Obtained from The Worshipful Company of Weavers
| Term | Main definition |
|---|---|
| sheep | Any animal of the ruminant genus ovis. Sometimes horned, especially the widely domesticated species ovis aries, which is reared not only for meat and skin but the wool from which many different types of textiles are made. There are over 50 pure, half and rare breeds of sheep in the United Kingdom. Three main breeds of sheep in the southern hemisphere are reared in large numbers for their wool: merino, polwarth and corriedale. See wool. |
| shepherd\'s check | A check effect, normally using in black and white yarns. The yarns are usually arranged in groups of either 4 white and 4 black, 6 white and 6 black or 8 white and 8 black. Woven in a 2 and 2 twill weave. Similar checks are called dog\'s tooth or hound\'s tooth checks. See glen checks. |
| shibori | |
| shoddy | A woollen cloth made from reprocessed or regenerated wool fibre often obtained from old woollen rags. The process of was developed in Britain in 1806 by two Yorkshiremen, Messrs Law and Parr. By 1832 the term shoddy to mean woollen cloth made from recycled, shredded woollen rags and became the mainstay of the West Yorkshire woollen trade providing warm clothing for the mass market. The shoddy industry has now moved to Italy and northern India. See mungo. |
| shoddy shaker | |
| shot silk | |
| shuttle | |
| silk | The protein filament formed into a cocoon by the larva of the silk moth during the process of sericulture. see Chinese
See also raw silk |
| sisal | A leaf fibre, which is over a metre in length, is extracted from Agave sisalana Perrine. The fibre is hard, strong and pale cream in colour. The fibres are imbedded in the soft tissue of the long, pointed leaf and can be extracted by scraping away the soft tissue. The fibre is used in the manufacture of string, binder twine and rope which are used to make bags, brushes, floorcovering and matting. It resembles henequen (Agave fourcroydes) which is quite often confused as sisal. Originally grown in South America, Agave sisalana was introduced into West and East Africa in the early 1900s. Sometimes referred to as Bahama hemp. |
| size | There are various different sizes, which are usually glutinous in consistency: starch, animal glue size, gelatin size, rice size, linseed oil and chemical sizes such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyacrylic acid. Often size is applied to warps, and sometimes wefts, to lay the hairiness of some yarns and increase their strength. The sizing is done before weaving, and in some cases during warp preparation, to protect the yarns from abrasion on the healds and reed. |
| skein | A continuous length, of no set measurement, of yarn or thread coiled into collapsible coil obtained by winding a definite number of turns on a reel with a set circumference. The circumference of the reel can measure a yard or a metre, 45 inches or 60 inches often depending on the type of textile trade. Often referred to as a hank. |
| sley | The frame, which hangs in front of the shafts on the loom, supports the reed through which the warp ends are threaded in order. The slay is pushed back and forth during he process of weaving, to press the yarn firmly into the fell of the cloth. Sometime referred to as the beater, batten, lay, lathe, going-part or fly-beam. See batten. |
| sliver | A continuous untwisted rope of assembled fibre with a uniform cross-section. A sliver is produced after fibre has been carded. Several slivers can be processed further by putting them through a drawframe to produce a single, well blended and straightened sliver. The sliver usually goes through further processing by drawing out into a roving. The same term is used throughout the woollen, worsted, cotton and man-made fibre industries. |
| soosee | Soosie, soosey, susi or soucis. From a Hindi word given to a coloured stripe silk or silk and cotton fabric loosely handwoven in plain weave. Possibly the source of the proverb which says that a silk purse cannot be made from a sow\'s ear (soosee). |
| space-dyeing |