The processing of wool involves fi ve major steps:
1. Shearing:- The flesh of the sheep is removed from its body. This is called shearing.
2. Grading (or) Sorting:- The fleece from the same sheep may be different from different parts of the body. It is sorted out into separate piles of similar nature. This is known as Grading (or) Sorting.
3. Washing (or) Scouting:- The sheared skin is washed thoroughly with soap (or) detergents to remove dirt, dust and grease.
4. Carding:- The dried wool is carefully removed. These fibres then passed through the rollers which are covered with fine sheet of thin wire teeth. This process arranges the wool into a flat sheet called a web.
5. Spinning:- The web is drawn into narrow strand and then passed through spinning machines. The spinning machines twist the strands into yarn. The yarn is wound to form balls of wool. This yarn is either weaved into fabric (or) retained for knitting