The carding machine at the Green Mountain Spinnery was built in 1916. Carding woolens results in fibers that are not uniform, don't lay flat and are not parallel to each other. Worsted yarn is made from longer fibers of fleece that usually come from the back of a sheep. It's usually combed, which keeps the length of the fibers intact as well as parallel. This can make for a finer knit.
Worsted yarns are smooth, strong and long-wearing.
They're used for tweeds, suits and jackets. Process Wool must go through a number of processes before it ends up as a skein of yarn. First, plant material called chaff and dirt are removed by hand from the fleece, which is then sorted. It's sent through a picker, which pulls the fibers apart. It then goes to the carder for smoothing and straightening.