K

Kemp: Coarse, hairlike, medulated fibers found in wool. These fibers are brittle, short, and weak and do not accept dyes well.

Keratin: The protein substance which makes up wool fibers.

Kick Spindle: A type of spindle operated by turning the whorl with the foot. These spindles may also be set on a table and turned by hand.

Knot: A knot of yarn equals 80 yards wound by making 40 trips around a 2 yard niddy noddy.

L

Lambswool: Wool that has been shorn before a lamb is 8 months of age.

Lanolin: Wool fat or grease.

Lea: A count measuring system used for linen yarns. One lea equals 300 yards (275 meters).

Licker-in: The small drum on a drum carder. This refers specifically to the drum that pulls the fibers into the carder.

Line Flax: High quality long flax fibers. These fibers will have been hackled to remove any short or broken fibers. Line flax is most often sold in sticks.

Linen Tester: An inch glass.

Lint: Cotton fibers which have been removed from the seeds.

Llama: A member of the South American camelid family. Often double coated with coarse outer guard hairs and a fine undercoat. The undercoat averages around 27 microns.

Lock: A lock of wool is called a staple.

Loft: In spinning, the word loft applies to the airiness or sponginess of the yarn.

Long Draw: A drafting technique in which the twist is allowed into the drafting zone while the spinner drafts back to thin out the fibers in the draft.

Luster: The way the light reflects off the scales of the fibers. Fibers with small scales reflect less light and appear less lustrous than fibers with larger scales.

M

Maidens: The two uprights mounted on the mother-of-all which are fitted with bearing to hold the bobbin & flyer unit.

Mawata: Silk spinning preparations made by expanding cocoons and stretching them over a frame. Hankies and caps are mawata preparations.]

McMorran Yarn Balance: A small scale used to determine yarn count.

Medulla: The central core structure of some hair fibers, it contains a network of air filled cells.

Micron: One millionth of a meter. Or one thousandth of a millimeter.

Minor’s Head: An accelerating device used on great wheels.

Mohair: The fiber produced by Angora goats.

Mother-of-all: The mother-of all is the part of the spinning wheel that holds the maidens.

Musk Ox: Large, shaggy beasts once thought to be related to oxen and sheep but now found to be more closely related to antelope and goats. These animals have a very fine undercoat and atheir fiber is known as qiviut.

N

Navajo Plying: A method of making a 3-ply chained yarn by pulling loops of yarn while plyng. The method of making the loops is exactly like that of crocheting a chain.

Niddy-Noddy: A tool used to wind skeins of yarn by hand.

Noils: Short fibers which form little “balls” of fiber in carded and combed preparations. These are called “neps” when they occur in cottons.