The term ‘staple length’ refers to the measurement in cm or inches of a cluster of natural fibres.

The word ‘tweed’ can be used to mean different things depending on whether one is talking about cloth, yarn, weave structure, and provenance. The word is believed to come from the Scottish word ‘tweel’ or ‘twill’, a common weave pattern. Generally, tweed refers to a type of wool cloth that is loosely woven. A tweed yarn is one that is used to weave a tweed cloth. There is Harris Tweed, a tweed from yarn that is made in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. And there is Donegal Tweed, a tweed made from yarn that was traditionally dyed and spun for personal use in the South West region of County Donegal, Ireland in the early 1800s. The Donegal tweed was known for its flecked look derived from blending wool with nepps, small bits of tangled wool fibres. The Fibre Co.’sArranmore Lightyarn is a traditional woollen-spun Donegal tweed yarn made in a mill that traces its roots to the early days of producing Donegal yarns on an industrial scale in the early 1900s.

When referring to yarns for hand knitting, we use the term ‘woollen-spun’ to describe a type of spinning whereby the various fibres in different lengths overlap each other in a multi-directional format, which creates pockets of air in-between the fibres. A woollen-spun yarn has a very soft feel.

The word ‘worsted’ has different meanings when it comes to textiles depending on the context. It can refer to the spinning process, the thickness of yarn and a certain type of fabric.

• When the term ‘worsted spun’ is used, it refers to a process of spinning whereby the fibres are aligned parallel to one another and combed to remove the short fibres prior to spinning.
• A ‘worsted weight’ yarn is one that will generally knit to a tension of 18-20 stitches over 10 cm (4 in) in stocking stitch using 4–5mm (US 6–8) needles.
• A ‘worsted fabric’ is one that is woven from tightly twisted ‘worsted spun’ yarns to create a durable fabric that is lighter in weight yet still provides strength and warmth. Often, worsted fabrics are used in men’s suiting and outerwear. The word ‘worsted’ itself comes from the name of a village located in the English county of Norfolk.

Easy-wash is a trademarked name that refers to a process used to make the wool and alpaca fibres in our sock yarnAmblemachine washable without shrinking. The Easy-wash method is chlorine-free and AOX-free, making it the best environmental choice for producing machine washable wool. The wool and alpaca fibres are treated with eco-friendly oxidants to remove the scales that ordinarily cause wool and alpaca to shrink when washed by machine. The oxidants used are sourced in Germany and are certified under the REACH, Oeko-tex and ZDCH (Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemical) standards. This means that the Easy-wash treatment does not create hazardous chemicals, which is not the case with most machine washable wools in today’s market. Most other machine washable wool yarns are made with a chlorine treatment process that produces high levels of toxic Adsorbable Organohalogens, known as AOX. While yarns produced in this manner are not known to be toxic to the user, AOX used in the treatment end up in wastewater and have a detrimental impact on tributaries, wildlife, and fauna.