Biltmore Homespun: From Raw Wool to Finished Fabric

Have you ever wondered how Biltmore Industries transformed raw wool into its signature fine fabric? Known as Biltmore Handwoven Homespun, this woolen cloth evoked the charm of traditional handcraft—even though the yarn was no longer spun by hand. As production expanded, the humble spinning wheel gave way to machines—but weaving remained entirely manual. On people-powered looms, skilled artisans brought each length of fabric to life through the steady rhythm of handweaving.

What made Biltmore Industries unique was its ability to manage every step of the process in-house—from raw wool to finished fabric. While most companies specialized in just one or two stages of production, Biltmore Industries did it all.

Where did the wool come from?

Most of the raw wool used to create Biltmore Homespun was sourced from Australia and New Zealand. It traveled across the ocean by cargo ship, arriving at major U.S. seaports before being transported by train to Asheville.

The Production Steps

Take a closer look at the key steps that transformed raw fleece into the beautifully woven textiles that became the hallmark of Biltmore Industries.

Step 1: Washing Raw Wool
Once the raw wool arrived at Biltmore Industries, it was washed to prepare it for dyeing. This process helped remove dirt and other impurities, allowing the dye to adhere more evenly and effectively to the clean fibers.

Step 2: Burr Picker Machine
Raw wool was first run through a machine that “picked out” bits of debris—burrs, sticks, seeds, and other natural matter—that had become embedded in the sheep’s coat.

Step 3: The Duster
Next, the duster was used to further clean the wool, removing fine dust and pollens.

Step 4: Pole Dying in Cypress Vats
The carefully prepared dyes were mixed in cypress vats, where loose wool was immersed and stirred continuously by hand with a long wooden pole.

Step 5: Mixing Picker Machine
After dyeing, the wool was fed through another type of picker for further refinement. This machine utilizes rotating spiked rollers or teeth to separate clumped fibers, thereby opening them up and loosening the wool. This step helps further clean the fibers and prepares them for carding (the process of separating and aligning the wool for spinning).

Step 6: Mixing Picker with Automatic Oiler
The mixer and oiling machine was used to blend the wool fibers and apply oil in preparation for the carding process (the process of separating and aligning wool fibers). This oil lubricates the fibers, reducing friction and breakage during carding and other processing steps.

Step 7: Carding
After the wool was washed, dyed, and opened up by a picker, it was still a messy jumble of fibers. Carding gently separates, straightens, and aligns those fibers to make them smooth and ready for spinning into yarn.

The wool was fed into a carding machine, which uses large rotating cylinders covered in fine wire teeth. As the wool passed through these rollers, the teeth pulled the fibers apart and combed them into a soft, even web. This web was then gathered into long, rope-like strands called roving.

Carding not only untangles and aligns the fibers but also further blends colors if different dyed wools are mixed.

Step 8: The Spinning Mule
The rolls of carded wool were brought to the spinning mule, where they were spun into fine threads and wound onto bobbins. Invented by Samuel Crompton in 1779, the spinning mule was a groundbreaking advancement in textile manufacturing, capable of producing high-quality, uniform yarn at a much faster rate than earlier methods.

Step 9: Spun Threads are Warped
After the wool was spun into yarn, it had to be carefully measured and stretched to create the warp—the long threads that run vertically on the loom. Before warping could begin, the spun wool—wound onto bobbins—was transferred to a creel. A creel is a large wooden rack that holds the bobbins still while winding the warp onto the warp beam.

From the creel, each thread was carefully drawn through an eyelet on the thread guide, then over and under the warp rollers. The thread guide maintains the order of all the threads, and the warp rollers provide even tension across all the threads during the setup of the warp.

The yarns were wound evenly and under tension onto the warp beam, keeping them neat, aligned, and ready for the weaving process.

Step 10: Drawing in the Warp
Once the warp was securely wound onto the warp beam, the next step was threading the heddles. This is a precise and essential part of the weaving setup. Each warp thread is passed through the small eye, or loop, of a heddle—a thin metal or string wire attached to a vertical frame called a harness.

The way the threads are distributed among the heddles determines how they will move during weaving. Each shaft can be raised or lowered independently, and when a thread passes through a heddle on a particular shaft, that shaft controls the position of the thread. By carefully selecting which thread goes through which heddle—and on which shaft—the weaver establishes the foundation for the woven pattern.

This process follows a specific sequence, known as a threading draft. Even a single misplaced thread can disrupt the design, so it requires great care and concentration.

Once all the threads are threaded through the heddles, the harnesses and back beam are taken over to the loom frame. The warp beam is placed on the back of the loom and placed under tension, and the harnesses are hung from leather straps inside of the loom.

After the harnesses and beam are in place, the threads are drawn through the reed, which spaces them out in the correct density and order for weaving. The yarns are then tied in bundles onto the cloth apron near the front of the loom so that as cloth is woven, it can be advanced and moved towards the back of the loom to be stored as it is being made.

Step 11: Weaving
At Biltmore Industries, weaving was done on large handlooms by skilled artisans. Weaving on a loom is the process of turning yarn into fabric by interlacing two sets of threads. The vertical threads, called the warp, are tightly stretched across the loom. The horizontal threads, called the weft, are woven over and under the warp using a shuttle (shown below in the weaver’s right hand).

To create each row of fabric, the weaver uses foot pedals, called treadles, to lift specific warp threads, forming a space known as the shed. The shuttle passes the weft thread through the shed, and a tool called the beater pushes the thread into place. By repeating this process row by row, the fabric slowly takes shape.

Step 12: Inspection and Repair
After the cloth was woven, it underwent a careful process of inspection and repair. Every inch was examined for flaws or broken threads, which were meticulously mended by hand using a needle and thread.

Step 13: Washing the Cloth
After inspection, the cloth was washed for hours in hot water and Ivory Soap to pre-shrink and soften it. The water temperature had to be carefully controlled to ensure the desired results.

Step 14: The Extractor
After washing, the wool was placed in an extractor machine to remove excess moisture and then taken outside to air dry on tenterhook fences.

Step 15: Air Drying on Tenterhook Fences
After the wool was washed and excess moisture was removed, it was taken outside and hung on tenterhook fences to air dry. A “tenter” is a wooden frame designed to stretch and dry fabric evenly, helping to prevent shrinkage. The cloth was secured to the frame using hooked nails—known as tenterhooks—which kept it taut during the drying process.

Step 16: Finishing Processes
After air drying on tenterhook fences, the fabric was napped and sheared—two finishing processes that enhance both texture and appearance. Napping raises the surface fibers of the fabric, creating a soft, velvety feel. Shearing then trims those raised fibers to a uniform height, resulting in a smooth, even finish.

Once sheared, the fabric was steam-pressed, then folded or rolled into a finished product, ready to be sold in Biltmore Industries’ Homespun Shop.