Fiber Jargon According to Michele

So people have mentioned that I'm using a lot of jargon and acronyms.  So I figured I'd try to put together a little cheat sheet.

Angle of Twist: the angle of the twist or the slant of the fibers in the yarn.

Batts: drum carded fiber

Dent: The metal "teeth" in the reed.

DPI: Dents Per Inch, the number of "teeth" per inch.

Draft: The usually a chart that represents the pattern of the weaving or how the loom is threaded.

EPI: Ends Per Inch is the number of warp ends per inch.

Harnesses or Shafts: These hold the heddles and are lifted or lowered depending on the loom to create sheds.  The threading of these determine the pattern of the fabric.

Heddles: it lifts the warp threads and determines the pattern.  Usually long metal wire or strips with holes/eyes in the center that are suspended from the shafts or harnesses.

Merino: A breed of fine wool sheep.  Merino wool is know for it's softness, but not it's luster.  It's probably the most common fiber available commercially to handspinners.  I tend to find it boring to spin.

Micron count: usually refers to the diameter of the fiber. So a 19.5 micron fiber means that the average fiber diameter is 19.5 microns wide.

Reed: the thing that looks like the teeth of a baleen whale on a loom.  It spaces the warp.

Ply: 2-ply is yarn made of 2 strands of string.  Balanced plying means the twist is equalized, and does not contort when relaxed but lies flat.

PPI: Picks Per Inch is the number of weft threads per inch.

Sett: EPI

Silk hankies or Mawata:  They are made from stretching cocoons on a square frame and drying them.

Singles: yarn made up of one strand of string.

Top:  Fiber preparation that is combed.  The fibers are all aligned parallel to each other and tend to be uniform in length.

TPI: Twist Per Inch is the number of revolutions the string makes in an inch.  And no I have attempted to measure this.

YPP: Yards Per Pound the number of yards of yarn per pound of yarn.  It's like yarn density.

Weft: the usually horizontal threads. This gets passed woven through the warp.  In older works this is also called the woof.

Warp: the usually vertical threads on a loom.  It's the framework on which the rest of the textile is woven.

Woolen: in this instance spinning woolen.  A method of spinning that creates a lofty fluffy yarn.

Worsted: in this instance spinning worsted. A very controlled spinning method that squeezes the air out of the yarn to create a tightly twisted, smooth yarn.

WPI: Wraps Per Inch is when you take a piece of yarn and warp it around an inch gauge or ruler and count the number of times you can wrap the yarn around the ruler to cover one inch.

Well that's all I can think of for now.  I'll add more as I think of it.