Glossary

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"Improved" Sheep -  fleece shedding genes have been suppressed - have a white coat, are even in staple type from tip to tail, and fleece grows continuously
Aran Jumper -  (see also, "gansey") a sweater that is hand spun and knitted in the Aran Islands, Ireland.
Bardoli Charkha -  traditional spinning wheel used to create khadi.
Carbonised wool -  Wool that has been treated with sulphuric acid to remove vegetable matter from scoured wool.
Carded wool -  Wool that has subjected to carding, whereby fibres are opened out and separated to give a web of fibres, crossed and recrossed.
Cashmere -  fiber from several different varieties of goats.
Charkha -  word used in India for a spinning wheel
Combed wool -  Wool that has subjected to combing, whereby fibres are made to lie parallel to one another in a rope or combed top.
Cottage Industry -  an industry whose labor force consists of family units or individuals working at home with their own equipment
Croft -  a small rented farm, especially one in Scotland, comprising a plot of arable land attached to a house and with a right of pasturage held in common with other such farms
Crofter's Agency of Edinburgh -  marketed crofters tweed in the south
Flange -  a projecting flat rim, collar, or rib on an object, serving to strengthen or attach or (on a wheel) to maintain position on a rail.
Galway Sheep -  breed of sheep whose wool is used for the knitting of Aran jumpers.
Ginning -  separating seeds from raw cotton.
Godown -  Term used in India for a warehouse
Greasy wool -  Raw wool straight from the sheep’s back and containing 20-60% extraneous matter, e.g., dirt, natural grease, dried perspiration and vegetable matter.
Hacendados -  large estate owners in Ecuador.
Handspindle -  Any implement that can be rotated or twisted by hand in order to twist fiber into string.
Harris Tweed -  tweed hand spun and woven in the Hebrides, Scotland
HWE -  High Wage Economy - economic model that Robert Allen hypothesizes led to the innovation of the Industrial Revolution.
Hygroscopic -  tending to absorb moisture from the air
Khadi -  any material that is hand spun and hand woven in India.
Lanolin -  a fatty substance found naturally on sheep's wool. It is extracted as a yellowish viscous mixture of esters and used as a base for ointments.
Lanolin -  Wax secreted by the sebaceous glands of wool-bearing animals.
Linen -  Textiles created from flax fibers.
Medullated -  having a hollow core (fiber).
Modhia -  Wooden device to hold spindle in position on the Bardoli Charkha.
Mohair -  fiber from angora goats.
Mountain Blackface Sheep -  sheep breed whose wool is used in Ireland for weaving of carpets.
Niche Animals -  adapt to climate and environment.
Orb Trademark -  means a garment is made entirely by hand.
Otavaleños -  indigenous people of the Ecuadorian Andes
Paracas -  society who inhabited Peruvian Andes from 700BCE to 1100BCE
Perceived Scarcity -  marketing tactic that encourages consumers to buy products on sight due to the fast turn over of products.
Quichua -  indigenous language of people of Otavalo.
Roving -  Wool that has been cleaned and carded.
RPM -  revolutions per minute.
Scoured wool -  Wool that has been cleaned by scouring process, which removes all extraneous matter from greasy wool except for vegetable matter.
Scutching -  Separates the impurities from the raw material, such as the seeds from raw cotton or the straw and woody stem from flax fibers.
Skirting -  Removing edges of fleece
Spinning Wheel -  mechanized way of turning a spindle.
Swadeshi -  a movement in India that encouraged the people of Indian to purchase goods made in India only.
Swaraj -  Indian self-rule, freedom from British governance.
Textile chain -  the steps that fiber undergoes in order to become a piece of fabric or a garment.
Tow -  Short flax fibers.
Woolen fabric -  Fabric manufactured from woolen yarn.
Woolen garments -  Garments manufactured from woolen yarns and fabrics.
Woollen yarn -  Yarn that has been carded, condensed and spun on woollen machinery from carded wool.
Worsted fabric -  Fabric manufactured from worsted yarn.
Worsted garments -  Garments manufactured from worsted yarns and fabrics.
Worsted yarn -  Yarn in which the fibres are reasonably parallel and that is spun from combed wool.