Below is a list of the processing names used in the manufacture of cloth.
The textile industry was huge around the Stroud five valleys and many of the old mills from that day are still in use, either as housing or industry. The ‘Cloth Mills’ menu takes you to information and photos of the old mills.
| Billy | The term usually given to a machine for spinning abb or weft yarn but sometimes applied to the scribbling machine. |
| Burling | Process of picking the burrs and knots caused by broken threads from the woven cloth |
| Carding | Process of disentangling the wool in preparation for spinning. |
| Cutting/Shearing | The cutting of the nap of the cloth by shears or shearing frame. |
| Drawing | A final check to eliminate any loose threads and to mend any holes in the cloth. |
| Fulling | The process of cleansing and felting the cloth. The fulling mill is sometimes known as a walk or tuck mill. |
| Jenny | The name given to Hargreaves’s spinning machine. |
| Knapping Engine | A variation on the gig mill whereby the nap was raised in a series of small knots at regular intervals along the cloth. |
| Mosing | The nap of the cloth was raised by teasels being moved across the cloth in one direction. |
| Pressing | The process of finishing the cloth by pressing it between papers. |
| Gigging | The nap of the cloth was raised by teasels being moved across the cloth in two directions. |
| Scribbling | The process of breaking down the knots and lumps in the wool, later performed by machine. |
| Sizing | The application of diluted glue to the threads before they were fixed to the loom. |
| Slubbing | Spinning abb or weft yarn. |
| Twillying | By using a cylinder called The Devil this process removed dust and dyewares from the wool before oiling and scribbling. |