Image Source - Naamah working at her loom, Egerton Genesis Picture Book (British Library, Egerton 1894, fol. 2v), c. 1360

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Weave Types

Image Source: https://blog.treasurie.com/warp-and-weft/

Fulling and Finishing

• Fulled Woolens were higher valued in 14^th – 16^th centuries.
• These fabrics were felted in hot water.
• Fabrics may be dyed at this stage
• Lengths were stretched
• Shears were used to trim errant fibers.
• Final product, didn’t have a distinguishable weave.

The Rise, Expansion, and Decline of the Italian Wool-Based Cloth Industries, 1100–1730: A Study in International Competition, Transaction Costs, and Comparative Advantage

Select Extant Samples of Textiles

Greenland Finds – 1000-1200 C.E.

• Warp Weight Looms Produced:
• Tabby Weaves
• Repp – Higher Warp thread count than weft
• Panama – Warp and weft threads run in pairs.
• 2/2 Twill – Most weave in Norse Greenland – Diagonal in Appearance
• 2/1 Twill
• Diamon Twills – Both 2/2 and 2/1 Twills
• Striped Weaves
• Check Weaves
• Pile Weaves

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Textiles and Clothing – Examples 14^th Century

• Tabby weaves became more prominent over the course of the 14^th century due to rising use of a counter balanced treadle loom.
• Different colors of warps and wefts were used to make patterns.
• Finishing not able to be determined due to decomposition.

Woolens -> Highest Quality

• The Fulling process gave the finished fabric a smooth surface with water resistant properties.
• These fabrics were more costly and highly sought after.
• Woolens were used for clothes, especially outer layers, and bedding.

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• English wools were considered the highest quality starting in the 14^th century and exported to Europe.

Modern Considerations

• Today Worsted Wool is considered Higher Quality and Finer
• Opposite period sensibilities.
• Mostly due to advancements in modern tooling.

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Jersey Fabrics are possible today with knitting machines. In late 16^th century there were some wool knits.

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Crepe Fabrics are woven with yarns that are permanently texturized by crimping.

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Fun Fact: Garbardine was patented by Thomas Burberry, Founder of Burberry fashion in 1879. It is a warp-faced twill with diagonal rib. This fabric is meant to replicate the smoothness and water-resistant qualities of fulled fabric without those steps.

Modern Names + Examples

AKA Things that Common On Websites but

Woolens - Flannel

• Modern Flannels are generally twills made from carded yarns.
• Generally, have a fuzzy appearance.

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https://www.gentlemansgazette.com/flannel-guide-fall-fabric/

Woolen – Wool Coating

• Often have been fulled to remove weave texture.
• Sometimes called brushed

Woolen – Melton or Boiled

• Just what the name implies, Fulled
• Often in the coating section.

Broadcloth – Worsted Tabby Weave

• Plain weave with worsted yarns.
• Slight texture, variety of weights.

Worsted Wool – Worsted Wool Suiting

• Analog to worsted fabrics that were not fulled in period.

Wool Gaberdine

• Exact weave created out of period, possible in period.

Wool Crepe

• Out of period crimping contributes to overall texture.

Questions?

Bibliography

• Crowfoot, Elisabeth, et al. Textiles and Clothing, c.1150-c.1450. Boydell, 2006.
• “Gabardine.” Wikipedia, 4 Mar. 2022. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gabardine&oldid=1075131561.
• Munro, John H. “Necessities and Luxuries in Early-Modern Textile Consumption: Real Values of Worsted Says and Fine Woollens in the Sixteenth-Century Low Countries.” Working Papers, tecipa-323, University of Toronto, Department of Economics, 21 July 2008. ideas.repec.org, https://ideas.repec.org/p/tor/tecipa/tecipa-323.html.
• Munro, John H. The Rise, Expansion, and Decline of the Italian Wool-Based Cloth Industries, 1100–1730: A Study in International Competition, Transaction Costs, and Comparative Advantage. 2012, p. 164.
• Østergård, Else. Woven into the Earth: Textiles from Norse Greenland. Aarhus University Press, 2004.
• “Qualities of Crepe Wool Fabric.” Our Everyday Life, https://oureverydaylife.com/qualities-of-crepe-wool-fabric-12362124.html. Accessed 16 Sept. 2022.