That Yarn · Journal

Wool Top for Hand Spinning: Combed Top, Sliver, and Choosing Well

Before wool becomes yarn, it passes through a prepared form — top, sliver, roving — and understanding those forms is the first real skill of spinning. Here is what they are, what the numbers mean, and how to choose the right fiber to begin.

The step that separates a raw fleece from a spinning wheel is preparation. Between the sheep and the yarn, wool is cleaned, aligned, and drawn into a soft continuous strip — the fiber a spinner actually works from. For a new spinner, the vocabulary around that strip (top, sliver, roving, "70s," combed, carded) can feel like a wall. It is not. It is a small, learnable language, and once you speak it, choosing good fiber becomes straightforward.

This guide covers both halves of that skill: understanding the prepared forms of wool, and choosing the right one to spin.

What "prepared wool" actually is

After shearing, raw fleece is scoured (washed clean of grease and dirt), then aligned by machine so the tangled fibers lie roughly parallel. The result is a long, soft, ropelike strip of fiber ready to spin. That strip goes by a few names, and the differences between them are the first thing worth learning, because they change how the fiber spins and what yarn it makes.

Combed top

Top is wool that has been scoured, carded, and then combed — a process that pulls out the shorter fibers and leaves only the long ones, all lying smooth and parallel. Because the short fibers are removed, top is clean, sleek, and very even in staple length. It is the natural choice for worsted-style spinning, which produces smooth, strong, lustrous yarn with good stitch definition.

Sliver and roving

Sliver and roving are carded but not combed — the fibers are aligned but the shorter ones remain, so the strip is loftier, airier, and less strictly parallel. (Sliver and roving are near-synonyms; usage varies by supplier.) This preparation traps more air, which makes it ideal for woollen-style spinning, producing softer, warmer, lighter yarn with more loft and a gentle halo.

Top is combed; sliver and roving are not. That one difference — whether the short fibers were pulled out — is what steers a fiber toward smooth worsted yarn or soft, lofty woollen yarn.

Reading the numbers: "70s" and micron

Prepared wool is often labelled with a number like 70s, or with a micron figure. Both describe fineness, and knowing how to read them tells you how soft the finished yarn will be.

The "s" number — 70s, 64s, 80s — comes from the old Bradford spinning-count system, which rated how fine a wool was by how much yarn a skilled spinner could produce from it. Higher numbers mean finer wool: 56s is a medium crossbred, 70s is a fine merino suitable for next-to-skin wear, and 80s and above are superfine. Micron is the modern, direct measurement — the fiber's actual diameter — where lower is finer.

The two roughly correspond — 70s falls around the high teens to about twenty microns — but only roughly. The Bradford count was built around spinning performance, not physical measurement, so two wools of the same "s" number can differ measurably in micron. Treat the number as a reliable guide to fineness, not an exact specification, and where a precise micron matters, look for a stated measurement rather than assuming one from the count. Our guide to micron and S-count works through both systems in full.

How to choose wool top: the four things that matter

With the vocabulary in hand, choosing well comes down to four properties. Read these on a fiber's description — or feel them in your hands — and you will know what you are getting.

1. Fineness (micron or "s" count)

The biggest factor in how the finished yarn feels against skin. Finer wool (lower micron, higher "s") is softer but can be trickier for a beginner to draft evenly; a medium fineness is often the easiest place to start. What matters most is matching the fineness to the project — next-to-skin garments want fine wool; outerwear and bags can use something sturdier. As always, it is the proportion of coarser fibers, not just the average, that decides prickle.

2. Staple length

The length of the individual fibers. Longer staples are more forgiving to spin — they hold together with less twist and are easier to control — which makes a medium-to-long staple ideal for beginners. Very short fibers demand more skill. A staple in the region of a few inches is comfortable to learn on.

3. Preparation (top vs sliver)

As above: choose combed top if you want to learn smooth worsted spinning and a sleek, strong yarn; choose sliver or roving if you want lofty, soft woollen yarn. Many spinners find combed top slightly easier to draft cleanly at first, because the fibers are so uniform.

4. Cleanliness and consistency

Good prepared wool is clean, with little vegetable matter, few noticeable short fibers or neps, and an even thickness along its length. Consistency is what lets you draft smoothly and spin an even yarn — it matters as much as fineness for a good first experience. A well-prepared top from a reliable source removes most of the frustration a beginner might otherwise blame on themselves.

A beginner's difficulties are more often the fiber's fault than their own. Clean, consistent, medium-fine top with a comfortable staple length forgives a great deal — and lets you actually learn.

A simple starting recommendation

If you are choosing your very first spinning fiber and want the path of least frustration, this combination is hard to beat:

• A fine-to-medium merino — soft enough to enjoy, not so fine it fights you
• Combed top — uniform and smooth, easy to draft evenly
• A medium-to-long staple — forgiving of uneven twist
• Clean and consistent — from a source that prepares its fiber well

Once that feels natural, the whole landscape opens up: finer wools, woollen-spun sliver, luxury blends, and the fibers beyond merino.

Beyond merino

Merino is the usual and excellent starting point, but the same forms and the same four questions apply to every spinning fiber. Fine wools like Corriedale and Polwarth, luxury animal fibers such as alpaca, yak, and cashmere, and silk and plant-fiber blends all arrive as top or sliver and are chosen the same way. The rarer and finer the fiber, the more its preparation and consistency reward a little experience first. Our guide to luxury yarn fibers maps that wider world, and the same principle runs through all of it: the fiber name is only the beginning.

The short version

Spinning begins with understanding prepared wool. Top is combed and smooth, made for worsted yarn; sliver and roving are carded and lofty, made for woollen yarn. Numbers like "70s" and micron both describe fineness — a reliable guide, though not an exact specification. And choosing well comes down to four things: fineness, staple length, preparation, and cleanliness. Start with a clean, consistent, medium-fine combed merino top with a comfortable staple, and you give yourself the best possible chance to learn — and the fiber, the best chance to become the yarn you imagine.

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