The Wisewool™ glossary decodes wool terms in plain English so manufacturers, makers, buyers and curious minds can choose, care for and confidently use wool. This list of terms is organised alphabetically.

Bales

Bales are compressed packs of wool prepared for sale and shipment. New Zealand packaging standards specify greasy bales between 100 and 200 kilograms, with many pressed near 180 kilograms for handling efficiency.

Bale Opener

A bale opener is a handheld steel tool used to hinge open wool bale clips. Typically shaped like a blunt hook, it allows operators to safely open compacted wool bales.

Batting

Wool batting is where sheets of carded wool are needle-punched in layers for use in upholstery, bedding, and mattresses, where loft, breathability, and comfort are valued. Wisewool™, WiseLayer™ is an example of batting.

Blending

The art of mixing two or more different wool batches or lines to create a uniform, consistent input for scouring, carding.

Carding

Mechanical alignment of fibres using toothed rollers to produce a uniform web or sliver for downstream processes such as spinning or nonwovens. In batting, the wool is first carded and then layered before being needle-punched. In knops, the wool is carded in the reverse direction.

Classing

Sorting wool into lines or groups of similar quality based on length, strength, colour, and micron

Clean yield

Percentage of usable fibre after removing grease, dirt, and vegetable matter through the scouring process.

Colour

A measure of brightness and yellowness that affects dyeing. In New Zealand, colour measurement on greasy auction lots is widely used to inform trading.

Wool colour is measured using two values: Y for brightness and Z for yellowness.

A high Y value means the wool is bright and clean, while a low Z value means it has little to no yellow tint. These measurements are taken with a special light-reflecting machine to help assess the wool’s quality and suitability for different uses.

Core Sampling

A coring tool is used to take a uniform sample through the bale for laboratory testing of key metrics such as micron, staple length, strength, and yield.

Crimp

The natural, regular waviness along a wool fibre. It gives the fleece elasticity, bulk and resilience

Crutching

The removal of wool from around the tail, hindquarters, and sometimes the belly of a sheep to maintain hygiene, reduce flystrike risk, and make shearing easier. Often done before lambing or during warm months.

Dags

Lumps of soiled, matted wool around the hindquarters that are crutched or trimmed for hygiene and to help prevent flystrike.

Dipping

Applying a liquid or spray to control external parasites such as lice.

Docking

Removing a lamb’s tail for hygiene and flystrike prevention, performed under animal welfare guidance and undertaken to ensure the animal’s long-term health

Dosing

Administering liquid drench to control internal parasites and maintain flock condition. NZFAP have strict withholding periods in place.

Double Scouring

Two-stage scouring for enhanced cleanliness, where specifications require a very low residual grease and dirt level.

Fadge

A temporary wool bale, used to hold wool before pressing.

Fences

Wire and wooden battened barriers that contain mobs of sheep in one area, so rotational grazing can be done to provide the best nutritional value to the sheep.

Fibre

An individual strand of wool that, together with others, forms the staple and ultimately the yarn or web.

Fleece

Sheep fleece is the full coat of wool shorn from a sheep in a single piece. It’s a natural bundle of protein fibres (wool) that grows from the sheep’s skin and, when freshly shorn, contains natural oils (lanolin), dirt, vegetable matter and is commonly called greasy fleece.

Fleece-o’s

Colloquial woolshed term for wool classers or assistants focused on fleece preparation.

Grab Sample

A representative hand sample is often taken for visual inspection, alongside core tests for parameters like length after carding.

Grading

Sorting wool into consistent lines based on measured qualities so that buyers know exactly what is in each line. Often used in tandem with classing in the woolshed.

Greasy Wool

Wool, as it is shorn from the sheep, is unwashed and still contains lanolin and natural impurities. Many auction lots in New Zealand are offered in this form.

GSM

Grams Per Square Metre is the measurement of the weight and density of the wool batting, indicating its thickness and quality.

HD Bales

High-density bales produced by modern wool presses to optimise storage and freight of scoured wool - normally pressed to weigh around 400kgs.

HL

High Loft, Low Density, describes a thick, airy batting with high volume but light weight.

Hogget wool

Wool shorn from sheep around 12–18 months old; longer and stronger than lambs wool.

IWTO

The International Wool Textile Organisation is a global body that establishes testing standards, specifications, and trading rules for wool, ensuring consistency, transparency, and fairness in the international market.

Knops

A wool knop is a small, tightly entangled, springy ball of wool fibre, often used as a natural filling in cushions, pillows, upholstery, and soft toys.

Lanolin

A natural wool wax that protects the fleece. It is removed during scouring and is widely used in skincare.

Lines

Groups of wool bales of similar quality, prepared for sale.

LL

LL or Low Loft, High Density, describes a thinner, compact material with a firm, tightly packed structure.

1000 **GSM** Low Loft Wisewool™, **WiseLayer™** **Batting**

Lot (or Line, Sale Lot)

A catalogued group of similar bales prepared and sold together at auction or by private treaty. The lot system helps match consistent wool to specific mill requirements and is essential for traceability.

Micron

A micrometre, one millionth of a metre. In wool, it expresses average fibre diameter and strongly influences end use and handle. Lower microns are finer, higher microns are stronger.

Mid-point break

Weak section in the staple that causes wool to break under stress. This occurs when a sheep comes under stress, resulting in a break in the fibre.

Needle Punching

A nonwoven method where barbed needles repeatedly pass through the web of fine layers of wool to entangle fibres into a strong, coherent blanket without weaving or knitting.

New Zealand Farm Assurance Programme (NZFAP)

The national assurance programme that verifies on-farm practices for origin, animal welfare, food safety, and traceability across New Zealand’s red meat and wool sectors. Certification signals independently checked good practice.

NZWTA (New Zealand Wool Testing Authority)

New Zealand’s independent wool testing organisation provides objective measurement of micron, length, strength, yield, and colour for both domestic and export sales. Results underpin auction catalogues and direct trade.

Opening

The first mechanical stage, after scouring or blending, is where compacted fibre is loosened and evenly fed to the processing line for consistent processing.

Paddock

A fenced section of pasture where sheep graze and are rotated for pasture health.

Pasture

A piece of land covered with grass or other plants where animals, such as sheep, cows, or horses, can graze and feed.

Presser

The Presser is the person operating the wool press, responsible for bale integrity, weights, and tally records.

Romney wool

The dominant strong wool breed in NZ; produces bulk, durable wool. Perendale and Coopworth are other common strong wool breeds in NZ

Rousies (Rouseabouts)

Wool handlers who pick up fleeces, remove dags and stains, and keep the board tidy around the shearer under the direction of the wool classer.

SATRA

An independent research and testing organisation that, among other services, assesses textile performance, durability, and safety. In the wool sector, it provides quality verification for end-use applications such as upholstery and bedding.

Scouring

Industrial washing that removes grease, dirt, and vegetable matter from greasy wool to produce clean fibre ready for processing.

Second Shear

A shorter, finer regrowth is taken when sheep are shorn twice a year. This provides higher-quality wool and promotes better animal health.

Shearers

Professionals trained to remove the fleece of wool from a sheep.

Shearing

The annual removal of a fleece by a trained shearer using electric handpieces is done to a calm handling standard that minimises stress to the animal and ensures animal health.

Skirtings

Wool pieces are removed from the edges of the fleece; generally, these are lower in quality.

Staple

A natural lock or tuft of fibres that holds together through crimp and cohesion.

Staple Length

The average length of fibres in a staple, recorded in millimetres. Longer, more uniform staples generally process more efficiently. Definitions and test principles are set out in IWTO standards.

Staple Strength

The force required to break a staple, reported in newtons per kilotex. Higher strength staples better withstand processing and reduce breakage. A higher staple strength indicates a higher quality.

Strong Wool

Strong wool is wool with a larger average fibre diameter, typically at or above the upper 20s microns, often quoted around 30 microns or more in New Zealand contexts. Strong wool is resilient and well-suited to robust textiles such as upholstery, crafts and durable bedding.

Suint

The dried sweat salts are found in greasy wool.

The Board

The shearing floor in a woolshed where sheep are shorn.

Topmaking

Process of combing wool into long, parallel fibres for spinning

VM (Vegetable Matter)

Seeds, burrs, and other plant debris in the fleece that reduce clean yield and may affect processing.

Wadding

Wadding is another name for batting. WiseLayer™ is called batting or wadding in some countries.

WiseFill™

A 100% pure New Zealand wool loose-fill product from Wisewool™. Small, soft wool knops (tiny round clusters of wool) are engineered and designed as a natural alternative to synthetic fills.

WiseLayer™

Engineered wool batting from Wisewool™ used as a sustainable replacement for synthetic waddings.

Wool clip

The total amount of wool shorn from a flock in a season.

Wool store

A facility where wool is received, tested, classed, and prepared for sale or export.

Worsted

A spinning process that produces smooth, strong yarn from longer fibres.

Wool Classers

Wool Classers are qualified specialists who prepare and separate the clip into sale lines based on micron, length, strength, colour, and style, ensuring correct labelling and documentation. In New Zealand, classers’ are supported by the NZ Wool Classers Association.

Wool Press

A mechanical or hydraulic press that compacts wool into bales. A wool press is used at multiple stages of wool processing, from the woolshed through to post-scouring.

Woolshed

The building where sheep are shorn and the wool is first classed.

Yield

The proportion of clean fibre remaining after grease, dirt, and vegetable matter are removed, reported on recognised bases under IWTO methods.

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Wisewool™ Glossary