Our Tour of Woolrich

September 21st - Saturday -  Rainy

Today was the day for Lou and I to tour the Woorich Woolen Mills.  Lou had noticed a blurb in the Williamsport Newspaper where they were going to conduct tours today for the last time and asked me if I would like to go, that was a "no brainer" for me.  At one time, I was secretary/treasure for the Tiogo County Sheep and Wool Growers and Woolrich used to buy our wool, so I was all for watching what they would do with our grade A wool.  I called immediately for tickets and was able to secure two tickets so we were off this morning.  It was a rainy day, but that didn't dampen our spirits.

Woolrich is the oldest continuously operating vertical woolen mill in the USA.  Starting in 1830.

I am going to post pictures that I took with an explanation of the pictures, after a little explanation.  Woolrich's tradition of custom-designed woolens dates back to their founder, John Rich.  In 1830 he constructed his first woolen mill in Plum Run, PA.  From his mule cart, he sold his quality fabrics to loggers, miners, rivermen and trappers.  By 1845, he expanded the mill and moved to what is now Woolrich, PA.

Over the years, eight generations of his family have lived and worked amidst the same rural landscape of north central Pennsylvania, not two miles from where John Rich erected his first woolen mill.  We were able to see that bales of raw wool still come in one end of the mill and after a good deal of work, exit as superior fabric.  We were able to see first hand why the products that are made here in Woolrich cost much more than products made in China or elsewhere.  We were very impressed by the hands on.

Raw wool as it enters Woolrich, the lanolin has already been removed.

As we moved down the line we could see how they dyed the wool in huge pots of dye, they called it cooking the wool, although they were careful not to boil the wool, as they would then have felt.

Dye pots

Then on to the point where they would dye huge skeins of wool and they did it about the same way, with the exception the yarn was on spindles or spools

They could do up to 150 spools of yarn at one time.

Cone Winding

Here the spun wool yarn is placed on cones.  Cones are conical shaped bobbins made of plastic or paper.  The speed of the bobbins is controlled so that a yarn with a soft even slub is ready for weaving.

Spinning Machine

It was hard to get a picture of this machine to show how it worked, this machine was very long and it takes the raw wool and "spins" it into a single fiber.  Note the red fiber.  This will be used for the USA-Marines.  All of our Marines have Woolrich fabric on their uniform.  All of the red is from Woolrich, PA  I thought that was very interesting.

Plying

During this process a single yarn is formed by twisting together two or more single threads.  This yarn is then wound on a twisting tube in preparation for the next process.

This is called Warping:

This is the  front of the picture where the yarns come together

The cones of the various wools that are going into the blanket above

The warp is the yarn that runs lengthwise in a woven fabric.  During this process the yarns are arranged in parallel order on a beam in preparation for weaving.

Warp Tie

During this process yarns are prepared to be placed on the loom for weaving.  The yarns are combed and straightened so that the proper weave is produced.  This process is used when new warp with the same weave pattern is p lace onto an existing weave loom.   Red going to the Marines.....

Fabric awaiting Burling/Mending

Burling/Mending Station is the removal of loose threads, knots, slubs, burs and other extraneous materials by means of the burling iron, a type of tweezers.  The trick is to remove the impurity without damaging the fabric.  After weaving and prior to finishing any lumps, or burls, knots and loose threads are removed by hand.

One of the many foot operated sewing machines placed throughout the factory

We asked what model the machine was and we found that all of the equipment in the factory had been made in the USA and the sewing machines were made in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts  We all applauded!! 

The Pulling Machine




This step really surprised me, all of the wool fabric is pulled and stretched, washed and dried before it is prepared for us.

Napping is a finishing process which raises a nap on the surface of the cloth.  The wool is stretched rightly and passed over rapidly revolving cylinders covered with wire which prick the treads thus raising the nap.

Napping

 

Shearing Machine

Shearing machine is used to mechanically trim fibers from the surface of the woven wool.  The cutting action is  provided by a roller which has several spiral mounted steel cutting blades attached.  Shearing is practically always done on woolens and the amount of shearing can vary depending on desired finish of the fabric.

I hope I remembered the facts and haven't made too many goofs, it was a very interesting day and Lou and I enjoyed our day.  After the conclusion of the tour we had to go shopping, each of us were given a coupon for $10.00 off any purchase and Lou found a rain coat to replace one that was about 30 years old from Woolrich.  I was able to find three blouses in XS that will be perfect for the south this winter, all of our items were on sale.  Like I said a great day.