The desire to produce high quality yarn and to support local agriculture inspired three Vermont entrepreneurs to form The Green Mountain Spinnery in Putney. Woolen yarn is spun from short fibers that are usually carded rather than combed. A carder is a machine that uses brushes to smooth, straighten and blend washed wool fibers in preparation for spinning. 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.