Fiber, scour and loom time, kept from one Glenealy desk

A. Fiber Lot Bays

Fiber lot bays are the storage backbone of the loft. Each bay holds a single grade of long fiber, and the grade is written on the bay face in plain lettering so anyone walking the floor can read it without a screen. Bays are numbered, weighed at intake and re-weighed whenever fiber leaves. The triplicate entry system keeps one copy with the bay, one in the Glenealy ledger and one for the client.

A client may reserve a bay for a season. Reservation means the grade is held aside, inspected on a fixed cycle and not blended with later arrivals. This matters for mills producing a single cloth line, because a grade that shifts mid season forces a re-setting of draft and tension that costs far more than the reservation fee. The loft will release a reserved bay early if the client asks in writing, and will refund the unused portion against the recorded closing weight.

• One grade per bay, never blended without written consent from the client.
• Intake weight, grade mark and moisture note recorded on the bay card.
• Reservation available by month or by full season.

O. Scouring Batch Runs

Scouring batch runs wash raw fiber in warm water with a mild alkaline assistant, then rinse it in staged tanks and dry it on racks under moving air. The goal is to lift pectin, wax and field dust without weakening the fiber or felting it. Batch size is set by grade: fine line fiber runs in smaller batches so the wash solution stays fresh, while coarser tow may run larger.

Every batch gets a number and a moisture reading when it leaves the racks. That reading is the practical handshake between the loft and the spinner, because a fiber that is too damp will drag in the draft and a fiber that is too dry will fly. We publish the reading on the batch slip and hold the batch for a further day if the figure sits outside the agreed window.

Water use is measured and the rinse water is staged so the cleanest tank is used last. This keeps the loft within its discharge limits and gives the fiber a cleaner finish than a single long soak would.

• Measured batch sizes set by grade and end use.
• Moisture reading issued with each batch slip.
• Staged counter-flow rinse to reduce water use.

F. Loom Booking Desks

The loom booking desk assigns warp preparation, weaving windows and finishing slots. Small mills and independent weavers often own fewer looms than a full season needs, so they reserve time through the loft and receive a schedule that names each stage. The desk does not sell cloth; it sells booked capacity, matched to the fiber lot the client has chosen.

Bookings are written, dated and countersigned. When a client asks to move a window, the change is logged with the date agreed and the effect on later stages. If a move would push a finishing slot outside the season, the desk tells the client before confirming rather than after. This honesty is the main reason weavers return year after year.

Warp preparation is booked first because it constrains everything downstream. Weaving follows, then finishing. A booking that reverses that order is flagged by the desk and returned for correction, since finishing cannot be honestly scheduled before the cloth exists.

• Warp preparation, weaving and finishing booked in sequence.
• Written schedule naming fiber lot, scour batch and window.
• All changes logged with the date agreed.

L. Condition Reviews

A condition review opens a lot before dispatch and records what the reviewer sees. Moisture, color drift, breakage and handling marks are all noted against the lot number. The reviewer works from a fixed sheet so two reviewers looking at the same lot will produce comparable notes. Where a fault is found, the client is told before the lot leaves the building and a remedy is agreed in writing.

Reviews are not only a quality gate. They are also the record that makes future batches predictable. By keeping a review history per grade, the loft can see whether moisture drift is seasonal, whether a particular grower supplies fiber that breaks more often, and whether a scouring schedule needs adjusting. Clients who ask for a review before every shipment receive that history as part of their file.

• Fixed review sheet covering moisture, color, breakage and handling.
• Faults reported before dispatch with a written remedy.
• Review history kept per grade and shared with the client on request.

S. Sample Hanks Windows

Sample hanks are short lengths of each grade, tied and hung where daylight reaches them. A buyer can handle the fiber, twist it between thumb and forefinger, compare color against a reference hank, and feel for harshness before committing to volume. The window is the loft way of letting a buyer trust their hands rather than a photograph.

A sample window can be booked for a single visit or held open across a season of sourcing work. Held windows are refreshed when a new lot arrives so the buyer is never handling stale stock. We keep a written note of which hank was shown on which date, because a decision made on a sample should be traceable back to the exact fiber behind it.

• Daylight viewing of hanks for every grade held in the loft.
• Windows bookable for a single visit or a full season.
• Samples refreshed when new lots arrive, with a dated record.

G. Season Contract Sittings

The season contract sitting is the point where the whole loft calendar is fixed. Growers, scourers, weavers and buyers meet with one shared document and agree volumes, grades and loom windows for the coming season. The sitting replaces the scattered email threads that otherwise decide these things by accident.

Each sitting produces a written plan with named parties, agreed volumes, a grade schedule and a set of dated loom windows. The plan is signed at the table and copied to every party within two working days. Where a party cannot attend, their place is held and their written submission is read into the record. No plan is final until the copy has reached everyone.

The sitting also reviews the season just closed: which grades ran long, which batches needed re-scouring, and which loom windows were missed. That review becomes the opening agenda for the following year, so the loft improves on its own record rather than repeating the same friction.

• One shared calendar for growers, scourers and weavers.
• Signed plan copied to all parties within two working days.
• Closing season review carried into the next sitting.