Worsted

That village, together with North Walsham and Aylsham, formed a manufacturing centre for yarn and cloth in the 12th century, when pasture enclosure and liming rendered the East Anglian soil too rich for the older agrarian sheep breeds.

[1][2] "Worsted" yarns/fabrics are distinct from woollens (though both are made from sheep's wool): the former is considered stronger, finer, smoother, and harder than the latter.

Worsted was made from the long-staple pasture wool from sheep breeds such as Teeswaters, Old Leicester Longwool and Romney Marsh.

In tropical-weight worsteds, the use of tightly spun, straightened wool combined with a looser weave permits air to flow through the fabric.

[5][6] Though both made of wool, worsted and woollens undergo different manufacturing steps resulting in significantly different cloths.

In worsteds, which undergo more spinning steps, the natural crimp of the wool fiber is removed in the process of spinning the yarn while it is retained in woolens,[7] and woollens are produced with short-staple yarns while worsted cloths need longer staple length.

[13] In short draw spinning, spun from combed roving, sliver or wool top, the spinners keep their hands very close to each other.

[13] According to the Craft Yarn Council, the term "Worsted Weight", also known as "Afghan", "Aran", or simply "Medium", refers to a particular weight of yarn that produces a gauge of 16–20 stitches per 4 inches of stockinette, and is best knitted with 4.5mm to 5.5mm needles (US size 7–9).

[15] Before the introduction of automatic machinery, there was little difficulty in attaining a straight fibre, as long wool was always used, and the sliver was made up by hand, using combs.

[16] Many manufactories used one or more preparatory combing machines (called gill-boxes) before further processing, to ensure straight fibres and to distribute the lubricant evenly.