Wool top
Wool top refers to a continuous, untwisted strand of wool fibers produced during the wool combing process. It is a key intermediate product in the manufacturing of woolen and worsted yarns. Unlike wool roving, which is a looser and less organized strand, wool top exhibits a high degree of fiber alignment and parallelism.
The production of wool top involves several stages:
- Scouring: Raw wool is cleaned to remove impurities such as dirt, grease, and vegetable matter.
- Carding: The scoured wool is passed through a carding machine to disentangle the fibers and form a web.
- Combing: The carded wool is then subjected to combing, which further aligns the fibers, removes short fibers (noils), and creates a smoother, more even strand.
- Gilling: Gilling is a process that blends and aligns the fibers even further, improving the overall uniformity of the top.
The resulting wool top is characterized by its long staple length, high fiber parallelism, and absence of short fibers. These qualities make it ideal for spinning into fine, smooth yarns used in the production of high-quality fabrics and garments. Wool top is typically packaged in large bumps or balls for ease of handling and transportation to spinning mills. The quality of the wool top directly impacts the quality and characteristics of the yarn and fabric produced from it. Different breeds of sheep produce wool with varying fiber diameters and staple lengths, influencing the properties of the resulting wool top.