Top
Also searched as: wool top, combed top, top-making
A prepared strand of combed fibers used in worsted-type processing.
In detail
Top is the prepared, combed strand used in the worsted wool route. Top-making brings together preparation stages that improve alignment and remove short fibers and remaining contaminants. The resulting strand is an intermediate material that will be further processed before becoming yarn.
The science and numbers
Top-making turns scoured wool into a parallel, even strand in several steps: carding opens the fiber into a web and sliver, gill boxes with pinned fallers draft and align it, combing removes short fibers, neps and remaining vegetable matter as noil, and finisher gilling evens the combed sliver before it is wound into balls or bumps. Because top is the point at which wool is most often traded internationally after scouring, it is also a measurement point: mean fiber diameter of combed sliver is measured by airflow under IWTO-6, and the Laserscan (IWTO-12) and OFDA (IWTO-47) methods report the diameter distribution as well as the mean. Those diameters underpin fineness designations such as Super 100s, which corresponds to about 18.75 microns under the IWTO code. Top is also a common point for dyeing, for wool and for dehaired cashmere, which is often dyed as loose stock or top.
A practical example
A top supplier and a yarn spinner may be separate businesses. An order for wool top therefore does not necessarily include spinning. When following a material journey, identify the stage where a prepared fiber strand becomes a specified yarn.
What to distinguish
Top is not the same as loose scoured wool or finished worsted cloth. It is also not a universal name for every carded strand. Ask whether the material is card sliver, combed top, roving or spun yarn.
Origins and history
Fine wool is traded in three stages, greasy fleece, scoured wool and combed top, and top-making often sits with specialized processors rather than spinners. Its certification history tracks instrument development: in 1995 IWTO accepted both the Laserscan and OFDA methods for raw wool and top certification, which made routine reporting of diameter variability practical alongside the mean micron figure.
Related terms
Sources & further reading
- Woolmark: Worsted top-making
- International Wool Textile Organisation: First-stage processing
- SGS Wool Testing Services: Airflow, OFDA and Laserscan (Info Bulletin 3.3B)
- Woolwise (University of New England): Drafting and gilling of fibrous assemblies
Technical references reviewed 2026-09-22. Examples are illustrative. Industry organizations and manufacturers describe their own fields; their references are not independent product endorsements. Figures are approximate and depend on the stated test conditions.